- A 100pts Star of the Vintage - Montrose is one of only seven 2020s to achieve 100pts from Wine Advocate. It is one of our top picks from this exceptional vintage having scored 100pts not once, but twice from WA.
- An Overachieving Estate – Château Montrose is a top Second Growth estate which consistently challenges Bordeaux First Growths for quality, but with a price tag many factors lower. This is an estate with significant positive momentum amongst collectors.
- Best Ever Montrose? The 2020 is a “contender for wine of the vintage” according to Neal Martin. It is singled out as one of the best ever Montrose vintages by WA’s William Kelley.
- Perfect In-Bottle Score – Montrose 2020 was recently re-scored 100pts by Wine Advocate when tasted in bottle. A hugely positive sign.
- 2022 Release Heralds an Exciting Future – Montrose 2022 was released at £873, with a second tranche re-pricing then also selling out at £930. The 2022 has subsequently traded as high as £992.
- 2020 Looks Mis-priced – With a price tag of only GBP 865 (6x75cl), Montrose 2020 looks significantly undervalued versus other 100pts 2020s, and also against other top Montroses.
Is 2020 the Best Ever Vintage from Château Montrose?
The 2020 vintage from Château Montrose is significantly undervalued when compared to other Montrose vintages. Priced at only £865 per 6 IB, it is far below its ‘fair value’ of £1,125 a case:
Montrose 2020 is one of the most critically acclaimed vintages from this estate over the past few decades. The only comparable vintages, 2009 and 1990, currently trade at very significant premiums to 2020. In fact, William Kelley (Wine Advocate) says 2020 is “even deeper, more vibrant and more complex than the 2009”.
Even the 2022, which released last summer with no guarantee of a 100-point score, has traded as high as GBP 992, a 15% premium to the 2020.
The 1990 vintage, the only other vintage with a perfect 100 score from the Wine Advocate, charts the potential price progression for the 2020, currently trading at GBP 3,590 per 6 IB.
A Giant Killer
The 2020 vintage in Bordeaux has been universally acclaimed by top critics. This is important, as the general perception of a vintage will influence its future price performance heavily.
What is surprising about the 2020 vintage, however, is how the First Growths and Right Bank super stars are outshone by estates on the rise like Montrose 2020. For instance, Petrus and Mouton Rothschild 2020 are the only two wines from the typical Bordeaux elite that match Montrose’s 100 score. However, these command significant premiums over the high flying ‘Super Second’ Montrose.
Another notable fact relates to production quantity. Lafite Rothschild is often used as the benchmark First Growth, producing around 20,000 cases a year. Montrose typically produces 25% less, so 16,000 cases a year. The more accessible current price point of Montrose makes it more likely to be consumed in its youth. A combination of increased consumption and a lower supply makes it likely that Montrose 2020 will see better near term price growth, in percentage terms.
The 2025 opening of its drinking window price is less than 2 years away, and this should further focus collector interest on this vintage through 2024.
An Estate with Clear Positive Momentum and Strong Following
Château Montrose has been successfully re-positioning the estate over the past decade.
En primeur prices have risen over +173% in that period. And we know for a fact that the wine is not sitting in Bordeaux unsold. It is a wine which sells out on release, and then frequently trades on Cru Markets, with strong demand and a loyal following. We currently have 18 live bids for Montrose and have matched 24 trades in 2024 already.
Following the general market trend of consistent En Primeur price hikes, we see no signs of Château Montrose doing anything but continuing on their current path of steady and consistent price rises. It is not out of the question to think that release prices will see another +100% hike over the following decade.
Performance of Montrose 2022 Underlines 2020’s Undervaluation
The most recent En Primeur release, the 2022 vintage, released at a price of £873 per 6 IB. This allocation was heavily oversubscribed. Such was the clamour on release that cases traded up to £992.
Why is Montrose 2020 - which is available in bottle, and which has a perfect 100pts score from Wine advocate and a near-perfect 99pt score from notoriously harsh Neal Martin – cheaper than the 2022? It makes no sense to us, and therefore regard Château Montrose as one of the strongest current picks from the 2020 vintage.
