Wine Advocate (91-93)

A blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Montlandrie gives up notes of crushed black plums, red currants and black cherries with suggestions of cigar box, yeast extract, tapenade and underbrush. Medium-bodied with a solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins, it has beautiful freshness and a mineral-tinged finish.

Wine Advocate (92-94)

Produced by Denis Durantou of Château L’Eglise Clinet, the 2018 Montlandrie is a blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon with 14.5% alcohol and is currently aging in 40% new oak. Deep purple-black in color, it features fragrant notes of lilacs, Morello cherries and blueberry compote over a core of plum preserves and woodsmoke plus a waft of underbrush. The medium to full-bodied palate is richly fruited with black and blue fruits, lifted by earthy accents and lovely freshness, finishing long and velvety textured.

Jeb Dunnuck (94)

A perennial no-brainer, the 2019 Château Montlandrie sports a vivid purple hue as well as a gorgeous bouquet of juicy black cherries, blueberries, tobacco, and cedarwood, with some classic chalky minerality in the background. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has terrific purity of fruit, silky tannins, and a great finish. I’d be thrilled to have bottles in the cellar, and it should have 10-15 years of longevity.

Jeb Dunnuck (94)

A perennial no-brainer, the 2019 Château Montlandrie sports a vivid purple hue as well as a gorgeous bouquet of juicy black cherries, blueberries, tobacco, and cedarwood, with some classic chalky minerality in the background. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has terrific purity of fruit, silky tannins, and a great finish. I’d be thrilled to have bottles in the cellar, and it should have 10-15 years of longevity.

Wine Advocate (92-94)

The 2020 Montlandrie is a blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Merlot was picked between the 18th and the 22nd of September, and the Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon were picked from the 23rd to the 25th of September. It has an alcohol of 14.5% and is aging in French oak barrels, 40% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it bursts from the glass with vibrant notes of crushed blackberries, fresh, juicy black plums and mulberries, plus hints of bay leaves, cardamom, ground black pepper and black truffles. The medium to full-bodied palate possesses impressive freshness with a solid backbone of soft, rounded tannins and bags of ripe black fruits, finishing long with a peppery kick. 53,000 bottles are expected to be made.

Jeb Dunnuck (95)

Including a new parcel that brought more Cabernet into the blend, the 2023 Château Montlandrie is based on 55% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc, aged in 50% new French oak. This deep purple-hued beauty has a classy, perfumed, complex, and incredibly elegant personality, offering ripe black raspberries, sappy flowers, blood orange, and a beautiful limestone-like minerality. It's medium-bodied, pure, layered, and graceful, with fine tannins, remarkable purity, and a great finish. This is one of those hidden gems that readers will love. Drink bottles over the coming 15-20 years. Drink 2026-2045.

Wine Advocate (88)

Tasted at the Montrose vertical in Stamford, the 1982 Montrose remains a delightful Saint Estèphe, albeit not one of the stars of the vintage. And it never has been. It was picked between 14 and 29 September after weeks of hot weather. The bouquet is attractive as it leans towards red berry fruit, freshly rolled tobacco and leather, perhaps conservative in the 1982 scheme of things. The palate is medium-bodied with a little graininess to the texture. It is not overly complex, though it is nicely balanced. What is missing is the substance, that insistent grip in the mouth and that peacock's tail of a finish that reveals a hint of iodine on the aftertaste. It is a Montrose that continues to give pleasure, one that does not seem to have changed much in recent years, but by now you know that it will never catch up with say the 1982 Cos d'Estournel or the first-tier growths. Enjoy this with modest expectations. Tasted May 2016.

Wine Advocate (100)

Tasted at the Montrose vertical in London, the 1990 Montrose is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc (almost identical to the 1989 Montrose) and picked between 14 September and 3 October. It has a formidable reputation and for years it overshadowed the 1989. That said, it is well known that there are incidences of brettanomyces that compromise some bottles and the one bottle in London showed just a tincture of this. It still merited a score of 97/100, though it only served to highlight the ethereal delineation of the 1989. Then literally a couple of days later. I was served blind a magnum of the 1990 Montrose in Cape Town, which had been purchased on release and stored in perfect conditions. Now, here was the real deal, unfettered by any infection, a regal Saint Estèphe. It shows approximately the same evolution as the 1989 in bottle, but unsurprisingly showed less bricking in magnum format. The bouquet is cut from a different cloth to the 1989 and attests to that warm vintage: hickory, clove, undergrowth and wild fennel, later garrigue-like scents and terracotta, the latter two more pronounced on the bottle format compared to the youthful magnum. The palate is full-bodied and powerful, yet the balance is perfect, a ballerina-like poise with the structure of the Forth Bridge. It is a multi-layered Montrose that offers enormous length, fresh and vibrant with the magnum demonstrating tangible mineralite and tension as it fans out on the crescendo of a finish—a fanfare for Saint Estèphe in all its glory. Improving all the time in the glass, this example of 1990 Montrose is a privilege to behold. One can speculate whether larger formats are a safer bet in terms of experiencing this behemoth without any brettanomyces. Perhaps. However, if you do come across the 1990 Montrose like this, you are in the presence of a king. Tasted January 2017.

Vinous - Neal Martin (94)

The 1995 Montrose has a backward bouquet with mainly red berry fruit, stewed black tea and brown spices, terracotta scents emerging with time. There is fine delineation; initially quite backward, as Montrose often can be, though it opens with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fine weight, beautifully balanced, somehow quite "soothing" in style with no hard edges. It sashays along wonderfully, a Montrose reaching the peak of its powers. Tasted at the 1995 Bordeaux off-line at Piccolino in London.

Vinous - Stephen Tanzer (91)

Bright full ruby-red. Precise, pure aromas of cassis, pepper, minerals and currant leaf, plus a hint of bitter chocolate. Juicy and intensely flavored; a classic midweight claret with penetrating inner-mouth aromas of dark berries, leather and game. Long, firm, palate-cleansing finish features very firm tannins that avoid hardness. Perhaps ultimately leaner than the '99, but longer today. I underestimated this wine last year.

Jeb Dunnuck (99)

A prodigious beast of a wine that's now starting to shed just a touch of its considerable baby fat, the 2003 Château Montrose is based on 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot. It shows the richness of the vintage with its ripe, opulent core of fruit, yet it freshens up noticeably with time in the glass, offering currants, mulberries, smoked tobacco, minty herbs, and licorice. Full-bodied, deep, and powerful on the palate, it still has classic Bordeaux focus and structure. It's drinking brilliantly today with a decant and has another 20-30 years of prime drinking.

Jeb Dunnuck (99)

A prodigious beast of a wine that's now starting to shed just a touch of its considerable baby fat, the 2003 Château Montrose is based on 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot. It shows the richness of the vintage with its ripe, opulent core of fruit, yet it freshens up noticeably with time in the glass, offering currants, mulberries, smoked tobacco, minty herbs, and licorice. Full-bodied, deep, and powerful on the palate, it still has classic Bordeaux focus and structure. It's drinking brilliantly today with a decant and has another 20-30 years of prime drinking.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (98)

The last year for Montrose under the Charmolüe family, before the Bouygues bought in 2006. Inky plum in colour, moreish from the very first sip. So juicy, such well controlled extraction, balanced but intense and concentrated, with layers of still-vibrant cassis, bilberry, eucalyptus and cocoa bean. You can now clearly see where this is heading, but it will continue to build over the next few years, and then stay on the plateau for decades. Proof that whatever the Bouygues paid for it the following year, they were getting one of the greatest estates in the Médoc. 60% new oak.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (98)

The last year for Montrose under the Charmolüe family, before the Bouygues bought in 2006. Inky plum in colour, moreish from the very first sip. So juicy, such well controlled extraction, balanced but intense and concentrated, with layers of still-vibrant cassis, bilberry, eucalyptus and cocoa bean. You can now clearly see where this is heading, but it will continue to build over the next few years, and then stay on the plateau for decades. Proof that whatever the Bouygues paid for it the following year, they were getting one of the greatest estates in the Médoc. 60% new oak.