2006 Montrose
By Chateau Montrose
2006 Montrose from Château Montrose, St-Estephe, Bordeaux
The formidable 2006 Montrose from Château Montrose is a commanding presence in the echelons of fine Bordeaux wines. This particular year has anchored itself as a standout in my four decades of oenological explorations, delivering a vintage of profound complexity and longevity.
A Study in Resilience and Elegance
Despite the challenges that the 2006 season presented, including a hot July followed by variable conditions, the terroir yielded to craft a wine replete with sumptuous structure and deep intent. There's a distinction here: even amid lesser vintages, this wine's brooding profile of plum, blackberry, and subtle tobacco seduces the palate; its careful calibration of tannins whispers the promise of exceptional ageing potential.
Fruit, Earth, and Investment Potential Entwined
Investing in wine requires an insight into which bottles possess the pedigree for appreciation. The 2006 Montrose exhibits this trait admirably. It captures the essence of St-Estephe's soil: fruit and earth intertwine, carrying the gravitas of its birthplace with a deft balance that will continue to evolve majestically in the cellar.
On tasting, it's clear that 2006 at Château Montrose was harvested with scrupulous care to produce a wine where every sip beckons further enquiry—robust yet refined, powerful yet poised. This is a vintage to invest in; one that will unfurl its intricate narrative over years to come.
For connoisseurs eyeing up a long-term hold or a future pièce de résistance to grace their collection, the 2006 Montrose represents an investment of consummate judiciousness—one that will flourish in both complexity and value as it matures. The sage foresight will be marvelled at when the bottle is eventually uncorked to reveal the full extent of its distinguished evolution.
In summarising, the 2006 vintage from Château Montrose is one for the annals—a profound synthesis of climate and craft. Its investment allure is underpinned by its stature and potential for extraordinary development; this remarkable St-Estephe stands as an enduring testament to wine-making resilience and finesse.
Market price (GBP)
£882.00
12x75cl
Highest score
94
POP score
63
Scores and tasting notes
The first vintage under new owner Martin Bouygues,who convinced Jean-Bernard Delmas to come out of retirement to produce this wine, the 2006 Montrose is an undeniable success. A blend of approximately two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, one-third Merlot, and a tiny dollop of Petit Verdot, the most dramatic difference between the 2006, and wines made by the previous administration is that Jean Delmas produces wines with sweeter, silkier tannins, although analytically, they are as high as those found in the great Montrose vintages of the past. The 2006 is extraordinarily elegant and finesse-styled, but it exhibits stunningly concentrated, sweet blackberry and cassis fruit with hints of flowers and minerals. Full-bodied with a savory, expansive mid-palate as well as sweet, noble tannins, this beauty will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age, and should drink well for 20-25+ years.
Robert Parker Jr - Wine Advocate #181 Feb 2009
Montrose is so typically Saint-Estephe in 2006, with dried spices such cardamom and cloves as well as delicate currants. Full-bodied, with firm tannins and a dense center palate. It needs another three or four years of bottle age to soften.
James Suckling - jamessuckling.com, February 20th 2011
Tasted blind at Southwold ’06 Bordeaux tasting. This has good intensity on the nose: black dusty fruit, cedar, charcoal and scorched earth all with commendable definition. Medium-bodied palate, grippy tannins that are a little coarse, but the balanced is here, well-integrated new oak, a little austere but fanning out towards the briary finish with blackberry, tar and cedar. This Montrose deserves another 8-10 years in bottle and I suspect that by then it will deserve another couple of points. Tasted January 2010.
Neal Martin - Wine Journal Jul 2010
Tasted at the château, the 2006 Montrose has mostly been very inconsistent and frankly disappointing for such a consistent estate. Apart from one bottle, I have been unimpressed and there could well be a reason, given that it was a "dropped catch" between the change in ownership. It is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot, picked between 18 September and 3 October. It was the first vintage where green harvesting was conducted all over the estate and yields were 41 hectoliters per hectare. Frankly, this has long been a disappointing Montrose for me and this bottle did nothing to alter that view. The nose just lacks fruité and energy, not as green as I have encountered with other bottles, but just missing personality and intensity. The palate is medium-bodied and chewy in the mouth. Where is the precision and the tension? It just feels static and for want of a better word, rather dull on the finish. Sorry, this 2006 has never done it for me. Tasted September 2016.
Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate, 31 March 2017