WTN: Montrose vertical ( plus Scheurebe)

Inevitably, when it's 90+ degrees, one's thoughts turn to Bordeaux. Wait, did I say that? Well, inevitably, some 90+ day each summer, I find myself heading to a Bordeaux tasting and thinking "am I nuts?" Luckily, Dylan Prime has decent AC, so after a while I was ready to face red meat and many vintages of Montrose.

While we waited for all (well, almost all) to gather, we tried the 1998 Muller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Spatlese. An old friend, holding on, though I wouldn't hold much longer. Tropical fruit cocktail with a squirt of grapefruit and lime, sweet and rich but lively. B+

Flight one (with pork belly tater tots)

1964 Ch. Montrose
A little iodine-y at first sniff, but a nice middle-framed mature Bordeaux, surprisingly young blackcurrant fruit, earth, a little gamy, I like. B+/A-

1966 Ch. Montrose
Solid, smokey, good fruit, good concentration and length. Completely mature yet vibrant, my WOTN. A-

1970 Ch. Montrose
I had variable bottles of this, and this was not one of the best despite good fill. Some barnyard, slightly pruney fruit, a repour later is a bit fresher, but a third pour is past it. B-

Flight Two (coincided with my appetizer, a modern version of Caprese salad. As usual in steakhouses, no good Bordeaux matching appetizers, but I thought "hey, it's tomato season." Well, not if they've been in the fridge).

1978 Ch. Montrose
Surprise of the night, great showing for this wine. Before it's poured, Paul says it smells like bubblegum, and damn if he isn't right. Not there once poured, though. Sweet fruit and leather, pleasantly herby, decent length, good acids, though it faded a bit in time. B+

1982 Ch. Montrose
Slightly high toned at first, lots of tobacco and earth, solid black plum and currant fruit, iron filings, not an acclaimed '82 but very good showing. A-/B+

Flight Three (with my ribeye)

1989 Ch. Montrose
Some thought this corked, I didn't get TCA, but I found it off. One could sense a big impressive wine, but there was an offnote I couldn't get past.
B-/C+, but I don't think correct bottle.

1990 Ch. Montrose
I've had bottles of this that were like tripping in pasture and landing facefirst in the poop, but this only has a hint of barnyard. Sweet cassis and blackberry fruit, good length, needs time. B+/A-

Flight Four

1995 Ch. Montrose
Surprisingly forward and ready, good Cabernet fruit, quite good though maybe finish a tad clipped. B+

1996 Ch. Montrose
I found nose a little strange (Paul said like artificially buttered popcorn, but I didn't get that). Redder fruit, lush, not very '96ish to me. Still, a quite decent Cabernet. B

2000 Ch. Montrose
A bit closed, needs time, but impressive balance of black fruits, refreshing acids, and ripe tannins. Lots (LOTS) of potential/ A-/B+

2003 Ch. Montrose
I was looking forward to trying this, but I'm having trouble finding words. It was ethereal, almost like it wasn't even there. Kind of a ghost wine. Empty, lacking body, fruit, tannins, acids, color, substance. NR (edited to add sorry this was an inside joke, person bringing 2003 was a no show)

A sudden thunderstorm kept us trapped for a bit, but good excuse to revisit wines. Fun night, fun group (all 7 who showed up)

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency. 

The '90 Montrose has been there for a long time. I only have two bottles of my case left.

[David M. Bueker]

The '98 Mandelring Scheurebe Spatlese has been limping around for a while now. Some bottles show quite well, while others have lost too much of the tropical fruit to be really interesting. The 2001 is also now in need of drinking up before it starts its Brett Favre phase.

Nice set of notes on the Montrose. The '64 was the first Bordeaux that Laura actually drank & liked (in 2003). So now all my Montrose (including the 2000) is down for the long sleep to see if we can repeat the phenomenon in about 2035.

These wines were very consistent in style through the years. Many Bordeaux have shown a change in style starting somewhere between 1998 and 2001, but Montrose seems to have resisted that.



* 1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Spätlese - Germany, Pfalz
Fairly sweet and dense with pineapple and lots of tropical flavors along with peach. Heavy weight, smooth, silky. Very nice. Good acidity and balance.
B+/A-



* 1964 Château Montrose
Warm, rich with lots of iron. Fine acidic tannic finish. Holding up well. Fresh, bright. Really nice
B+

* 1966 Château Montrose
Herbal, round with cedar, dry finish. Acidic and a bit tight with some black licorice on finish.
B/B+

* 1970 Château Montrose
Round, warm, sweet. Some cooked notes on nose, better on palate. A little baked, this bottle didn't seem to be the best.
B-




* 1978 Château Montrose
Smooth fruit, lots of herbs, well rounded, complex with some mineral. A really nicely aged Bordeaux with lots of miles in the tank. Really really nice.
A-

* 1982 Château Montrose
Fresh, young with a little animal. Full fruited. Brash. Still a young wine, although drinking very well. Sweet core, expansive. My WOTN.
A





* 1989 Château Montrose
Some around the table found this slightly corked. I didn't. I enjoyed this bottle a lot. Smooth, full with a sweetness, some herb, and a tart note. Smooth and silky.
A

* 1990 Château Montrose
Big, full fruit with some acid. A bit sweet and candied. A huge, expansive wine that I think will improve with some more age, is drinking well now, and will last for years and years.
A





* 1995 Château Montrose
Full Flavored and fresh, punchy, bright. Still a few years off from entering peak, but is showing fine. Very nice. Some sweetness in it's lower flavor range.
B++

* 1996 Château Montrose
Smooth, dense and serious with some dark notes. Still needs some time. Will blossom nicely but not ready yet. Dry tannic finish. This has a darker profile than the 1995.

* 2000 Château Montrose
A bit closed with floral notes and tight light tannins. Dry finish. Let this one sleep, it is a ways off from being ready. Shows excellent potential.


WOTN voting
1982 (11)
1990 (9)
1966 (9)
2000 (7)
1978 (2)
1989 (2)

Yeah, I wish I'd gotten some of the '82 when I had the chance. No chance now.

Thanks for organizing Matt. Also, thanks for the excellent notes - both Dale and Matt.

These wines were very consistent in style through the years. Many Bordeaux have shown a change in style starting somewhere between 1998 and 2001, but Montrose seems to have resisted that.

I couldn’t agree more with you on this. Even with my very limited, OK zero experience, in drinking Montrose from the 60’s, this tasting enabled me to experience a pattern by this producer as the style seem to have remained consistent from one bottle to another, all the way to the 2000 vintage. I refer to the underlying slight austerity, some earthiness, and structure that I think characterized the wines. The wines, in general, have the Left Bank Bordeaux traits that I like.

I, too, wish that I have some of the 1982, as I thought that it drank very well during the dinner. On the other hand, although the 2000 was not as open as the earlier vintages, the excellent potential, as noted by both Dale and Matt, was very evident as I sampled more of it during the night.

Based on the positive showing of the 1964 and 1966 bottles, I am optimistic about the future of the relatively recent vintages that I currently have stashed away.

Ramon

thanks guys for comments. I agree there's a consistent style for 4 decades, wish I owned the '00

[David M. Bueker]

wish I owned the '00

Some day we'll share.