Chateau Montrose 1998

Considered one of the top Saint Estephe, Montrose is prized for its classic Claret style, big fruit and full, well-structured taste.

Deep purple color. Complex on the nose, delivering aromas of leather, black fruit, liquorice. Silky and fresh on the palate, with notes of brown tobacco, dark chocolate, grounds of coffee, blackberry, blackcurrant, and slight leather. The tannins are fine, elegant, and melted. Blend: 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot.

92 Points - Decanter    Perfectly evolved, the wine is now silky textured, showing smoky notes of coffee, tobacco and cocoa.

90 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate    A classic effort, the 1998 Montrose exhibits a dense purple color in addition to a sweet nose of jammy cassis, licorice, earth, and smoke. It is a powerful and full-bodied wine with well-integrated tannin. Given Montrose's tendency to shut down, it is performing better out of bottle than I expected. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2030.

90 Points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar    Red-ruby. Cassis, black cherry, tobacco leaf, licorice and tangy bitter chocolate on the nose. Intensely flavored, bright and penetrating; as dense as the '99 but firmer, more obviously structured, and in need of a good decade of bottle aging. Firm tannins suffuse the palate. Montrose has been making consistently excellent wine in recent years. 

90 Points - Vinous    Funnily enough, I had not tasted it since en primeur! It has a high-toned and expressive bouquet with blackberry, leather, a touch of menthol and dried herbs, a little earthiness coming through with time. There is still plenty of freshness here. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin. This offers fine balance and a smooth texture, slightly lactic in texture with tobacco and even a touch of latte towards the black fruit-driven finish. 

18/20 Points - Jancis Robinson    Very dense and concentrated still with very firm Cabernet Sauvignon and stony characteristics. But there is also some obvious ripeness. More impressive than charming.