Château Montrose 2025 Saint-Estèphe 2e Grand Cru Classé - OWC6

Falstaff
100 punten
Deep dark ruby garnet, opaque core, violet reflections, delicate edge brightening. Candied violets, scent of roses, fine cassis, incredibly seductive, delicate notes of precious wood, underlaid with black forest berries. Complex, full-bodied, highly elegant, freshly structured, ripe, supporting tannins, blackberries, nougat and cherries on the finish, lingers for a long time, sure maturity potential.

Wine Advocate
98-100 punten
A timeless classic in the making, the 2025 Montrose unfurls in the glass with notes of dark berries, black truffle, burning embers and violets, gaining in range and detail with aeration. Full-bodied, dense and elegantly muscular, it's layered and multidimensional, with a prodigiously concentrated core of fruit, exceptional quality of tannin and a long, resonant finish. The 2025 is a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, derived exclusively from the estate's historic core on the fourth terrace situated just in front of the château itself. With a pH of 3.65 and 13.4% alcohol, it remains classically balanced despite its impressive power and intensity. Readers will have a fascinating time parsing the nuances of style and quality between the 2025, 2023 and 2022 over the decades to come!

Neal Martin, Vinous
98-100 punten
The 2025 Montrose only comes from the Terrace IV, as has been the way since the 2023 vintage. It was picked from August 29 and finished not until September 20, so quite a long harvest, 16 days of picking between those dates. This vintage is matured in 60% new oak. This has another very intense nose with a potent graphite element that infuses the black fruit, beautifully defined but unapologetically classical in style. Wow. The purity of fruit is exceptional. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, very chiselled tannins, exquisite black fruit loaded with mineralité. So much freshness and vibrancy, gentle but insistent grip, very precise and refined on the finish, this is a Montrose that will rank as one for the ages. Wow (again).

The Wine Cellar Insider
98-100 punten
Cherries, cedar, Cuban cigar wrappers, blackberries, flowers, smoke and black raspberries provide the aromatic nuances. The palate is even better. Concentrated, deep, dark, and energetic, there is a sophisticated, lushness that delivers its regal tendencies while coating your mouth and palate with multiple layers of supple, rich, waves of black fruits, spice, and chocolate. Montrose is on quite the run. Just when you think they cannot produce a better wine, they come out with the 2025! This is the third vintage produced entirely from vines planted in Terrasse 4. The wine blends 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. 13.4% ABV, pH 3.65 pH. Harvesting took place August 29 - September 20. This is the earliest start to harvest in the history in the history of the estate. Yields were 30 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2032-2070.

Jeb Dunnuck
97-100 punten
A magical, utterly profound wine in the making, the 2025 Château Montrose is a classic blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc that will spend 18 months in 60% new French oak, with 12% press wine included in the final blend. Pure cassis, graphite, liquid violets, and spicy wood define the aromatics, and it's sensationally pure on the palate, with full-bodied richness, beautiful concentration, ripe, polished tannins, incredible class, and a great finish. It reminds me of the 2016 with its finesse... and maybe there's a touch of 1996 here as well.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown
97-99 punten
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2025 Montrose erupts from the glass with intense notes of freshly crushed black currants, fresh blackberries, and mulberries, leading to suggestions of crushed rocks, black olives, violets, and forest floor with a touch of garrigue. The delicately styled, medium-bodied palate has a firm, fine-grained texture with a refreshing line and taut, muscular fruit, finishing long and earthy. The blend is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. It has a pH of 3.65 and the alcohol is 13.4%. It is aging for 18 months in oak barriques, 60% new.

James Suckling
97-98 punten
Integrated and creamy tannins that are long and polished deliver an impressive palate of medium body, juicy fruit and a refined finish. Character of black and red currants with hazelnuts. Refined. Extremely long and polished, with plenty of Montrose character. Balanced. All there for the vintage. A blend of 77% cabernet sauvignon, 19% merlot and 4% cabernet franc.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
97 punten
Deep and nuanced plum fruit on the opening, vivid ruby in colour with tension, lift and estate signature. An extremely classic Montrose, love the lift with the depth of cassis, cocoa bean, liquorice, crushed mint leaf, squid ink, crayon, a supremely Left Bank wine, very much in the 2023 vein for me, which was a vintage I adored. This has precision and beauty, the kind of En Primeur sample where you feel fresh and energised at the end of tasting it. 60% new oak for ageing, Pierre Graffeuille director.

Decanter
97 punten
Vibrant purple colour in the glass. Amazing fragrance, so pure and crystalline - blackcurrants and violet notes. Silky and glossy, packed full of cherry and strawberry fruit with quite massy tannins but keeping a really cool and compact form. Structured with layers of elements but also a little granular, tight and spiced. Liquorice, cool cola and wet stone edges. Maybe less overtly charming and filling than in previous years, but this has a distinctly cool mineral edge and slightly grippy tannins on the finish. I like the style, it’s quite serious and terroir transparent. Ageing should soften this and relax a little. 3.65pH. 80 IPT. 12% press wine. Ageing 18 months, 60% new oak.

Jancis Robinson
18/20 punten
Already quite expressive. Pure and fragrant with blackcurrant, graphite and cedar notes. Lovely silky texture on attack, a touch of mid-palate sweetness then ripe, punchy, gravely tannins on the finish. Lots of freshness and length. Very St-Estèphe.

Antonio Galloni, Vinous
95-97 punten
The 2025 Montrose is a very quiet, sophisticated Montrose. Silky tannins, lifted aromatics and mid-weight structure are the signatures. Time in the glass brings out lovely red-toned fruit character, along with hints of spice, blood orange, cedar and sweet pipe tobacco. It will be interesting to see how the 2025 develops with élevage. Today, it is a bit on the lighter side relative to the norm here. Some of that may be attributable to winemaking.