Some purchases require no deliberation whatsoever, and this wine was certainly one of them. A small parcel of the 2005 Château Montrose St-Estèphe came our way recently, and, lest I get too attached to it for my own consumption, I’m getting this offer out to our top customers immediately.
Those of you who love and collect Bordeaux need no further introduction, but in the interest of diligence, here goes: Château Montrose is a regal, long-aging Left Bank Bordeaux, nicknamed a “super second” because it is a “Second Growth” Bordeaux cru classé (“classified growth”) that often performs like a “First.” The 2005 vintage, meanwhile, was widely hailed as the “vintage of the century” in Bordeaux, or at least one of them (2000 and 2010 also received their share of votes). If you’ve got an occasion coming up that requires a true blue-chip wine, or if you are always on the lookout for wines like this for your cellar, this is as sure a bet as they come.
Montrose is, of course, one of the Bordeaux elite—and a wine that can be somewhat forbidding in its youth, typically needing some time to come around. With more than a decade of age under its belt, this 2005 is just now starting to enter its peak drinking phase, which I anticipate will last for many more years to come. And while the “First Growth” wines from this vintage fetch three- to five-times as much, this wine, at this price, is a relative steal. This difference in quality between this wine and any of the “Firsts” is marginal; the difference in price, however, is exponential. Such are the limitations of these old-school classifications, which we are more than happy to ignore in search of the best wine for the money.
Château Montrose derives its name from the flowering heather that turns its hillsides rose-pink (thus the name mont rose). Situated at the southeastern end of Saint-Estèphe, less than 10 miles from Lafite-Rothschild in Pauillac, Montrose gazes over the Gironde River on a ridge of gravel. This bed of gravel, featuring black sand over a clay and marl subsoil, is the textbook soil composition of the appellation; Montrose’s vineyards are planted to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, with vines averaging 40 years of age.
The estate was first planted in 1815 by Etienne Théodore Dumoulin. Forty years later, the relatively young château was granted Second-Growth status in the 1855 official classification. When Etienne passed away in 1861, he left his heirs an estate of 95 hectares, which comprises its current size today—a rarity. In 1866, the estate was purchased by Mathieu Dollfus, a dynamic proprietor who reorganized and modernized the facilities and offered housing, free healthcare and profit-sharing to his staff. The estate was then purchased by the Charmolüe family in 1896 who ushered the grand estate into the 21st century. Under their passionate guidance, the estate took its place as one of the greatest super-seconds of the Left Bank.
In 2006, brothers Martin and Thomas Bouygues acted on a family dream and purchased the estate. Under their guidance, the grand château has been lovingly restored with total historic accuracy and the facilities have been completely updated. The brothers have also installed a geothermal system and rooftop solar panels, which has vastly reduced the estate’s carbon footprint. This 2005 Château Montrose is a potent blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and a dollop each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
Only the best of the hand-harvested fruit is transformed into this world-class wine. Grapes are hand-sorted, destemmed, then placed in climate-controlled vats for twenty-five days of fermentation. The wine is then aged for eighteen months and racked roughly every three months in 60% new French oak from eight premium coopers. Then, the wine is decanted off its lees via gravity and is traditionally fined with egg whites. The result is a classic expression of Left Bank Bordeaux.
The 2005 Chateau Montrose still displays a dark ruby core with some garnet reflections on the rim. This was a “big” vintage, as evidenced on the nose as well: fruit aromas of blackberry, blueberry, and black currant are entangled with plenty of graphite, cigar tobacco, wet clay, baking spices, leather, and dried violets and herbs. These sensations carry through to the full-bodied palate, which is still showing some tannic grip more than ten years on. This has 20 more years in it for sure, so if you’re opening one soon, be sure to decant it about an hour before serving in Bordeaux stems at 60-65 degrees. It also demands to be served with food, something that will highlight its savor and intensity. The attached roast leg of lamb recipe has been a winner for us before, so I see no reason to re-invent the wheel. Like the wine, it’s a sure bet.
