- Colour Red
- Producer Château Montrose
- Region St Estèphe
- Grape Cab. Sauvignon/ Merlot/ Cab. Franc/ Petit Verdot
- Drinking 2016 - 2040
- Case size 6x75cl
- Available Now
2003 - Ch Montrose 2ème Cru St Estèphe - 6x75cl
- Colour Red
- Producer Château Montrose
- Region St Estèphe
- Grape Cab. Sauvignon/ Merlot/ Cab. Franc/ Petit Verdot
- Drinking 2016 - 2040
- Case size 6x75cl
- Available Now
Select pricing type
This wine is currently only available Duty Paid
Need help? Call +44 (0)20 7793 7900 or email wine@goedhuis.com.
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Goedhuis, April 2004
We have no hesitation whatsoever in stating that this is one of the best Montroses we have tasted. Clearly the terroir has really helped here, Montrose always seems to excel in very hot years. Interestingly this is the only Classed Growth we can think of with a palm tree avenue leading to the Chateau, so perhaps the microclimate really is sub tropical.This is lovely with great reserves of dark fruit. It is mouthfilling and ripe with perfect balance. It is, as the winemaker says, a wine that manages to combine the tastes of a hot vintage with the freshness of great Bordeaux.
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Robert Parker, August 2014, Score: 99
A candidate for a perfect score, the 2003 Montrose has been a superstar since the first time I tasted it in barrel. Showing no signs of weakening, it is an amazing wine from this fabulous terroir. It boasts a deep blue/purple color as well as a stunning perfume of blueberries, black currants, blackberries, licorice and camphor. Dense, full-bodied and rich with an unctuous texture, well-integrated, melted tannins, and a long, heady finish, this big, brawny, super-intense, gorgeous 2003 is just beginning to enter its plateau of full maturity. It should remain there for at least two decades.
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Robert Parker, April 2006, Score: 97
The enormous 2003 Montrose is built along the lines of the 1989 rather than the 1990. It boasts a dense black/purple color in addition to an extraordinary bouquet of scorched earth, blackberries, and cassis, fabulous purity, a skyscraper-like texture, and substantial tannin in the finish. This superb, huge, ripe wine is one of the vintage's most prodigious offerings. However, patience willbe essential for anyone purchasing this 2003. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2035.
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Robert Parker, April 2005, Score: 97-100
Certainly one of the vintage's most colossal wines and clearly one of the estate's greatestefforts, rivaling the 1989, 1990, and 2000, this wine, which tips the scales at 13% alcohol (the 1990 was 13.5%), has an amazingly opaque purple color to the rim, and a big, sweet, exotic nose of blackberry liqueur intermixed with acacia flower, creme de cassis, smoke, and hints of truffle and vanilla. In the mouth the wine is full-bodied, opulent, but offers surprising definition and finesse, which is something it was showing less of nine months ago. Brilliantly delineated in spite of its amazing concentration and unctuosity, this is a thrilling, exceptional effort that should prove to be a modern-day legend. I tend to think this wine will actually be approachable in 5-6 years but capable of lasting for at least three decades. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2030+. To reiterate what I said last year, this is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, and the rest equal parts Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
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James Suckling, April 2004, Score: 95-100
Fantastic and subtle, with blackberries, spices, light leather and cinnamon. Full-bodied, with a slow start, then it spirits off with fabulously silky tannins and a long, long finish. This is like a super 1996. The owner likes it better than his 1990 and 1989. -- J.S.
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Decanter, April 2004
Huge colour, marvellous spice and almost unbelievable extraction of fleshy Cabernet fruit, terrific structure and beautiful balance, a truly superb, grandly classic, wine. Drink: 2012-2040.
Producer
Château Montrose
For years Montrose has been in the shadow of its more decadent, flashy neighbour, Cos d'Estournel.Quietly confident, it is a brilliant performer in notably dry, sunny vintages due to its dense clay soil that allows the vines to remain hydrated. In 2003, this was particularly true as many deemed it wine of the vintage. They have a new director, Jean-Bernard Delmas, a legend amongst the Bordelais having run Haut Brion and La ...Read more
For years Montrose has been in the shadow of its more decadent, flashy neighbour, Cos d'Estournel.Quietly confident, it is a brilliant performer in notably dry, sunny vintages due to its dense clay soil that allows the vines to remain hydrated. In 2003, this was particularly true as many deemed it wine of the vintage. They have a new director, Jean-Bernard Delmas, a legend amongst the Bordelais having run Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion for 40 years, so quality is only likley to get better and better.Read less

Region
St Estèphe
St Estèphe is the most northern of Médoc communal crus. Its unique terroir is made up of layers of gravel which are supported by a dense clay base. This subsoil retains water in dry seasons and works particularly well with Merlot, a largely planted variety which is used to flesh out Cabernet Sauvignon. This clay base also creates powerful, textured tannins which enable St Estèphe to stand out from the pack. Like St Julien, it is one of the four most important communal appellations of the Médoc which does not contain any first growths, despite its southern border being a stone'sthrow from Château Lafite. Nonetheless, it is home to some excellent châteaux making fine wines such as Cos d'Estournel, Montrose, Calon Ségur and Lafon Rochet.