1990 Montrose

[Christer Byklum]

1990 Château Montrose; Ruby, garnet rim. Decanted close to five hours. Intense nose, power, yet finesse. Overwhelming! Dark berries, tobacco, deep notes, like having Barry White singing at your table. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, massive, extreme, lacks some complexity, or it's all in a ball in there somewhere, everything else in abundance. 95-96

[Jeff Leve]

Some bottles on 1990 Montrose are stunning... Other bottles are not at the same level as they are often marred by brett.

[Christer Byklum]

No brett on this one.

[laurent gibet]

Saint-Estèphe – Château Montrose 1990 : september 2004 - 94/100
- Le nez convoque des notes de cacao, de menthol, de réglisse, de fruits à l’eau de vie, de pruneau, de cassis, de truffe. Difficile de ne pas penser à un pomerol archétypal (de haut niveau).
- Bouche soyeuse, et même onctueuse, exotique par sa maturité extrême, permanente et racée. On sent une trame tannique dont on nous confirme qu’elle fût redoutable en début de vie du vin (versatile dans le temps d'après nos hôtes, étrange alliance de la férocité tannique et de cette douceur presque crémeuse). Il est probable que cette identité faste fût à l’origine de l'engouement anglo-saxon pour cette cuvée spéculative, (délibérément ?) paroxystique.

[robert pavlovich]

Any potential for the 2009 to match the brilliance of the 1990?

Tried the 89' not so long ago, sourced from Aabalat and found it to be in the 94-95 range, a good experience but not quite the breakthrough I'd hoped for.

Hard to target these supposed great vintages at $300 - $500, when I can grab the 05' for $130.

[Jeff Leve]

Robert... Who knows? 1990 Montrose and 2009 Montrose are very different in style. I would not buy 1990 Montrose for the price it is currently selling for. Also, 1990 Montrose is in some ways an odd duck. Many bottles are marred by brett, which is to everyone's taste. For the money, IMO, 2003 Montrose or 2005 Montrose are the wines to buy. However, if I had to buy just one, I'd buy 2003 Montrose.

[laurent gibet]

Jeff,

Dame de Montrose 2003 is worth it, too ...

[Jamie Manley]

Jeff, I agree on the 03 Montrose - stunning wine. 89 rocks, and as you'll see, I just had a great bottle of the 96 - best one yet.


Also agree on 03 La Dame, my favorite La Dame.

[Christer Byklum]

Just had another 90 Montrose, and finally a perfect 89, wow, what a wine.The 90 can't quite live up to the 89 after many bottles of 90, but this was my first perfect 89.... And again, no brett on the 90...