Steve Rura

9.5

40 year old vines. Blend of Cab Franc and Petit Verdot. 13.5% abv. Feels so young for a 2016! Red berries, spice, raisin and fresh greens on the nose. Delicate palate, underripe raspberry and red currant, with a refined long herbal finish and bitter notes. Great soft, tingly tannins. Excellent Bordeaux, I have to say. St Julien style. I’m amazed at how fresh this tastes after almost a decade. — 15 days ago

Linda Jacobs

9.0

Light and refreshing — a month ago

Robert Ahlstrom

8.9

Inky dark ruby, licorice and cherries, full body — a month ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc, aged in 80% new oak, deep Ruby color with aromas of ripe berry fruits, cedar, floral and earthy spice notes. On the palate flavors of blueberry, cherry and blackberry with vanilla, licorice, tobacco and toasty oak notes. Long rich finish on fine juicy tannins, drinking ok now but has room to age. Very Nice! — 2 months ago

Alessandro Dalle Carbonare

9.2

Meaty and yeasty nose. Palate refects it but the mid palate turnes out beautifully soft. — 15 days ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.2

We think something has changed at Montrose after the departure of Jean Bernard Delmas. Its not a bad wine by any means but the style is modern and extracted. At ten years this ie very drinkable and great quality but does not speak to its terroir as it used to. Hope its just one year… — a month ago

with Jose, veronique and 1 other

Freddy R. Troya

9.4

A 2nd respected wine label of Cos D’Estournel (a 2nd Growth of the 1855 Grand Cru Classification) with a blend of Cab Sauv at 44%, Merlot at 46,2%, Cab Franc at 5,8% and Petit Verdot at 4% brings out an opulent, intense, deep, yet refined and properly-balanced red. The V’15 is perfectly poised, seductive, and extremely enjoyable. Eruptive fruity, with powerful aromatics in baked red fruits. The level of ripeness and raisins in notably persistent. Pagodes V’15 seats among my top favorites from Saint-Estèphe sub-appellation that will never disappoints and/or falls short of expectations. Cheers! — a month ago

Peter van den Besselaar

8.9

Vintage 2018 | good structure, still too young, much potential — 18 days ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.4

This is literally a 2nd Label from a 2nd Growth Grand Cru Classé with a vintage that seats among the great years of Château Montrose. The grapes were very good quality, and further strengthened Montrose’s ultra-precise plot selection, which at times involves multiple passes through a plot to attain optimum ripeness. Unequivocally, the 2nd selection of Château Montrose is marked by the terroir as well (Situated on a well-exposed gravelly land overlooking the Gironde)

The blend composition; Cab Sauv 55 %, Merlot 41 % Petit Verdot 4 % takes you to experience an intense deep red color, a powerful and expressive nose with complex aromas of black fruit, fine oak, a bit caramelized and a hint of pleasant smoky notes as well.

The entrance on the palate is full force and rich, the roundness and harmony are sensed by the mid-rage of the palate as well, the mouthfeel reveals very silky tannins, it provides a great length with some degree of red fruit ripeness on the finish.

This wine V.2015 is still cruising beautifully in its prime time and will continue like this for another 3-5 years with the same tasting profile, and the price point makes it even tastier! Cheers! — 5 days ago

Andy Stabile

9.6

Damn good bottle of wine..

Edit… came back as I couldn’t stop thinking about this bottle all night.

California wines were my ‘gateway drug’. I moved away from these wines as I learned about and tried the many many varietals around the world. Ultimately, I fell in love with the quality and, frankly, accessibility of Italian wines. Over the last 5 or 10 years i’ve tried many Italians, travelled to and gotten to know the regions reasonably well. Italy vino is my thing.

But French wine… it eludes me. I know there are great wines — maybe the best. But the country is so large, the regions and varieties so diverse, the price, sometimes too discouraging, that I simply haven’t learned enough about the wines to know my way around the offerings or how to find the wines I love.

But… I know they are there. I’ve had my share. And just how “every now and then a squirrel finds a nut”, so to do I, from time to time find my way to a great French bottle to remind me I’ve leveled up.

This bottle, for me, was one of those reminders. I actually opened it by accident. While bummed it had no age, I was so happy to drink it. I’ll probably buy a few more to cellar… and, yeah, will probably now spend a little more time and money brushing up on my French…

— a month ago