Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

This is a remembrance of Sofia & my trip to Franciacorta & visit to Ca’ del Bosco in 2015.

If Italy has a kind of equivalent to Champagne, it would be Franciacorta. This is not Prosecco. It is made in the traditional method.

It is a beautiful part of Italy with both Lake Garda’s, one smaller (closer) & one much bigger and is a summer haven.

Excuse the fussy pics. I bought a new iPhone 7 just before we left & it had a defective camera.

The nose shows fruit blossoms, pineapple, green, apple, golden apple, white peach, tropical melons, vanilla, frothy cream, some caramel, soft volcanics, chalk & spring flowers setting in greens.

The palate has nice, soft, mousse. Ripe fruits; fruit blossoms, pineapple, green, apple, golden apple, lemon, lime, white peach, tropical melons & mango. Vanilla, frothy cream, some caramel, soft volcanics, sea spray, saline, chalk & spring flowers setting in greens, beautiful, acidity, well balanced, nicely structured & toned with an elegant finish that last a full minute and lands on volcanics. — 11 days ago

James Burge

9.2

my first bottle sold somming at GT — 5 months ago

JKT

9.1

Well aged CdP that is supple and floral with a beam of tension underlying it — 6 months ago

Penny Spangler

9.0

Nice alone or mimosa bar — 3 years ago

Keith Pajonas

9.1

crisp, good acidity and bubble. great value — 4 years ago

Kamall

9.0

Interesting. Some age on it now and a lovely amber color. Rich and oxidative. Not where my tastes have evolved but really quite good. — 5 years ago

Michelle

9.9

Love it!! Very smooth, easy drinking. Very good. — 5 years ago

Andrew Belzer

9.2

Strawberry, tart raspberry, chalk. — 2 days ago

Doug Powers

9.2

Spicy red fruits, trace of green vegetal aromatically, but blows off quickly, great freshness and acidity, layers of flavors, long, lingering finish, really a terrific Loire Cabernet Franc, which drinks tonight as if it has 10+ years left in the tank, excellent!! — 4 months ago

with Jim

Stu

9.0

Murver nice by — 10 months ago

Ryan Colthorp

8.9

This is solid. Dry. Cantaloupe. Strawberries. — 4 years ago

Gabriella Boros

9.6

Beautiful full bodied wine. Not sure what this is in terms of grapes. Excellent cherry and beautiful plum. Round and low tannin. Gorgeous and beautiful ending. — 4 years ago

Stuart Pollack

9.8

Full-bodied Rosé tasting of cream, vanilla, and white fruit. An extraordinary and more complex Rosé than I have had generally had.
— 5 years ago

Rubychick

9.0

So beautifully toasty and rich on a hot day. Love, can’t wait to visit. — 7 years ago

Todd Scurci

9.4

#grenache #côtedeprovence #b21 — 16 days ago

with Annie

James Everhart

9.5

2015 vintage drinking beautifully in 2026. A big Wine yet very smooth. — 5 months ago

Willem Booij

9.5

There are bottles I expect to be great, and then there are bottles that still manage to stop me in your tracks.

Château Montus Cuvée Prestige 1998 is firmly in that second category.

This wine has rested quietly in my cellar for nearly three decades, patiently waiting, gathering depth rather than dust. Opening it tonight feels less like uncorking a bottle and more like releasing a memory that has been maturing alongside time itself.

I use to secretly hide this wine among a line up of great clarets and it always stood out!

From the first pour, it’s clear: this wine is fully evolved, yet beautifully alive. The once powerful Tannat backbone has softened into something remarkably refined. The texture is silky, rich, almost velvety, no rough edges left, only harmony.

Dark fruit has given way to layers of leather, cedar, dried plum, cocoa and subtle spice. Everything is integrated, calm, confident. A wine that no longer needs to prove anything.

What amazes me most is not just how good it is, but how complete it feels. This is maturity without fatigue. Depth without heaviness. Power transformed into elegance, love it!

I’ve always known that wines from Château Montus, under the vision of the great Alain Brumont, were built for the long haul. Crafted from old-vine Tannat, grown on the steep, clay-limestone slopes of Madiran, Cuvée Prestige is fermented and aged with patience and intent, often spending extended time in new French oak. It was never meant to be rushed i learned decades ago.

Still, every time I open a mature Montus, I surprise myself all over again.

1998 has reached a point where everything makes sense. It is fully on its drinking window, perhaps right at its sweet spot, and it delivers pure pleasure, calmly and generously.

A reminder that great wine is not about price, prestige, power or extraction, but about time, trust, and restraint.

This bottle didn’t just age well.
It became something greater. 95 WBP — 5 months ago

President Obama

9.5

$23 at MacArthur. Good buy! — 4 years ago

Joe Lundy

9.0

Very refreshing bubbly at Travelle Kitchen and Bar in the Langham — 5 years ago

with Isabel

Matt Perlman

9.0

Outstanding value. Crunchy red fruits with some serious body (small percentage of still Pinot noir gives the color) with lovely flowers and chalk. — 6 years ago