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 — 12 days ago

Nicole Killin

9.0

Tasty for a cheap Trader Joe’s bottle! — 3 years ago

James Burge

9.2

my first bottle sold somming at GT — 3 days ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.3

Warm, comforting, plush and polished.
Very good. — 6 months ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.2

A little less energy than the last bottle, but still so flavorful and deep with so much more complexity at this age where the layers of the wine expand. — 7 months ago

Ryan Colthorp

8.9

This is solid. Dry. Cantaloupe. Strawberries. — 3 years ago

JKT

9.1

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

Kia Schmied

9.1

Crisp and very refreshing — 6 months ago

Andrea Watt

9.2

Small fine bubbles with yeast, lemon, almond, and a touch of tropical fruit. Fresh and light. — 9 months ago

Penny Spangler

9.0

Nice alone or mimosa bar — 3 years ago