99

Antonio Galloni

Vinous

The 2020 Montrose is epic. Dark, rich and brooding, the 2020 possesses remarkable intensity, and, yet it is somehow not excessively heavy. Time in the glass brings out the wine's more elegant sophisticated side. All the elements are so well-balanced. Red/purplish fruit, lavender rose petal, gravel and spice are all accented by veins of intense minerality that lend shape and energy. The 2020 is a modern-day classic for Montrose and one of the great wines of the Left Bank. 12/2022

99

Neal Martin

Vinous

The 2020 Montrose was bottled in July 2022. The alcohol is 13.4%, a whole degree less than the previous year but with the same concentration (IPT is 80). It has a fabulous bouquet that delivers on all that promise from when I finally tasted the wine around a year earlier from barrel, a cornucopia of blackberry, bilberry, crushed stone, Indian ink and loamy/undergrowth scents. Very mercurial in the glass, it seems to shapeshift with every minute. The palate is medium-bodied with such a precise entry. This is far more detailed than either the 2019 or 2018, a symmetrical Montrose with unerring detail and mineralité, its silky texture belying the power underneath. This is unequivocally a brilliant wine and a benchmark in recent years. Contender for wine of the vintage. 12/2022

100

William Kelley

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate

Surpassing the 2019 and rivaling the 2016 as this estate's finest vintage of the last few decades, the 2020 Montrose is a monument in the making. Wafting from the glass with aromas of violets, dark berries, licorice, loamy soil, black truffle and subtle spices, it's full-bodied, deep and layered, with a seamless, elegantly muscular profile, terrific purity and energy, beautifully powdery tannins and a long, resonant finish. It checks in at 13.7% alcohol, the same as the superb 2009, but it is even deeper, more vibrant and more complex than the 2009. 12/2023

97

Jean-Marc Quarin

Jean-Marc Quarin

Couleur sombre, pourpre, intense et belle. Grand nez complexe de cabernet sauvignon, profond, frais, mûr et subtil. Moelleux en entrée de bouche, au toucher minutieux, riche au milieu où le corps fond, le vin gagne du goût en finale où il s’achève long, puissant, noble, complexe et très bien construit. Touche d’austérité positive dans la persistance. C’est très bon. Assemblage : 71 % cabernet sauvignon, 23 % merlot, 5 % cabernet franc, 1 % petit verdot. Degré d’alcool : 13°4 - pH : 3,86 – IPT : 80. Rendement : 29 hl/ha.

99

James Suckling

James Suckling

The nose is really fantastic with lead pencil shavings, iron shavings, blackcurrants and lavender. Full- to medium-bodied with ultra-fine tannins that run the length of the wine. Wonderful persistence and personality. Juicy and savory finish. Always classy and sophisticated at the end. Organically grown grapes. 71% cabernet sauvignon, 23% merlot, 6% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. Best after 2028. 11/2023