By Chateau Montrose
Vintage 2017

Vintage Characteristics
The year started with a mild and dry winter, marked by two weeks of cold at the end of January. The temperatures remained mild in the spring, allowing uniform bud burst from March 29th. An early vintage seemed likely, but the growth cycle slowed at the end of April under the influence of cooler temperatures. The Gironde estuary played its essential role of thermal regulator during the three consecutive days of frost, which spared our vineyard. The summer-like conditions in May and June favored uniform flowering (full flowering on May 29th). The vine calmly continued its development without any pressure from disease, an undeniable advantage in managing our 45 hectares. The rainy spell at the end of June led to the start of veraison on July 21st. After a dry and temperate summer, September rains accelerated the ripening process. Full ripeness of the four grape varieties was achieved in a very short time. Harvest took place under ideal conditions. The team of around a hundred pickers worked within the plots in a smoothly run operation.

Winemaking Notes
This precision work was reflected in the cellar, recently equipped with more than 90 small-capacity vats. Extraction was gentle and maceration slightly shorter than last year. For our blends, we have a rich aromatic palette of 82 batches of classic free-run wines, fully expressing their terroir, along with 9 batches of press wine, allowing us to adjust the tannic density of our wines with extreme precision. The climate of 2017 was particularly favorable for our Cabernet Sauvignons. This year, they make up 76% of the Grand Vin blend, giving this vintage a classic profile.

Wine Details
Harvest: From September 12th to September 29th
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 76%, Merlot 20%, Cabernet Franc 3%, Petit Verdot 1%

Tasting Notes
The color is deep and shiny. The complex nose has a beautiful aromatic intensity of raspberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, and black cherry, accompanied by floral and mineral notes. The powerful and balanced structure reveals the purity of the fruit. The full and elegant mouth is marked by the persistence of juicy fruit and reveals supple and mellow tannins. A vintage that perfectly reflects the signature of its terroir and has a very good aging potential.
[Information provided by Beyerman]

Wine: 2017 Chateau Montrose (St. Estephe)
Score/Rating: 98
Review Date: 04/26/2018
Tasting Notes: Deep and shiny in color, tobacco leaf, cedar wood, pencil shavings and dark fruits appear with no effort at all. Full bodied, lively, vibrant and juicy fruits, this wine is long and intrepid with a strong tannic backbone. The tannins are perfectly polished and there is an established purity of fruit and a structure to age for decades. Like all the top vintages of Montrose, you will need to allow it time in the cellar, at least 10 to 15 years, which in the world of Montrose is almost forward. The wine was made from blending 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, reaching 13.5% ABV with a pH of 3.65. [...] the harvest, which took place September 12 to September 29. 

Wine: 2017 Montrose
Score/Rating: 97
Suggested Drinking Window: 2026 - 2056
Review Date: 09/20/2023
Reviewed By: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Tasting Notes: The 2017 Montrose is composed of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet in color, it skips out of the glass with bright, vibrant, and wonderfully pure notes of kirsch, redcurrant jelly, fresh blackcurrants, and black raspberries, leading to a fragrant undercurrent of lilacs, licorice, underbrush, and allspice. The medium-bodied palate is so bright and elegant, with jaw-dropping intensity and firm, fine-grained tannins, finishing with impressive length and energy.

Wine: Chateau Montrose, St-Estephe, 2eme Cru Classe, 2017
Score/Rating: 97
Suggested Drinking Window: 2023 - 2048
Review Date: 02/24/2022
Reviewed By: Georgina Hindle, Vincenzo Arnese, Andy Howard MW 
Tasting Notes: Montrose has solar panels and uses geothermal energy to manage temperatures in the barrel halls and vats. The 2017 is 76% Cabernet Sauvignon (with 20% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot), aged in oak for 18 months. Georgie Hindle: Fleshy, juicy, bright, softly sweet. Mouthcoating, velvet-like flavour and texture. Nice menthol edging of the fruit. Feels very controlled and purposeful. Vincenzo Arnese: Nice mix of prune, figs and blackberry, with vibrant notes of cloves and nutmeg. Palate is concentrated and rich. Good finish with integrated tannins. Andy Howard MW: Restrained at first, this broadens and evolves with aeration. Intense palate with graphite notes, a touch of leafiness and fine tannins point towards a very long life ahead.

Wine: Chateau Montrose St.-Estephe 2017
Score/Rating: 97
Review Date: 12/19/2019
Reviewed By: James Suckling
Tasting Notes: Extremely aromatic with currant, wild-herb and fresh-violet aromas. This is regal Cabernet Sauvignon at its finest. The palate has unwaveringly long and defined tannins that carry such fresh, piercingly pure, redcurrant and cassis flavors. A twin to the superb 2015? A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

Wine: 2017 Montrose
Score/Rating: 95+
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2047
Review Date: 12/2019
Reviewed By: Antonio Galloni
Tasting Notes: The 2017 Montrose is a very pretty, polished wine that speaks much more to finesse than power. Expressive floral and spices [sic] notes add an attractive inner sweetness to a Montrose that in 2017 leans more into the red fruit spectrum. Gracious yet deep, with terrific overall balance, the 2017 Montrose is a total winner. What impresses most about the 2017 is its freshness and sophistication. I won't be surprised if Montrose turns out to be even better than this note suggests further down the road. Graphite, licorice, menthol and sage lead to a finish with real grip and freshness. The 2017 is such a classy and promising wine.

Wine: 2017 Montrose
Score/Rating: 95
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2043
Review Date: 12/21/2023
Reviewed By: William Kelley
Tasting Notes: The 2017 Montrose is one of the most compelling wines of the vintage. Wafting from the glass with aromas of cherries, sweet berries, rose petals and pencil shavings, it's medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless, with an enveloping core of vibrant fruit, supple tannins and a perfumed finish. This is an unusually suave, youthfully approachable vintage of Montrose that will offer a broad drinking window.

Wine: Chateau Montrose 2017 Saint-Estephe
Score/Rating: 95 - Cellar Selection
Review Date: 03/01/2020
Reviewed By: Roger Voss
Tasting Notes: A well-structured wine, this is rich in tannins and in density. The tannins show firmness, a dry edge that runs with the black-currant fruits to give a wine that will be well balanced and serious. [...]

Wine: 2017 Chateau Montrose
Score/Rating: 95
Suggested Drinking Window: 2024 - 2054
Review Date: 02/26/2020
Reviewed By: Jeb Dunnuck        
Tasting Notes: Tasted on two separate occasions, the 2017 Chateau Montrose is a brilliant effort based on 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. This full-bodied, beautifully concentrated Saint-Estate [sic] offers classic Cabernet Sauvignon notes of creme de cassis, blueberries, crushed violets, and ample tobacco, with some underlying damp earth and spice notes developing with time in the glass. Balanced and beautifully textured on the palate, with both good acidity and building tannins, it reminds me of the 2012 with its classic style yet still has plenty of texture and ripe tannins. Give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following 30 years or more.

Wine: Chateau Montrose St.-Estephe 2017
Score/Rating: 94
Suggested Drinking Window: Drink now through 2038
Review Date: 03/31/2020
Reviewed By: James Molesworth
Tasting Notes: This is well-built for the vintage, featuring a core of red and black currant fruit that is pure and focused, supported by a racy iron spine. Exhibits ample length, with bay leaf, lilac and warm stone notes peeking through on the finish. Should develop nicely in the cellar. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2022 through 2038.

Wine: Ch Montrose 2017 St-Estephe
Score/Rating: 17+/20
When to Drink: 2025 - 2040
Review Date: 01/19/2023
Reviewed By: James Lawther MW
Tasting Notes: Deep colour with a slightly lighter rim. Elegant and perfumed with red and dark fruit notes and a cool graphite edge. Fresh and lithe on the palate with a touch of sweetness and very fine tannins. Good length. Not the intensity of the great years but fine and poised.