Château Montrose 2022

Château Montrose is a force to be reckoned with.  Nicknamed the "Latour of St-Estéphe," these wines are hyper-masculine dynamos with extraordinary concentration.  They are often described as, "enormous," with very impressive tannins after decades of ageing.  These wines don’t ask for time in the cellar -- they demand it.

This esteemed Second Growth was known as a hunting area before it was acquired by the legendary Alexandre Segur in the 18th Century.  Alexandre had a lot of experience in the wine trade.  He was the proud owner of Château Lafite, Château Mouton, and Château Latour.  Château Montrose was part of a much larger property that Alexandre Segur had acquired called Château Calon Segur. He gave the property to his son who sold it to Etienne Durmoulin.

Eventually, Etienne Durmoulin created Château Montrose because the terroir was different from the surrounding area. Château Montrose received its namesake because of the pink heather that grew on the surrounding hillside.  When it bloomed, the hill burst into various shades of shocking pink.  The French word for “pink” is rose, and thus the estate earned its name, “Mont Rose,” – or the pink mountain.   The estate was classified as a Second Growth in 1855 and acquired by the Charmolue family.  Louis Charmolue was born at the esteemed St-Emilion producer, Château Figeac. Château Montrose stayed in possession of the Charmolue family for three generations.  Under their leadership, the Château became one of the first properties in Bordeaux to bottle wine at their own estate.  

In the 21st Century, Château Montrose was acquired by the Bouygues family after Thomas Bouygues tasted the exalted vintage of 1989 Château Montrose.  He loved the wine so much he decided if he ever could, he would purchase Château Montrose someday.  His dreams came true when the opportunity presented itself in 2006 and he eagerly bought the estate.  The Bouygues family hired a viticultural dream team that included Jean Bernard Delmas, the previous executive director from Château Haut-Brion and Herve Berland of Château Mouton Rothschild as gerant or manager.  They made sweeping changes to the estate.  Most notably, they wanted Château Montrose to be as environmentally sustainable as possible.  

Château Montrose primarily uses geothermal energy to run its operations, with additional solar and wind energy as well.  The estate also uses a hail canon that sends out ultrasonic waves to protect the vineyard from damage caused by hailstorms that plague Bordeaux.  The team at Château Montrose has also set the goal to be 100% organically farmed by 2025 -- an impressive feat for this 95-hectare vineyard.   The porous soil contains 60% of Cabernet Sauvignon plantings, 32% Merlot plantings, 6% Cabernet Franc plantings and 2% Petit Verdot plantings.  

These beautifully firm and complex wines can last for decades and are certainly not ones to drink in their youth.  Many who have been fortunate enough to taste the 1921 vintage still say it’s in great shape!  With the new winemaking team at Château Montrose, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for the future.

"From barrel, I wrote that 2022 Montrose was so compelling that assigning it a bracketed score seemed a mere formality, and so it has proven. Unwinding in the glass with a deep and brooding bouquet of cassis, wild blueberries, violets, pencil shavings and burning embers, it's full-bodied, deep and dense, somehow marrying all the tannic authority that has long been such a signature of Montrose with a suavity and purity that represents the quintessence of contemporary Bordeaux. The broad, palate-staining finish lasts for more than a minute. This is a profound young wine that readers aren't going to want to miss." - William Kelley, The Wine Advocate, (03/07/2025), Ratings: 100

"One of the greats in the vintage, the 2022 Château Montrose is deep ruby/purple-hued and has a massive perfume of sweet crème de cassis, sappy tobacco, and freshly sharpened pencils. With incredible purity and precision in its aromatics, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, powerful, yet still somehow elegant mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. Based on a classic blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, it spent 18 months in 60% new French oak. As I wrote during En Primeur, it has the essence of a Montrose-like character. While it’s not a massively backward or austere example of the château, it nevertheless deserves 10-12 years of bottle age and should have at least half a century of longevity. It is, without a doubt, in the same league as the 1989, 1990, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2018, and 2020." - Jeb Dunnuck, (02/27/2025), Ratings: 100, Drink: 2037-2087

"The 2022 Montrose is insanely beautiful. That much is obvious. When it might be ready to drink is another question. In recent years, Montrose has acquired notable finesse in its tannins, so that is not an issue. But the 2022 is packed with tremendous density and concentration that will need time to soften. Blackberry, graphite, licorice, lavender and chocolate stain the palate in a stunning, riveting wine of the very highest level. I can only hope to be around when the 2022 starts to drink well! Montrose is without question one of the wines of the vintage. Unforgettable." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, (01/28/2025), Ratings: 100

"There may have been concessions to the vintage with La Dame de Montrose, but there is no compromise here, and no signs of over-maturity in the character of the fruit. Inky, rich, confidently powerful structure coupled with softness to the tannins, dark peppercorn, iodine, espresso, graphite and wet stones, muscular but luscious. Hervé Berland's last vintage, with Pierre Graffeuille arriving to take over as estate director, technical director Vincent Decup. 40% 1st wine. A single point upscore from En Primeur." - Jane Anson, (03/07/2025), Ratings: 98

"The 2022 Montrose has an outstanding bouquet that blossoms in the glass. Enticing scents of blackberry, bilberry and a touch of cassis open, while violet and iris flower notes emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins. The 2022 retains the structure of a typical Montrose, but those tannins are so finely chiseled that it renders this wine far more approachable compared to those I was tasting just a decade earlier. There is a patina of menthol toward the finish, a consequence of that year's warmth, yet it remains a seamless Saint-Estèphe that will doubtlessly age with immense grace. Fabulous." - Neal Martin, Vinous, (02/12/2025), Ratings: 98