Hints and tips:
...commentator, has argued that the blame for this lies with the producers at the bottom end who have failed to build brands, unlike their counterparts with names as famous as Lafite, Mouton, Lynch-Bages and Montrose...
...I did not taste either of the giants of St-Estèphe, Chx Montrose and Cos d’Estournel, but I was very impressed by two of the less glamorous names, Chx de Pez and Meyney, the latter over performing generally...
...It was good to see some excellent “second” wines (less expensive reds from glamorous châteaux) such as those from the St-Estèphe superstars Ch Montrose and Cos d’Estournel....
...Notable pioneers have been Chx Ausone, Durfort‑Vivens, Gruaud-Larose, Guiraud, Latour, Montrose, Palmer, Pontet-Canet and Smith Haut Lafitte, but countless others are following in their wake....
..., Palmer (£2,490), Margaux (£6,175) St-Julien Léoville Barton (£1,075) Pauillac Grand-Puy-Lacoste (£690), Pichon Baron (£1,400), Mouton Rothschild (£5,700), Lafite (£7,300), Latour (£10,850) St Estèphe Montrose...
...bargains of the vintage: Meyney was my favourite of the St-Estèphes (it was also the group’s joint favourite, tied with the widely admired Calon-Ségur), outscoring the traditional titans of the commune, Montrose...
...I am not so idealistic as to imagine that Bordeaux’ smartest châteaux are going to start shipping their wines around in tankers (although Chx Smith Haut Lafitte and Montrose, unlike most wine producers,...
...Among crus classés, both of the big names Montrose and Cos d’Estournel, which was initially thought to have been picked too ripe, showed very well....
...Stephen Browett, who owns Farr Vintners, reported that Justerini & Brooks was selling this wine for less than £200 a case in bond just after many tasters had mistaken it for the much grander Ch Montrose...
...He also has minority shares in smart Châteaux Calon Ségur and Montrose, and in Maison Descaves — a négociant with unparalleled stocks of ancient vintages built up by the indomitable Madame Jeanne Descaves...
...Ch Lafite 1917 at the château and a superlative Ch Montrose 1917 at a Sussex dinner table happened to share both vintage and region....
...their pursuit of mature bottles of Clos Rougeard, from the long-standing Foucault family operation that seems on the brink of being sold to French billionaire Martin Bouygues, already owner of Château Montrose...
...Ausone, St-Emilion £1,415 • Bon Pasteur, Pomerol £87 • Cheval Blanc, St-Emilion £693 • Evangile, Pomerol £241 • Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan £704 • Lafite, Pauillac £917 • Lafleur, Pomerol £1,191 • Montrose...
...s Bual 1863 Madeira • Cockburn’s 1863 and 1868 Port • D’Oliveiras Moscatel and Malvazia 1875 Madeira • Seppeltsfield Para Tawny 1882, 1889 and 1890 Barossa Valley • Clos de Tart 1887 Burgundy • Ch Montrose...
...But I was very impressed by the consistency and quality of the top names here, with the famous triumvirate Calon-Ségur, Cos d’Estournel and Montrose offering something akin to charm, as did Phélan Ségur,...
...Montrose, for example, recently added a considerable tranche of neighbouring vineyard to this highly regarded second-growth estate....
...The two most prominent St-Estèphe châteaux, Montrose and Cos d’Estournel, seemed particularly out of touch, metaphorically thumbing their noses at buyers via ambitious 2014 pricing....
...Montrose also looked more impressive than it had done blind....
...Accordingly, the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in Montrose’s grand vin has fallen from 65 per cent last year to 53 per cent....
...In two weeks: Jancis Robinson gives the lowdown on Bordeaux’s much-lauded 2010 vintage...
...The two stars, Montrose and Cos, acquitted themselves extremely well, as did Meyney. There were one or two rather dry, dour wines – but then that is the fate of St-Estèphe in any vintage....
...See tasting notes on more than 500 2009 bordeaux on the Purple pages of www.jancisrobinson.com More columns at www.ft.com/robinson...
...appellation); Rauzan-Ségla and Margaux in Margaux; Branaire-Ducru, Langoa-Barton, Léoville-Barton and, definitely, Léoville-Las Cases in St-Julien; Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Lafite, Mouton and Latour in Pauillac; Montrose...
...More columns at www.ft.com/robinson...
...See full tasting notes on purple pages of JancisRobinson.com More columns at www.ft.com/robinson...
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