2009 Montrose, St-Estèphe (Pre-Arrival)

SKU #1055185 100 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Harvested between September 17 and October 5, this wine seems always open for business, so to speak, much like the great 1982s. The summer of 2009 was very hot and dry, which got the harvest off to a reasonably early start. The blend was 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Jean Bernard Delmas’ goal was to find perfect equilibrium between freshness and concentration, given its incredible opulence and the voluptuous character this vintage offered. That’s what this wine has in abundance. With an astounding dense purple color, the wine has velvety, sweet tannins, and an extremely open-knit and opulent blueberry, blackberry and creme de cassis nose. There is scorched earth, vanilla and, again, telltale licorice and spice. It is unctuously textured – thicker and juicier than the 2010 and more forward. This wine should come into its own in another five years. And again, it has at least 50+ years of aging potential. (RP) (8/2014)

98 points Decanter

The 2009 Montrose shows elegant, rich, well-placed fruit, full of generosity. It's silky and velvety in texture, with good freshness despite the exoticism of the fruit structure, with black pepper and garrigue edging. The tannins are still pretty biting and the acidity is higher than many in 2009. Settling in for the long haul, this is without doubt a Montrose that has form and future. (JA) (2/2019)

98 points James Suckling

For the very ripe vintage this has a herbal and wet earth nose that's very cool. Then on the palate there’s a ton of ripe cassis, polished fine tannins and a tremendous freshness powering the very long dry finish. One of the stars of the vintage that's just beginning to enter its best form. This is normally a perfect wine but perhaps not a perfect bottle? Drink or hold. (3/2019)

98 points Vinous

The 2009 Montrose has a taut, brilliantly defined bouquet with intense black fruit laced with crushed stone, forest floor, crushed rose petals and a touch of slate. Magnificent. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, good depth and grip, plenty of graphite locked in here with a bravura finish that indicates that this Saint-Estèphe is in for the long-haul. It may well deserve a higher score as it evolves in bottle. Everything you wish for in a Montrose. (NM) 98+ (3/2019)

97 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Bright, deep ruby-red. Drop-dead gorgeous nose offers cassis, mineral and candied violet aromas of great depth. Enters the mouth sweet, suave, and dense, showing utterly seamless, highly complex flavors of dark berries, underbrush, minerals and cedar. For a wine with such amazing depth of flavor, this comes across as almost weightless. Though it displays the upfront fruity charm of the 2009 vintage, this is a complex, rich monster that will prove extremely ageworthy. One of the wines of the vintage, and the best young Montrose I've yet tasted. (ST) (2/2012)

97 points Wine Spectator

A bit of a brute, with a very chewy bittersweet ganache, tobacco and roasted fig core splayed open right now by a dagger of roasted apple wood, allspice and cedar. Long and dense through the finish, with a strong singed iron edge. The stuffing is certainly there, but this will take a while to come together as it's running unbridled right now. Proves you can still get classic old-school Bordeaux. Best from 2020 through 2040. (JM) (3/2012)

96 points Wine Enthusiast

Enormous tannins, dominant black fruit and a solid, dense structure. The wine, packed with dark fruits, dry tannins, very firm in character. With its huge tannins as well as fruit, this is a wine that really needs many years of aging. *Cellar Selection* (RV) (4/2012)

K&L Notes

100 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown in Wine Advocate: "Hallelujah—what a glorious nose! The deep garnet colored 2009 Montrose features beautiful Black Forest cake, licorice, crème de cassis and warm blueberries scents with hints of charcoal, truffles, tapenade and menthol plus a waft of star anise. The palate is full-bodied, rich, super concentrated and yet superbly harmonious with a firm backbone of ripe, grainy tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing long and mineral laced." (3/2019)