Montrose 2020 (750ML)

100 WA / 99 JS / 99 VM / 99 WCI / 98+ JD / 98+ WI / 98 DE / 97 JA / 95-97 WE / 96 FS / 95 WS / 18.5 JR

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. This will be worth a special effort to seek out and only confirms Montrose's status as one of the contemporary Médoc's leading estates and a de facto first growth. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

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. - James Suckling

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. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

The Grand Vin 2020 Château Montrose is brilliant and unquestionably in the lineup of the truly greats from this château, including the 1989, 1990, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2018, and 2019. With an IPT of 80 and a natural alcohol of 13.4%, its deep, saturated purple hue is followed by quintessential Saint-Estèphe notes of pure cassis, graphite, tobacco leaf, acacia flowers, and loamy earth. Full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it nevertheless stays incredibly pure, elegant, and seamless, with perfectly ripe tannins. A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, is shines even today for its purity and balance, and it should be in the early stages of its prime drink window within a decade.-Jeb Dunnuck

A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Montrose is deep garnet-purple in color. It slowly emerges from the glass with profound notions of creme de cassis, chocolate-covered cherries, licorice, and roses, followed by suggestions of cast-iron pan and fragrant soil. The medium-bodied palate delivers many tightly knit layers of mineral, black berries, and floral notes with a solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins and lively acidity, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

Still an En Primeur wine, last tasted a few months ago. Has all the character and subtle joy of Montrose, it is poised and characterful, and will give great pleasure for many decades. Inky, broad-shouldered, precise, well-crafted fruits that major on cassis and bilberry, wrapped up in graphite and gunsmoke. A little less depth than the 2019, but clearly built for the long term. Harvest September 10 to September 29. An exceptional example of the 2020 vintage. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

While the wine is firm and with powerful tannins it has delicious fruitiness that is more forward than in many vintages of the wine. The fine black currant flavors are underlined by acidity while the Cabernet Sauvignon gives a fine, firm structure to this very direct wine.  - Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast

Gorgeously rendered for the vintage, with a well-endowed core of loganberry, mulberry and cassis flavors that roll through and are laced with a cast iron hint, while tobacco, warm stone and black tea accents swirl in the background. The long, authoritative finish steadily melds the fruit with the cast iron edge. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2026 through 2040.—James Molesworth, Wine Spectator