Saint-Estèphe · 2nd grand cru classé in 1855
Château Montrose: available vintages, prices and pairings
The Montrose grand vin, old vintages and large formats included, vintage by vintage, with the format, the guide price and what to expect from it today: ready to drink, or to keep. Tick what interests you, and the quote request goes with your selection.
The vintages on the price list
Filter by budget or by “ready to drink”. Nothing is sent until you click on the quote.
The château
On a gravel rise overlooking the Gironde, in the south of Saint-Estèphe. The name is said to come from the pink heather that covered the hillock before the vines. Martin and Olivier Bouygues bought it in 2006 and renovated it completely, with particular attention to energy and water.
Mostly cabernet sauvignon, merlot, a little cabernet franc and petit verdot. A powerful wine, tight when young, known for its very long ageing. Second wine: La Dame de Montrose. The other châteaux of the appellation are on the Saint-Estèphe wines page.
The estate covers 130 hectares, 95 of them vines divided into 115 plots. It sits on two of the six terraces left by the Gironde in the Médoc, nos. 3 and 4, made of clay, gravel and sand over a limestone bedrock. The planting is 63% cabernet sauvignon, 31% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. Today, the grand vin comes from terrace no. 4, where the first vines were planted in 1815. Around them, 35 hectares of woods, meadows and ponds; the vineyard is farmed organically.
What to serve it with
- A vintage more than twenty years old: furred game (what wine with game), a braised joint of beef.
- A vintage of twelve to twenty years: rib of beef (what wine with beef), lamb (what wine with lamb).
- With cheese: an aged comté, an extra-old mimolette (what wine with cheese).
Which vintage for which occasion
For a birthday or a wedding anniversary, the year you want, if the table has it (birth-year vintage). A large format (magnum, imperial) makes an event of a big table: it ages more slowly and serves ten or forty guests.
Is Château Montrose a grand cru classé?
Yes. It is a second growth (deuxième grand cru classé) in the 1855 classification, in the Saint-Estèphe appellation, at the same rank as Cos d’Estournel. La Dame de Montrose, its second wine, is not classified.
How many glasses in an imperial?
An imperial holds six litres, eight bottles: around forty tasting glasses. It is decanted in several goes and needs two people to serve it.
When should you drink a Château Montrose?
Allow twelve years before opening it and forty years of good drinking, a little more in a great year, a little less in a weak year or in half bottle. The table applies this rule to each line; it isn't a tasting note, and a badly stored bottle ages faster.
Are the prices shown the prices on the quote?
They're the guide prices from the price list, incl. VAT, per bottle of the format, excluding delivery. The quote confirms the price, the availability of each vintage and the shipping; the delivery grid gives the lead times. For a vintage not in the table, the quote request is still open.