Chateau Montrose Saint-Estephe 2eme Grand Cru Classe 2005

99 Points Jeb Dunnuck The 2005 Château Montrose seems to increase every time I taste it, and this was the finest showing yet. Still youthfully ruby/plum-hued, it has a gorgeously layered nose of darker currants, flowers, new saddle leather, and graphite that's to die for. This carries to a full-bodied Montrose with a dense, concentrated mid-palate, incredibly fine, polished tannins, and a great, great finish. This spicy, complex, nuanced, as well as utterly classic Montrose has another 50-75 years of overall longevity.

98 Points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate The 2005 Montrose continues to show brilliantly, unwinding in the glass with notes of blackcurrant, red fruits, loamy soil, black truffles and cigar ash. Full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it's still brooding and tannic, with lively acids and an imposing chassis of structuring—and artery-cleansing—extract. Still an adolescent, it's one of the last unrepentantly old-school vintages of Montrose, and Médoc purists couldn't own enough. While this remains a very youthful wine, it is now apparent that the 2005 will, at maturity, surpass the 1989 and 1990.

96 Points James Suckling This continues to be very tight yet I loved drinking it the other night at dinner. Loads of spices, berries, meat, cloves and chocolate on the nose. Full body with soft, silky tannins and lots of rich fruit. Still chewy. This is just starting to open up now. Drink or hold.

96 Points Decanter Deep florality and wonderful black fruit. Surprisingly smooth and silky at first then the classic firmness becomes plain towards the finish. It has more natural richness than most in 2015 – a superbly made wine from a great terroir.

94 Points Wine Spectator Black licorice and blackberry aromas, with hints of mineral, lead to a full-bodied palate. Very chewy, with loads of tannins, yet this follows through with beautifully ripe fruit, mineral and mint. Fascinating.

93 Points Wine & Spirits This is so big it is blinding, a storm of mineral tannin and plum-skin extract. The volume is turned up high, and even as the tannic noise factor begins to diminish with days of air, the wine is still closed tight. The comportment of its power shows this to be a wine from a great terroir; the property, in fact, has some parallels to Latour, with its similarly shaped gravel promontory above the Gironde. Montrose consistently grows one of the staunchest, long-lived wines of the Médoc.