Chateau Montrose Saint Estephe 2015 750ml 96 pts Wine Enthusiast, 94 pts Falstaff

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Wine Spectator 92 points Fleshy for the vintage, with good plum and dark currant fruit lined with ample tobacco, warm paving stone, bay leaf and alder notes on the slightly dusty finish. Not a charmer, but this is integrated and shows range and depth for the vintage. Best from 2020 through 2035. — JMWine Advocate 95 points The deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Montrose opens with broody black fruits, menthol and anise notes with a core of cassis, blueberries and mulberries plus a touch of cedar chest. The medium-bodied mouth is firm and chewy with a good core of muscular fruit and a long, earthy finish.  Drinking 2022 -2042  -- Lisa Perrotti-BrownDecanter 93 points An imposing wine which shows the excellence of the winemaking and terroir, but it's not as deft or effortless as the 2016. Montrose is often austere in its youth, and the well-knitted black fruits wound with tight strands of liquorice are clearly capable of long ageing. There is something extremely special here, although the tannins are very much closed up right now. The smallest selection for the grand vin for 15 years.  Drinking Window 2025 - 2040 -- Tasted by Jane Anson(at At the château in Bordeaux, 01 Nov 2017) Part of Château Montrose: Profile and top winesJeb Dunnuck 95 points Another wine I was able to taste on multiple occasions, the 2015 Montrose is a certainly the wine of Saint-Estèphe in 2015. Notes of cassis, damp earth, violets, and graphite/lead pencil notes all flow to a beautifully pure, elegant and multi-dimensional 2015 that has fine, polished tannin, perfect balance, and a great finish. The 2015 is a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, all of which was brought up in 65% new oak. This isn’t a blockbuster yet is pure class all the way. It will be better in 4-5 years and keep for 2-3 decades.
In this critic’s opinion, Château Montrose is at the top of the pyramid in terms of quality in Saint-Estèphe. They’ve produced some of the best wines in the vintage from the northern Médoc in 2015, and possibly the wine of the vintage in 2016.  Drinking 2022 -2052 Jancis Robinson 16.5 points 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc.

Mid to dark crimson. Round and evolved and even rather soft! Very unlike later vintages. Should mature quite early. -- Jancis RobinsonJames Suckling 93 points Blueberry, black currant, fresh basil and lemon grass flavors. Full body, velvety tannins, clean finish. Spices. Depth.Vinous 95 points The 2015 Montrose has a very intense bouquet of blackberry, raspberry coulis, iodine and violet scents that blossom in the glass, demonstrating more exuberance than (what transpired to be) the 2015 Meyney. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, very well judged acidity, taut and linear with satisfying freshness and poise on the finish. Maybe this just has the edge over the Meyney. Superb. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.  - By Neal Martin on January 2019