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Chateau Montrose Saint Estephe 2003 750ml

size
750ml
country
France
region
Bordeaux
appellation
Saint Estephe
6 Ratings
See 6 Professional Reviews
JD
99
WA
98
JS
97
VM
96
WE
95
WS
95
Additional vintages
2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1996 1995 1994 1990 1982 1979
JD
99
Rated 99 by Jeb Dunnuck
A prodigious beast of a wine that's now starting to shed just a touch of its considerable baby fat, the 2003 Château Montrose is based on 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot. It shows the richness of the vintage with its ripe, opulent core of fruit, yet it freshens up noticeably with time in the glass, offering currants, mulberries, smoked tobacco, minty herbs, and licorice. Full-bodied, deep, and powerful on the palate, it still has classic Bordeaux focus and structure. It's drinking brilliantly today with a decant and has another 20-30 years of prime drinking. ... More details
Image of bottle
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Chateau Montrose Saint Estephe 2003 750ml

SKU 873601
Case Only Purchase
Long-term Pre-Arrival
$2715.00
/case
$226.25
/750ml bottle
Quantity
min order 12 bottles
Add to Cart
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Professional Ratings
JD
99
WA
98
JS
97
VM
96
WE
95
WS
95
JD
99
Rated 99 by Jeb Dunnuck
A prodigious beast of a wine that's now starting to shed just a touch of its considerable baby fat, the 2003 Château Montrose is based on 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot. It shows the richness of the vintage with its ripe, opulent core of fruit, yet it freshens up noticeably with time in the glass, offering currants, mulberries, smoked tobacco, minty herbs, and licorice. Full-bodied, deep, and powerful on the palate, it still has classic Bordeaux focus and structure. It's drinking brilliantly today with a decant and has another 20-30 years of prime drinking.
WA
98
Rated 98 by Wine Advocate
The 2003 Montrose was served blind in Bordeaux on two occasions. Picked between 11 to 26 September, it is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. It remains one of the outstanding wines of a very black and white vintage. Without knowledge of the vintage, I was hesitant to suggest 2003, because though there is clearly fruit intensity locked up inside this Saint Estèphe, it is counterbalanced by the estate's trademark masculinity and austerity. So both on the nose and the palate it reaches this happy medium: pure blackberry, graphite and roasted herbs on the nose, perhaps even more elegant than I have observed on previous bottles. The palate is medium-bodied rather than full bodied with sturdy tannins couched in layers of seamless blackberry and cassis fruit, offset by scents of tobacco and graphite. As usual it has immense length and depth, a Montrose that is really just a few chapters into what is sure to be a longer "book" than many other 2003s. It is not a perfect Montrose, but a couple of hairs' breadth away. Tasted February 2017.
JS
97
Rated 97 by James Suckling
After the 2009, this is the most exciting Montrose ever made, with intense aromas and flavors of plums, blueberries, spices, tobacco and cedar. It’s full-bodied with extremely refined tannins but a dense, delicious palate. Better in 2016, but why wait?
VM
96
Rated 96 by Vinous Media
Good medium-deep ruby-red. Superripe, roasted aromas of black raspberry, chocolate and licorice. Wonderfully dense, sweet and lush, with an early roundness rare for this wine. A monumental St. Estephe with almost confectionery sweetness. Wonderfully horizontal, palate-saturating wine with huge but thoroughly ripe, lush tannins. It's hard to believe that a wine this rich and deep could be carrying just 13.2% alcohol. The only thing missing here is the floral topnote of 2005, but that's a quibble in this baking-hot vintage, as Montrose's cooler, water-retentive clay-rich soil handled the extreme heat and drought as well as any chateau in the Bordeaux region. The final blend is 63% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.
WE
95
Rated 95 by Wine Enthusiast
Thought by many tasters to be the wine of the vintage at the time of the 2004 barrel tastings. Has it retained that status? It is certainly a hugely powerful wine, monumental even. It is also finely balanced, with great dark tannins working in partnership with brooding black fruit. The question is whether it is too big, too powerful: only time will tell.
WS
95
Rated 95 by Wine Spectator
This is hard to distinguish as an '03, as an austere, racy profile of charcoal, black currant and iron reigns. Taut and focused, with a sense of freshness from buried bay leaf and tobacco accents, this is set apart in the vintage by drive and cut. Still a bit tight. The insider's wine in this vintage.—Blind '01/'03/'05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040. 15,830 cases made.
Product Details
size
750ml
country
France
region
Bordeaux
appellation
Saint Estephe
Additional vintages
2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1996 1995 1994 1990 1982 1979
Overview
A prodigious beast of a wine that's now starting to shed just a touch of its considerable baby fat, the 2003 Château Montrose is based on 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot. It shows the richness of the vintage with its ripe, opulent core of fruit, yet it freshens up noticeably with time in the glass, offering currants, mulberries, smoked tobacco, minty herbs, and licorice. Full-bodied, deep, and powerful on the palate, it still has classic Bordeaux focus and structure. It's drinking brilliantly today with a decant and has another 20-30 years of prime drinking.
green grapes

Varietal: Red Bordeaux

Bordeaux red wines are widely regarded as being the finest red wines produced anywhere in the world, regularly topping awards lists and generally being amongst the most sought after and collectable bottles available. The secret to their success and their particularly memorable and refined characteristics is the fact that Bordeaux red wines are made from a blend of grape varietals, most commonly from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes, helped by a touch of Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc. The other two key Bordeaux grape varietals which are also used in the blend of many of these excellent wines are Malbec and Carménere, although it is becoming less common to see these in use today. The art of blending primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grape varietals is something which has been much imitated around the world, as it produces a wonderfully balanced, rounded yet massively complex and flavorful wine, ideal for oak aging The acid and tannin levels in each of these grape varietals is balanced and tempered by the blend, and generations of expertise has gone into the careful selection and cultivation of such quality grapes.
barrel

Region: Bordeaux

Of all the wine regions in France, the mostly highly esteemed and famous is surely Bordeaux. Most commonly associated with their superb examples of blended red wines, usually made with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot varietals, Bordeaux consistently demonstrates that their mix of traditional and modern wine-making styles is the recipe for fame and success. The region benefits greatly from its humid climate, and the fact that its clay and gravel based soils are perfect for growing the fine grape varietals which flourish there. The region is split into quite distinct sub-regions, with the finest generally believed to be the Left Bank and the Médoc region, where many of the most well known chateaux are based and produce their wonderful red and white wines.
fields

Country: France

France is renowned across the globe for its quality wines and the careful expertise which goes into making them, but what is truly remarkable about this relatively small country is the vast range of wines it produces in such huge amounts each year. Not only are the finest red wines in the world said to come from the beautiful regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy, but elsewhere in the country we find the Champagne region, and areas such as the Rhone Valley and the Loire, whose white wines consistently receive awards and accolades by the plenty. This range is a result of the great variety of climatic conditions and terrain found in France, coupled with generations of wine makers working within single appellations. Their knowledge of specific terroirs and grape varieties has, over time, perfected the production of wines within their region, and the end results continue to impress the world to this day.
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More Details
Winery Chateau Montrose
green grapes

Varietal: Red Bordeaux

Bordeaux red wines are widely regarded as being the finest red wines produced anywhere in the world, regularly topping awards lists and generally being amongst the most sought after and collectable bottles available. The secret to their success and their particularly memorable and refined characteristics is the fact that Bordeaux red wines are made from a blend of grape varietals, most commonly from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes, helped by a touch of Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc. The other two key Bordeaux grape varietals which are also used in the blend of many of these excellent wines are Malbec and Carménere, although it is becoming less common to see these in use today. The art of blending primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grape varietals is something which has been much imitated around the world, as it produces a wonderfully balanced, rounded yet massively complex and flavorful wine, ideal for oak aging The acid and tannin levels in each of these grape varietals is balanced and tempered by the blend, and generations of expertise has gone into the careful selection and cultivation of such quality grapes.
barrel

Region: Bordeaux

Of all the wine regions in France, the mostly highly esteemed and famous is surely Bordeaux. Most commonly associated with their superb examples of blended red wines, usually made with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot varietals, Bordeaux consistently demonstrates that their mix of traditional and modern wine-making styles is the recipe for fame and success. The region benefits greatly from its humid climate, and the fact that its clay and gravel based soils are perfect for growing the fine grape varietals which flourish there. The region is split into quite distinct sub-regions, with the finest generally believed to be the Left Bank and the Médoc region, where many of the most well known chateaux are based and produce their wonderful red and white wines.
fields

Country: France

France is renowned across the globe for its quality wines and the careful expertise which goes into making them, but what is truly remarkable about this relatively small country is the vast range of wines it produces in such huge amounts each year. Not only are the finest red wines in the world said to come from the beautiful regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy, but elsewhere in the country we find the Champagne region, and areas such as the Rhone Valley and the Loire, whose white wines consistently receive awards and accolades by the plenty. This range is a result of the great variety of climatic conditions and terrain found in France, coupled with generations of wine makers working within single appellations. Their knowledge of specific terroirs and grape varieties has, over time, perfected the production of wines within their region, and the end results continue to impress the world to this day.