2023 La Dame de Montrose, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

Silky tannins with grip and intensity, a lovely balance of texture and fresh acidities. Slate and pummice stone grip, this is delicious, with appellation typicity in its powerful black fruits, but measured with a saline kick on the finish. In organic conversion, to be certified 2025.

Drink 2028 - 2040

The blackberries and blackcurrants show through beautifully, together with very integrated tannins. Dense and textured. Transparent. Graphite coming through. Second wine of Montrose. 61% merlot, 32% cabernet sauvignon, 5% petit verdot and 2% cabernet franc.

61% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample.

Touch of sweetness from the Merlot then acidity and tension. Perhaps a bit lean on the mid palate. Usually improves in the bottle so could warrant a higher score.

Drink 2028 - 2038

The 2023 La Dame de Montrose has a light and slightly tertiary nose, with touches of tea leaves infusing the black fruit. The palate is soft and supple on the entry, with licorice-tinged black fruit and a rounded, cracked-black-pepper-tinged finish. There’s good body for a Deuxième Vin. This will give a decade of drinking pleasure.

Drink 2026 - 2037

The second wine of the estate is the 2023 La Dame De Montrose, which checks in as 61% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, raised in mostly used barrels. It's a ripe, forward second wine offering ripe red and blue fruits, tons of floral and spicy nuances, medium to full body, and a round, supple, elegant mouthfeel. This ripe, layered, seamless beauty will drink nicely for 10-12 years or more.

The 2023 La Dame de Montrose is deep garnet-purple in color. The nose is so floral, with notes of iris and lavender opening out to a core of black raspberries and mulberries plus hints of dusty soil and fallen leaves. The medium-bodied palate is tight-knit and lively, with lightly chewy tannins and a ferrous finish. The blend is 61% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, with pH 3.50.

Drink 2028 - 2042

Another strong performance from this bottling, which dependably numbers among Bordeaux's top three or four second wines, the 2023 La Dame de Montrose reveals aromas of cassis, pencil shavings and licorice, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and dense palate that's polished, pure and layered, with sweet tannins, lively acids and a saline finish. It's a blend of 61% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.

The 2023 La Dame de Montrose is a rich, heady wine. Succulent dark cherry, plum, new leather, spice, menthol, licorice and mocha are beautifully amplified. Explosive to the core, the 2023 possesses tons of aromatic intensity and pure volume. This showy, Merlot-based Dame is quite alluring.

Drink 2027 - 2043

Crisp and crunchy cranberry aromas on the nose, fresh and vibrant - herbal, floral, fruity. Smooth and supple, so lively, bright and acidic, really lifted and almost verging on tart. I love it though, manages to be fresh yet with ripeness of tannins that slowly expand in the mouth while also giving structure and a well-defined outline. Streamlined and straight. Polished and characterful with lovely purity of fruit. Ageing 12 months, using 5% foudre 5% amphora, 10% new oak and the rest aged barrels. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend.

Drink 2028 - 2045