1969 Montrose

Tasted from magnum at the Montrose vertical in London, the 1969 Montrose was a pleasant surprise that probably surpassed everyone's expectations, if not close to the caliber of the finest wines from the estate. It had a decent savory, dried meat and leathery nose that displays more fruit than anticipated, albeit rustic and oxidizing a little in the glass. The palate is nicely balanced with rustic tannin, vestiges of soy-tinged fruit and a rather foursquare and attenuated finish, but still a wine that you would finish, which is more than can be said for many 1969 Clarets. Tasted June 2016.