2021 La Dame de Montrose

A blend of 53% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, the 2021 La Dame De Montrose is another impeccably made wine from this château, which has been playing at a First Growth level for many years now. Beautiful red cherries, currants, sappy tobacco, and some floral notes, as well as some classic Saint-Estèphe damp earth, all define the aromatics, and it's medium-bodied, with fine tannins and outstanding overall balance. Give it 2-3 years and enjoy bottles over the following decades. I love its purity of fruit.

The 2021 La Dame de Montrose has a tightly wound bouquet, well-defined with blackberry, loam and light graphite scents percolating through with time in the glass. This is nicely focused but somehow refreshingly unassuming. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, gentle grip and clean, fresh, very saline fruit. This is classic Bordeaux in style, a little austere on the finish in a positive sense, containing the sapidity to encourage another sip. Recommended.

The 2021 La Dame de Montrose is a very serious second wine. Dark, pliant and super-expressive, the 2021 possesses notable depth and class to burn. Dark red/black fruit, graphite, spice, new leather and incense build as this deep, beautifully resonant Saint-Estèphe gains volume in the glass. This is impeccably done.