~ #65 Top 100 French Wines of 2025 by James Suckling

One of the greats in the vintage, the 2022 Château Montrose is deep ruby/purple-hued and has a massive perfume of sweet crème de cassis, sappy tobacco, and freshly sharpened pencils. With incredible purity and precision in its aromatics, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, powerful, yet still somehow elegant mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. Based on a classic blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, it spent 18 months in 60% new French oak. As I wrote during En Primeur, it has the essence of a Montrose-like character. While it’s not a massively backward or austere example of the château, it nevertheless deserves 10-12 years of bottle age and should have at least half a century of longevity. It is, without a doubt, in the same league as the 1989, 1990, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2018, and 2020. ~100 Jeb Dunnuck #78 Top 100 Wines of 2025

From barrel, I wrote that 2022 Montrose was so compelling that assigning it a bracketed score seemed a mere formality, and so it has proven. Unwinding in the glass with a deep and brooding bouquet of cassis, wild blueberries, violets, pencil shavings and burning embers, it's full-bodied, deep and dense, somehow marrying all the tannic authority that has long been such a signature of Montrose with a suavity and purity that represents the quintessence of contemporary Bordeaux. The broad, palate-staining finish lasts for more than a minute. This is a profound young wine that readers aren't going to want to miss. ~100 Wine Advocate

The 2022 Montrose is insanely beautiful. That much is obvious. When it might be ready to drink is another question. In recent years, Montrose has acquired notable finesse in its tannins, so that is not an issue. But the 2022 is packed with tremendous density and concentration that will need time to soften. Blackberry, graphite, licorice, lavender and chocolate stain the palate in a stunning, riveting wine of the very highest level. I can only hope to be around when the 2022 starts to drink well! Montrose is without question one of the wines of the vintage. Unforgettable. ~100 Vinous Media

Deep garnet-purple colored, it charges out with powerful notes of crème de cassis, preserved plums, and garrigue, giving way to nuances of candied violets, Sichuan pepper, and mossy tree bark, plus a touch of iron ore. The full-bodied palate is densely laden with black fruit preserves layers, supported by super-firm, super-ripe tannins and bags of freshness, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. Epic. ~100 The Wine Palate

~100 Adrian van Velsen - vvWine.ch & VINUM

Great depth in the nose, taking you into its core of blackcurrants, pencil shavings, graphite, tar, inkpot and cassis. Full-bodied and very tight, this flexes its polished muscles, showing form and tension. Compacted. From organically grown grapes. 66% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot, 8% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. This needs six to seven years to come around. ~99 James Suckling

Deep dark ruby in colour with an inky, opaque core, purple reflections, and subtle brightening on the rim. Immensely multi-faceted and seductive on the nose, with aromas of ripe cassis, fine cherry fruit and hints of crystallised violets. The juicy, powerful palate has great freshness, with perfect tannins, notes of black cherry and blackberry, mineral, saline and enormously long lasting, with a hint of fine chocolate on the finish. This wine has huge potential for the future. ~99 Falstaff

There may have been concessions to the vintage with La Dame de Montrose, but there is no compromise here, and no signs of over-maturity in the character of the fruit. Inky, rich, confidently powerful structure coupled with softness to the tannins, dark peppercorn, iodine, espresso, graphite and wet stones, muscular but luscious. Hervé Berland’s last vintage, with Pierre Graffeuille arriving to take over as estate director, technical director Vincent Decup. 40% 1st wine. A single point upscore from En Primeur. ~98 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

This accounts for 53% of production in this vintage, a high figure for Montrose, which reflects the high quality of the vintage – similar volumes were made in 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2010, says Vincent Decup. The blend is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot;the percentage of Cabernet Franc is notable, a high figure for the grand vin, taking almost all the estate’s Cabernet Franc from at least four parcels. The élevage was in 60% new oak for 18 months, the remainder second-fill barrels. A nose of dark and polished fruits, spiced with sandalwood, toast, incense, rose and currant. Beautifully polished and broad on the palate, fresh and dark, with salted olive, currant and damson, laced with black pepper, toast and rose, with such a fine-boned spine of tannins they are barely perceptible, until the finish when they add a dense and focused frame to the length. Plenty of peppery energy here, and it is tremendously long too. So complete and harmonious, elegant yet brimming with structure, this is a Montrose with a great future. The alcohol on the label is 14.5% which matches the analysis.~98 The Wine Independent

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