1962 Montrose

Tasted at the Montrose vertical in Stamford, the 1962 Montrose was a divisive wine, but there was the suggestion that a perfect specimen would rank as one of many overlooked great wines of this vintage. Well, I encountered that perfect specimen a few weeks later at the vertical in London. Here it offered plenty of candied fruit on the nose, with dark cherries intermingled with dried blood, orange blossom and rose petals. The palate is laden with sappy red fruit, wonderful structure and delineation with hints of Moroccan spice and white pepper towards the virile finish. It is a splendid Montrose, not quite punching at the same weight as the 1964 mind you, but certainly a fabulous 1962 if you chance upon a good bottle. Tasted June 2016.