1971 Montrose

The 1971 Montrose, tasted three or four times, was picked between 25 September and 12 October. It has a lovely bouquet with dark berries, stewed black tea, dried herbs and pencil box, even a sprig of wild mint with aeration. The palate does not quite match the aromatics. The tannins seem to be drying with age, rendering it austere and deprived the weight it once showed on the saline finish. That said, well-stored bottles should continue to give modest drinking pleasure over the next few years.

Tasted at the Montrose vertical in Stamford, the 1971 Montrose, which was picked between 25 September and 12 October, has always been a wine that performed decently enough and so it proved here. It has a lovely bouquet with dark berries, stewed black tea, dried herbs and pencil box, even a sprig of wild mint with aeration. The palate does not quite match the aromatics. The tannin seem to be drying out a little, rending this 1971 more masculine than I recall, denuded of the weight it once sported on the finish. Still, there is a pleasant salty tang on the finish and well-stored bottles should continue to give modest drinking pleasure over the next few years. Tasted May 2016.