1982 Montrose

This vintage had exceptional growing conditions with a good spring, a very early and generous flowering in the beginning of June without any of the flowering mishaps that such as coulure and millerandage. while July, August and September were extremely hot, sunny and drought-like. The harvest started on September 14 and was completed on September 29. The final blend for the 1982 Montrose was relatively classic, and this wine, never one of my favorites of the vintage, shows plenty of brick at the edge, a big, spicy, oaky nose with oak in the background, notes of Chinese black tea, new saddle leather and unsmoked cigar tobacco, as well as red and black currants. It is medium-bodied, elegant, and fully mature. By no means one of the stars of the vintage, it is also quite spicy. Drink over the next 10-15 years. Wine Advocate.August, 2014

Tasted at the Montrose vertical in Stamford, the 1982 Montrose remains a delightful Saint Estephe, albeit not one of the stars of the vintage. And it never has been. It was picked between 14 and 29 September after weeks of hot weather. The bouquet is attractive as it leans towards red berry fruit, freshly rolled tobacco and leather, perhaps conservative in the 1982 scheme of things. The palate is medium-bodied with a little graininess to the texture. It is not overly complex, though it is nicely balanced. What is missing is the substance, that insistent grip in the mouth and that peacock's tail of a finish that reveals a hint of iodine on the aftertaste. It is a Montrose that continues to give pleasure, one that does not seem to have changed much in recent years, but by now you know that it will never catch up with say the 1982 Cos d'Estournel or the first-tier growths. Enjoy this with modest expectations. Tasted May 2016. Mar 2017, www.robertparker.com