2003 Château Montrose Saint-Estèphe Grand Cru Classé
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| Type of Wine | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | |
| Appellation | Saint-Estèphe |
| Winery | |
| Vintage | 2003 |
| Grape | , , |
| Content (Alc) | 0.75 ltr (14%) |
| Drink window | 2013 - 2035 |
| Available as of | Aug 4, 2025 |
Low Stock
Only 1 left
Description
2003 Château Montrose Saint-Estèphe Grand Cru Classé
The 2003 Château Montrose is a top example of a Saint-Estèphe Grand Cru Classé from a hot Bordeaux vintage. The wine opens with notes of blackberry, cassis, and a hint of black truffle, along with hints of loam and pencil shavings. On the palate, it is rich and layered, with a broad attack that flows into a supple yet firm mid-palate, full of sweet, juicy fruit framed by fine, powdery tannins. According to William Kelley of The Wine Advocate, it is one of the most impressive wines of the year, with an RP score of 95.
the Château Montrose winery
Château Montrose is one of Saint-Estèphe's iconic wines. The estate uses a classic blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Montrose is known for its deep structure, precision, and exceptional aging potential. Even young wines often display impressive complexity, but a Montrose truly reveals its potential after years in the bottle.
tastings of 2003 Montrose
Upon pouring, the bright red color immediately catches the eye. The nose is complex and fragrant, with notes of raspberry, licorice, tobacco, camphor, and black olive. On the palate, the attack is powerful and persuasive, followed by a dense, juicy mid-palate with stemmed fruit and excellent definition. Intensity and elegance go hand in hand, with a long finish where noble tannins and juicy fruit complement each other perfectly. Stephen Tanzer described the flavors as intense raspberry, blackcurrant, and red licorice, with a finish that never falls short.
wine and food pairings
The Montrose 2003 pairs perfectly with hearty dishes. Think roast beef, slow-cooked lamb, game dishes, or hard, complex cheeses. The tannins and deep fruit notes give the wine a natural balance to the rich flavors. Let the wine breathe for a while before serving to allow the full aroma and texture to unfold.
wine as a natural product
This wine perfectly illustrates that wine is a natural product. Each bottle of 2003 Montrose is unique due to the influences of that year's weather, the soil conditions, and the vinification process. Even after more than twenty years, it remains fascinating how the wine continues to evolve and reveal subtle nuances that you can discover with every tasting.
maturation and storage
At Grand Cru wines, this Saint-Estèphe is safely stored in a climate-controlled wine warehouse, where temperature and humidity are optimal. This allows the wine to reach its full potential. Decanting is recommended to fully reveal its complexity and elegance.
Would you like to order 2003 Château Montrose online?
At Grandcruwijnen, you can easily order this impressive Montrose online or pick it up. If you choose pickup, you'll see the discount immediately at checkout. This way, you'll bring home a top Bordeaux that combines power, elegance, and exceptional aging potential.
Specifications
| Available as of | Aug 4, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Type of Wine | Red |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Appellation | Saint-Estèphe |
| Winery | Chateau Montrose |
| Grape | Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2003 |
| Drinking as of | 2013 |
| Drinking till | 2035 |
| Alcohol % | 14 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Promotion | Cellar deals, On Sale |
| Parker rating | 95 |
| James Suckling rating | 97 |
| Vinous rating | 96 |
| Tasting Profiles | Complex, Donker fruit, Droog, Houtgerijpt, Krachtig, Mineraal, Tannines |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe, Open haard |
Professional Reviews
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP 95
Reviewed by:
William Kelley
Release Price:
NA
Drink Date:
2013 - 2033
One of the top half-dozen wines of this torrid vintage in Bordeaux, as well as one of the least evolved, is the 2003 Montrose. Evocative of blackberries and cassis mingled with black truffles, loamy soil and pencil shavings, it's full-bodied, rich and layered, with a broad attack that segues into a supple but structured mid-palate laden with sweet but succulent fruit that's framed by powdery tannin. While in no danger of imminent decline, it's drinking very well today.
Published: Dec 21, 2023
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
James Suckling
Score
97
Avg Price (ex-tax)
$ 242
Château Montrose St.-Estèphe 2003
Monday, Mar 14, 2011
Color
Red
Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Vintage
2003
Download Shelftalker
A wonderful perfumed nose to this with flowers, spices, and fruit. Full bodied, with a lovely balance and beauty to this wine. Then, the tannins build and show you what it has. A classy and pretty wine, but needs four or five years to show its best. The wine of the appellation in this tasting. Pull the cork in 2015. Find the wine
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Vinous
96
From: The Annual Red Bordeaux Report (May 2006)
Good medium-deep ruby-red. Superripe, roasted aromas of black raspberry, chocolate and licorice. Wonderfully dense, sweet and lush, with an early roundness rare for this wine. A monumental St. Estephe with almost confectionery sweetness. Wonderfully horizontal, palate-saturating wine with huge but thoroughly ripe, lush tannins. It's hard to believe that a wine this rich and deep could be carrying just 13.2% alcohol. The only thing missing here is the floral topnote of 2005, but that's a quibble in this baking-hot vintage, as Montrose's cooler, water-retentive clay-rich soil handled the extreme heat and drought as well as any chateau in the Bordeaux region. The final blend is 63% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.
- By Stephen Tanzer on May 2006
This superb chateau, in the process of being sold to a French industrialist, has made a tannic, long-aging 2005 with an IPT reading similar to that of the estate's massive 2003, but with a lower pH and equal potential longevity. Regisseur Philippe de Laguarigue describes the 2005 vintage as "like 2004 but with more of everything." The young 2005 has puzzled many early tasters, as it's so fine-grained it feels almost weightless, and its density is not obvious. The wine was also quite youthfully austere in early April, conveying a strong impression of minerality.
97
From: The Annual Red Bordeaux Report (May 2005)
sur colle Ruby-red. Aromas of black cherry, liqueur-like chocolate and exotic spices. Outsized and thick, with a texture of liquid silk and palate-saturating sweetness. Wonderfully opulent, utterly seamless wine with expressive flavors of black raspberry, smoke and camphor. Today, the wine's extraordinary charm is hiding its substantial underlying structure. Finishes with mouthcoating, utterly noble tannins. The crop level here was 33.5 hectoliters per hectare, notes Laguarigue. A monument of the vintage.
- By Stephen Tanzer on May 2005
This chateau has been on a roll in the new millennium, and the 2004 is once again a superstar of the vintage. According to regisseur Philippe de Laguarigue, 2004 is a surprising vintage, in which "the maturity was made in September." He explained: "During the magnificent September, warm days and cool nights eliminated any possibility of rot. We feared dilution due to the big crop [57 hectoliters per hectare], but although the clusters were huge, the individual grapes were of a normal size. There was a lot of concentration of color and tannins. The wines are supple and fat, not austere, with the tannins more elegant than those of the 2002."
96+
From: The Annual Red Bordeaux Report (May 2004)
(a blend of 62% cabernet sauvignon, 34% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot) Bright red-ruby color. Complex, perfumed nose combines raspberry, licorice, tobacco, camphor and black olive. Gripping and authoritative on the attack, then dense, sappy and juicy in the middle palate, with fruit of steel and great definition and class. Extremely intense raspberry, currant and red licorice flavors. Finishes with powerful but noble tannins that reach the front teeth and succulent fruit that goes on and on. This simply does not miss a beat from start to finish.
- By Stephen Tanzer on May 2004
Montrose was the third visit on the first morning of my tour of Bordeaux, and I can't say that I tasted a better wine during my entire time in the region. What Montrose showed in early spring that no other 2003 could quite match was a powerful, energetic attack and then no letup at all right through to its extraordinary, gripping, expanding finish. Regisseur Philippe de Laguarigue told me the 2003 Montrose was fatter and richer than the extraordinary 1996, with an IPT even higher than that earlier gem (at least 85!). "It's a wine of sunshine, not surmaturite," he told me. Grape sugars ranged from 13.2% to 13.9%, the highest since 1990, a year that Laguarigue has always described as atypically ripe for the chateau and a bit over the top. "The 2003 combines the charm and opulence of the '89 with the classic quality of '96," he summarized. Interestingly, the yield here was about 34 hectoliters per hectare, or about the same as that of the previous year. Bargain-hunters will want to look for this estate's second wine, Les Dames de Montrose, which at the end of March showed a middle-palate lushness of texture and sweetness that should give it considerable early appeal.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
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Wijnhuis
Château Montrose is one of the most prestigious Médoc chateaus. Especially since the wealthy brothers Martin and Olivier Bouygues bought the chateau in 2006 and started a rigorous 'makeover'. They tackled absolutely everything from vineyard to cellar. The team is also being strengthened, including with Hervé Berland, who says goodbye to his position as director at Château Mouton-Rothschild to lead this ambitious project. Quality has skyrocketed ever since and the last few vintages Château Montrose has consistently been among the very best wines in Bordeaux; a great achievement! Part of the major quality improvement is a 'parcelic' approach, in which the vineyard is divided into small pieces, each of which is assessed, vinified and raised separately. The selection options have increased enormously as a result. Such that, in addition to a first and second wine, a third wine has also seen the light.
Chateau Montrose makes powerful wines that have a long life ahead of them. Although very tannic, the elegance and especially intensity is memorable. This one of the very best St. Estèphe wines has the 2nd Grand Cru Class status but could easily compete in the highest 1st Cru class. Since the 1989 harvest, followed by a 100-point score by Robert Parker in 1990, Montrose has earned a worldwide reputation and ranks among the greatest Bordeaux.
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2003 Château Montrose Saint-Estèphe Grand Cru Classé
The 2003 Château Montrose is a top example of a Saint-Estèphe Grand Cru Classé from a hot Bordeaux vintage. The wine opens with notes of blackberry, cassis, and a hint of black truffle, along with hints of loam and pencil shavings. On the palate, it is rich and layered, with a broad attack that flows into a supple yet firm mid-palate, full of sweet, juicy fruit framed by fine, powdery tannins. According to William Kelley of The Wine Advocate, it is one of the most impressive wines of the year, with an RP score of 95.
the Château Montrose winery
Château Montrose is one of Saint-Estèphe's iconic wines. The estate uses a classic blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Montrose is known for its deep structure, precision, and exceptional aging potential. Even young wines often display impressive complexity, but a Montrose truly reveals its potential after years in the bottle.
tastings of 2003 Montrose
Upon pouring, the bright red color immediately catches the eye. The nose is complex and fragrant, with notes of raspberry, licorice, tobacco, camphor, and black olive. On the palate, the attack is powerful and persuasive, followed by a dense, juicy mid-palate with stemmed fruit and excellent definition. Intensity and elegance go hand in hand, with a long finish where noble tannins and juicy fruit complement each other perfectly. Stephen Tanzer described the flavors as intense raspberry, blackcurrant, and red licorice, with a finish that never falls short.
wine and food pairings
The Montrose 2003 pairs perfectly with hearty dishes. Think roast beef, slow-cooked lamb, game dishes, or hard, complex cheeses. The tannins and deep fruit notes give the wine a natural balance to the rich flavors. Let the wine breathe for a while before serving to allow the full aroma and texture to unfold.
wine as a natural product
This wine perfectly illustrates that wine is a natural product. Each bottle of 2003 Montrose is unique due to the influences of that year's weather, the soil conditions, and the vinification process. Even after more than twenty years, it remains fascinating how the wine continues to evolve and reveal subtle nuances that you can discover with every tasting.
maturation and storage
At Grand Cru wines, this Saint-Estèphe is safely stored in a climate-controlled wine warehouse, where temperature and humidity are optimal. This allows the wine to reach its full potential. Decanting is recommended to fully reveal its complexity and elegance.
Would you like to order 2003 Château Montrose online?
At Grandcruwijnen, you can easily order this impressive Montrose online or pick it up. If you choose pickup, you'll see the discount immediately at checkout. This way, you'll bring home a top Bordeaux that combines power, elegance, and exceptional aging potential.
| Available as of | Aug 4, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Type of Wine | Red |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Appellation | Saint-Estèphe |
| Winery | Chateau Montrose |
| Grape | Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2003 |
| Drinking as of | 2013 |
| Drinking till | 2035 |
| Alcohol % | 14 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Promotion | Cellar deals, On Sale |
| Parker rating | 95 |
| James Suckling rating | 97 |
| Vinous rating | 96 |
| Tasting Profiles | Complex, Donker fruit, Droog, Houtgerijpt, Krachtig, Mineraal, Tannines |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe, Open haard |
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP 95
Reviewed by:
William Kelley
Release Price:
NA
Drink Date:
2013 - 2033
One of the top half-dozen wines of this torrid vintage in Bordeaux, as well as one of the least evolved, is the 2003 Montrose. Evocative of blackberries and cassis mingled with black truffles, loamy soil and pencil shavings, it's full-bodied, rich and layered, with a broad attack that segues into a supple but structured mid-palate laden with sweet but succulent fruit that's framed by powdery tannin. While in no danger of imminent decline, it's drinking very well today.
Published: Dec 21, 2023
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
James Suckling
Score
97
Avg Price (ex-tax)
$ 242
Château Montrose St.-Estèphe 2003
Monday, Mar 14, 2011
Color
Red
Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Vintage
2003
Download Shelftalker
A wonderful perfumed nose to this with flowers, spices, and fruit. Full bodied, with a lovely balance and beauty to this wine. Then, the tannins build and show you what it has. A classy and pretty wine, but needs four or five years to show its best. The wine of the appellation in this tasting. Pull the cork in 2015. Find the wine
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Vinous
96
From: The Annual Red Bordeaux Report (May 2006)
Good medium-deep ruby-red. Superripe, roasted aromas of black raspberry, chocolate and licorice. Wonderfully dense, sweet and lush, with an early roundness rare for this wine. A monumental St. Estephe with almost confectionery sweetness. Wonderfully horizontal, palate-saturating wine with huge but thoroughly ripe, lush tannins. It's hard to believe that a wine this rich and deep could be carrying just 13.2% alcohol. The only thing missing here is the floral topnote of 2005, but that's a quibble in this baking-hot vintage, as Montrose's cooler, water-retentive clay-rich soil handled the extreme heat and drought as well as any chateau in the Bordeaux region. The final blend is 63% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.
- By Stephen Tanzer on May 2006
This superb chateau, in the process of being sold to a French industrialist, has made a tannic, long-aging 2005 with an IPT reading similar to that of the estate's massive 2003, but with a lower pH and equal potential longevity. Regisseur Philippe de Laguarigue describes the 2005 vintage as "like 2004 but with more of everything." The young 2005 has puzzled many early tasters, as it's so fine-grained it feels almost weightless, and its density is not obvious. The wine was also quite youthfully austere in early April, conveying a strong impression of minerality.
97
From: The Annual Red Bordeaux Report (May 2005)
sur colle Ruby-red. Aromas of black cherry, liqueur-like chocolate and exotic spices. Outsized and thick, with a texture of liquid silk and palate-saturating sweetness. Wonderfully opulent, utterly seamless wine with expressive flavors of black raspberry, smoke and camphor. Today, the wine's extraordinary charm is hiding its substantial underlying structure. Finishes with mouthcoating, utterly noble tannins. The crop level here was 33.5 hectoliters per hectare, notes Laguarigue. A monument of the vintage.
- By Stephen Tanzer on May 2005
This chateau has been on a roll in the new millennium, and the 2004 is once again a superstar of the vintage. According to regisseur Philippe de Laguarigue, 2004 is a surprising vintage, in which "the maturity was made in September." He explained: "During the magnificent September, warm days and cool nights eliminated any possibility of rot. We feared dilution due to the big crop [57 hectoliters per hectare], but although the clusters were huge, the individual grapes were of a normal size. There was a lot of concentration of color and tannins. The wines are supple and fat, not austere, with the tannins more elegant than those of the 2002."
96+
From: The Annual Red Bordeaux Report (May 2004)
(a blend of 62% cabernet sauvignon, 34% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot) Bright red-ruby color. Complex, perfumed nose combines raspberry, licorice, tobacco, camphor and black olive. Gripping and authoritative on the attack, then dense, sappy and juicy in the middle palate, with fruit of steel and great definition and class. Extremely intense raspberry, currant and red licorice flavors. Finishes with powerful but noble tannins that reach the front teeth and succulent fruit that goes on and on. This simply does not miss a beat from start to finish.
- By Stephen Tanzer on May 2004
Montrose was the third visit on the first morning of my tour of Bordeaux, and I can't say that I tasted a better wine during my entire time in the region. What Montrose showed in early spring that no other 2003 could quite match was a powerful, energetic attack and then no letup at all right through to its extraordinary, gripping, expanding finish. Regisseur Philippe de Laguarigue told me the 2003 Montrose was fatter and richer than the extraordinary 1996, with an IPT even higher than that earlier gem (at least 85!). "It's a wine of sunshine, not surmaturite," he told me. Grape sugars ranged from 13.2% to 13.9%, the highest since 1990, a year that Laguarigue has always described as atypically ripe for the chateau and a bit over the top. "The 2003 combines the charm and opulence of the '89 with the classic quality of '96," he summarized. Interestingly, the yield here was about 34 hectoliters per hectare, or about the same as that of the previous year. Bargain-hunters will want to look for this estate's second wine, Les Dames de Montrose, which at the end of March showed a middle-palate lushness of texture and sweetness that should give it considerable early appeal.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Exclusive Content
Sign in to unlock professional wine reviews from world-renowned critics
Château Montrose is one of the most prestigious Médoc chateaus. Especially since the wealthy brothers Martin and Olivier Bouygues bought the chateau in 2006 and started a rigorous 'makeover'. They tackled absolutely everything from vineyard to cellar. The team is also being strengthened, including with Hervé Berland, who says goodbye to his position as director at Château Mouton-Rothschild to lead this ambitious project. Quality has skyrocketed ever since and the last few vintages Château Montrose has consistently been among the very best wines in Bordeaux; a great achievement! Part of the major quality improvement is a 'parcelic' approach, in which the vineyard is divided into small pieces, each of which is assessed, vinified and raised separately. The selection options have increased enormously as a result. Such that, in addition to a first and second wine, a third wine has also seen the light.
Chateau Montrose makes powerful wines that have a long life ahead of them. Although very tannic, the elegance and especially intensity is memorable. This one of the very best St. Estèphe wines has the 2nd Grand Cru Class status but could easily compete in the highest 1st Cru class. Since the 1989 harvest, followed by a 100-point score by Robert Parker in 1990, Montrose has earned a worldwide reputation and ranks among the greatest Bordeaux.
Wine Trivia
🍷 Enjoyed these wine facts? Share your newfound knowledge with fellow wine enthusiasts!
Discover Wine Trivia
Sign in to unlock fascinating facts about this wine and expand your knowledge.
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