Saint-Estèphe 1999

The 1999 Left Bank harvest produced wines of variable character, but Montrose’s 1999 surprised many observers with its atypical density and concentration for the vintage. Robert Parker awarded 90/100 and described it as extremely concentrated and surprisingly powerful and dense, noting its size, strength and medium to full body as quite atypical for the vintage. Parker noted the pure black fruit, mineral, smoke and earth character, and the wine’s capacity to reward extended cellaring. Montrose is one of the great estates of Saint-Estèphe, founded in 1815 by Théodore Dumoulin on cleared heathland, classified Second Growth in 1855 and produced under the three generations of the Charmolüé family from 1896 until their sale to Martin and Olivier Bouygues in 2006. The 1999 was one of the final vintages produced under Jean-Louis Charmolüé. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot.