Chateau Montrose 2eme Cru 1989

Jeff Leve: A thrilling wine that is happily catching up to the 90 in quality, and sadly, catching up in price as well. Full-bodied, deep, concentrated, long, intense, complex and powerful, the wine opens with an incredible nose of tobacco leaf, cedar, cigar box, ash, spice and currants. There is fabulous volume, weight and density on the palate and in the long, cigar, and red berry-packed finish. An hour of air would really add a lot to the wine. In a few more years, I'd bet and give odds this scores even higher! 98/100 (2021)

James Suckling: This was yet another wine I drunk with wine collector friends in Bangkok – the city is truly buzzing when it comes to wine and when you know where to look! On the nose, there were intense aromas of iron, pot iron and dried fruits, as well as hints of nuts and wet earth. On the palate, it showed a gorgeous texture of ripe tannins and lots of spicy and currant fruit character. A full-bodied, very soft and silky Bordeaux with lots of flavors and a superb finish. Just right now – indeed it seems to be getting younger with age, not older! Decant an hour before. I think it's better than the legendary 1990. It's certainly cleaner and more consistent quality. 99/100 (2016)

Parker: The 1989 Montrose can be a magical wine, even if huge variation between bottles makes it something of a minefield for anyone with an aversion to the animal aromatic signatures of Brettanomyces yeasts. This particular example was one of the best I have had (and as one of the best Bordeaux from my birth year, it is a wine I have drunk several dozen times), offering up rich aromas of cassis, dark berries, black truffle, pencil lead, espresso toast and rich soil tones, followed by a full-bodied, ample and layered palate that's broad, sensual and enveloping, framed by sweet, powdery tannins. In fact, my handwritten notes include the words, "best bottle ever!" 97/100 (2023)