Bordeaux 2018: Montrose flexes its muscles

The “magnificent monster” that is 2018 Montrose, the last of the major Left Bank cru classé wines (first growths aside), set a punchy price for its release yesterday.

Out at €126 a bottle ex-négociant (up 31% on the 2017 offer), meaning an ex-London sale price of £1,560 per case of 12, it was 23.9% higher in price that Liv-ex’s global members expected it to be.

The wine has brilliant scores as one might expect form a property of Montrose’s standing but also recent form.

Antonio Galloni gave it 95-98 points, Lisa Perrotti-Bown MW 96-98 and James Suckling 98-99, all of them with various encouraging platitudes, Perrotti-Brown calling it a “magnificent monster” and Galloni noting it had a “tremendous future”.

Suckling said it was a “muscular” wine and it’s certainly a muscular price, with the 2016 wine that Neal Martin gave 99 points to and declared to be “up there with the first growths”, sitting at an 8% discount (£1,270). The highly rated 2014 is about £500 per dozen cheaper too.

Liv-ex’s metrics largely place the 2018 Montrose on the expensive side, though if you agree with Suckling’s appraisal it would just about make sense.

Questions will generally abound about pricing but quantities are limited and it is highly recommended so it’s no surprise to see signs declaring ‘low stock’ or ‘sold out’ on merchant lists already.

La Dame de Montrose also came highly recommended.

Murmurs seem to indicate that there will be another short hiatus now in the campaign until Tuesday next week (11 June), when hopefully there will be a brisk gallop through the first growths and remaining big Right Bank estates to tie this thing up.

The last two days alone saw the release of La Mission Haut-Brion, Haut-Bailly, Pichon Baron and Cos d’Estournel.