Andrew Jefford | Saturated, deep black-red, and indeed still opaque at the core. Quiet and brooding at this stage; many wines are more articulate than this. Fine, cool-cut fruits, though (blackcurrant and damson), with a sense of gravelly density behind. There are forces in reserve here, surely. Vibrant, fresh, deep, sheerly fruity on the palate, brisk in style, structured (albeit lightly), with concentrated, inner energy. Typically inarticulate, brooding and reserved in best Montrose style, but no less typically rewarding, close-textured (for a 2017 second wine) and reverberative. Pure, long, and true. For classical palates, but it’s certainly one of the deepest of the second wines this year. | 90

Michael Schuster | Closed, ripe blackcurrant and mineral nose; medium-full, fresh in acidity, finely firm in tannin, a very nice balance in the year’s tight, cool register. Tasty, savory, red-fruit ripe flavor, gravelly in aroma, a touch St-Estèphe chewy- textured at the moment, but there is length and class here. Good at its level in the vintage, but needing time. 2027–35+. | 89