This is considered to be among the greatest vintages ever made in Montrose, right up with the 1929, 1945, 1947, 1959, 1961, 1989, 1990 and 2009. Harvest was October 15 to 17. The wine has really come on since I last tasted it, and it needs at least another 10 years of cellaring. The blend was 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The wine is opaque black/blue, with an incredible nose of blueberry and blackberry liqueur, with hints of incense, licorice, and acacia flowers. Tannins are incredibly sweet and very present. The wine is full-bodied, even massive, with great purity, depth and a finish that goes on close to a minute. This is a 50- to 75-year-old wine that will repay handsomely those with good aging genes. (Note: The Chateau Montrose website gives an aging potential of 2020-2100.)

Score: 100 Robert Parker (RP), The Wine Advocate (WA), August 2014

The 2010 Montrose is one of the highlights of the Icons of Bordeaux dinner. It has a show-stopper nose with powerful, intense, mineral-rich black fruit, becoming quite floral with aeration. Potpourri hints complement tobacco notes. The palate is fresh, vibrant and weighty, yet paradoxically, it has wonderful finesse. There is a symmetry about this Montrose, coupled with a tremendous length that leaves you wanting more. Brilliant. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Icons of Bordeaux dinner at Legacy Records in New York.

Score: 99 Neal Martin (NM), The Wine Advocate (WA), May 2024

The 2010 Montrose is insanely beautiful. A vivid, eternal wine, the 2010 dazzles right out of the gate with its explosive energy. Soaring floral and mineral notes are immediately captivating on the bouquet. All that carries through to the palate, where the wine is dense and expansive. Readers lucky enough to own it should be thrilled. This really benefits from aeration. What a wine!

I was delighted when one of our private clients reached out to schedule this celebratory dinner for a small group of friends and co-workers. Our guests took care of the arrangements with Wheeler Farms, and I chose several of my favorite wines, presented in thematic flights. Executive Chef Tom Harder, whom I had first met years ago at Mustard’s prepared a fabulous meal. The hospitality team led by Philip O’Conor and Patrick Memmott took care of every detail of service with the same precision. It was a fabulous night of wine, food and conviviality.

Score: 100 Antonio Galloni (AG), Vinous Media (VM), February 2023

Deep garnet colored, the 2010 Montrose opens with classic notions of warm blackcurrants, plum preserves, cedar chest and pencil shavings plus touches of menthol and underbrush. Full-bodied, concentrated and built like a brick house in the mouth, the densely packed, muscular black fruit is superbly supported by firm, ripe, grainy tannins, finishing with great length and depth.

Score: 99 Lisa Perrotti-Brown (LPB), The Wine Advocate (WA), March 2020

The 2010 Montrose boasts a killer bouquet with beautifully delineated black fruit laced with cedar and tobacco. With time its sous-bois scents become more prominent. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a little grainy in texture with fine acidity. This is a masculine and broody Saint-Estèphe that will need another decade in bottle to shave its edges. But what immense structure and density. Fantastic. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.

Score: 99 Neal Martin (NM), Vinous Media (VM), April 2020

One of the most youthful and powerful wines in this tasting is the 2010 Montrose, a year when only 52% of the estate´s production went into the grand vin. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of crème de cassis, cigar wrapper, black truffle and loamy soil, it´s full-bodied, deep and layered, with a rich core of concentrated fruit that´s framed by a muscular tannic chassis. Some 2010s are beginning to show their cards, but this Montrose will still require patience.

Score: 97+ William Kelley (WK), The Wine Advocate (WA), December 2023

Still extremely young, feels significantly more closed than the 1996, with a greater emphasis on spicy black pepper and cassis, and still firm tannins. You feel the tannins pressing in on the close of play, whereas in the 1996 the tannins are now like spun silk, fully integrated. I last tasted this wine two years ago, and it is clearly starting to move into the next phase now after a stubborn beginning, coming out of itself and showing the finesse and the elegance of the vintage. The tobacco and crushed mint leaf notes emerge after five minutes of swirling and sniffing, and this has a long future ahead and is packed with appellation typicity. Harvest September 22 to October 7. First year in the new stainless steel vat room with bigger capacity and smaller sized vats covering 50hl, 80hl, 100hl, with just a few 200hl vats for the blend (previously entirely 200hl wooden vats).

Score: 98 Jane Anson (JA), Decanter (DEC), June 2021