The 2006 Château Montrose is the Saint-Estèphe Second Growth’s grand vin from a pivotal moment: the first vintage under new owners Martin and Olivier Bouygues. Several reviewers note a clear shift in approach, with Jean-Bernard Delmas taking the helm and tightening selection. Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (The Wine Independent, 95) reports that Delmas “drastically reduced the amount of wine going into the Grand Vin,” and cites the blend as 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Merlot.
In the glass, the wine is consistently described as Cabernet-led Saint-Estèphe: dark-fruited, mineral, structured, and built to age. Perrotti-Brown highlights “mature, ready-to-go scents of blackcurrant jelly, dried cherries, and mulberries,” plus savory notes of “incense, iron ore, wild thyme, and potpourri,” finishing “long and minerally,” with “15 years+” of graceful aging ahead. Decanter’s 95-point review is another standout, calling it “beautiful, rich and incredibly softly textured,” yet “supremely measured and stately,” with “buttery tannins” and emerging complexity—“truffles and leather” alongside “game, cassis and liquorice root”—and “a real sense of lift on the finish.”
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (94+) frames 2006 as “an undeniable success,” noting a blend of “approximately two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon [and] one-third Merlot” with a “tiny dollop of Petit Verdot.” Parker emphasizes “sweeter silkier tannins” and “stunningly concentrated…blackberry and cassis fruit,” projecting “20-25+ years” of drinking. Wine & Spirits (94) likewise praises a “lovely, fragrant cabernet…supple and elegant, with purity and precision,” “built for 20 or more years of development.”
Not every critic finds it fully open today: Jane Anson (94) says that, at 15 years, it “lacks a little generosity right now,” while Wine Enthusiast (94) bluntly notes, “Yes, this wine is tannic…wait 10 years.” Even so, the weight of excellent 94–95 point reviews suggests a classic, long-haul Montrose with increasing rewards for patience.
