This is up there with the best of the tastings, just nods past the 2009. Less generous perhaps but here you see the beauty and precision of the construction, and the ability to just knock the fruit and tannins out of the park - I love both, but this has the edge in terms of juice, and the Left Bank classicism of bilberry, cassis, olive, mint leaf, graphite, scraping texture and vertical lift on the finish. Jean-Bernard Delmas director.

The 2010 Château Montrose is just now starting to drink well, though bottles from my cellar remain stubbornly backward and closed. This showing, however, revealed rocking levels of cassis, graphite, spring flowers, crushed stone, and spicy leather. Full-bodied, incredibly pure, and balanced, it has a seamless mouthfeel, tons of ripe tannins, and a gorgeous, layered finish. It’s a riveting, multi-dimensional Montrose that ranks with the true greats of the vintage. It deserves another decade of bottle age and will see the turn of the century in fine form. Drink 2035-2100.

The 2010 Montrose is composed of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a lot of swirling and coaxing to bring out notes of baked plums, boysenberry preserves, warm cassis, and licorice, followed by hints of mocha, tapenade, crushed rocks, and cast-iron pan. The full-bodied palate has a formidable structure of very firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the voluptuous black fruit and mineral layers, finishing long, long, long.

Young, but not quite primary, there is such a wealth of ripe, sweet, black, and red fruit, it is hard not to be seduced by the endless layers of flavor, fruit, and tannins on the palate. This is one of those wines where once it gets going, it seemingly never wants to stop, and that's a good thing because you want as much of those perfectly ripe, poised, vibrant black and red fruits as you can get, as they coat your palate and stay there. Give it a few more years and it will only get better. Drink from 2025-2060.99 Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/search-wine-tasting-notes/?szSearch=2010%20Montrose

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. -- Neal Martin

53% cabernet sauvignon 37% merlot 9% cabernet franc 1% petit verdot. 64% of total production and yields of 45hl/ha. Harvesting began with the merlot on Sep 27 and lasted through Oct 15 with the cabernet. Alcohol is 13.8%. There is a surprising amount of merlot in the blend given the strength of the cabernet this year. Probably due to the 20 hectares of mostly merlot vineyards acquired from Phelan Segur. Blackberry and cassis liquor dominate the nose while violet lavender creosote and fresh turned earth are beginning to develop. A tightly packed wine now the palate shows precision and power as the tannins build and the fruit is restrained by a powerful structure of acid tannins and alcohol. With a little coaxing the fruit is prevalent if somewhat backwards. Upon release this will only offer a small glimpse of what this wine will develop into in 20-30 years. Will be an intriguing comparison to the 2009 over time - very different wines but both very good.

Softly fragrant and inviting, with cool, fresh blue fruit. Juicy and intense. Broad and big shouldered tannin-wise, but with a sleek, focused, precise centre. A complex wine that hasn't fully hit its stride: has muscle and energy but also refinement. The fruit is pristine and the texture of the tannins is lovely. Young and pent up, not so easy to fall in love with today, but you will last for decades. Serious, cool and fresh. Classic in the best way.

A perfumed and pure Montrose, with lots of currants, berries and spices that evolve to chocolate and light coffee. Full body, with super racy tannins and bright and clean finish. Very fine and structured. A balance and freshness to it all as well as beautiful form and tension. Try in 2018.

(97+ points) 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. - William Kelley

Rock solid, displaying a dense core of plum, steeped currant and braised fig fruit, with racy charcoal and ganache notes. Intensely chalky, offering flesh and refinement to match the bracing minerality, this shows hints of grilled savory, iron, warm paving stone and bitter orange on the riveting finish. Should age very slowly. Best from 2019 through 2038. – JM

This is such an elegant wine that has all the structure of the vintage. Surrounding the tannins, the wine is sweet and ripe, with smokiness from the wood. It’s powerful, elegant and sophisticated with a strong sense of poise. The tannins promise long-term aging.

95+ Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. Chateau Montrose can be so curmudgeonly in its youth that in blind tastings, it can seem like appraising an ogre in a beauty contest. That's what happened here, when it really threw me with its introspective pencil-box inspired nose that simply tells you to bugger off and not come back for at least a decade. The palate here is a mixture of red and black fruit with saturated tannins. This is a classic Montrose with a persistent tarry aftertaste. Re-tasting the wine after a few minutes it begins to unwind and merits a more lenient score.