With Hart, James and Sungku at Le Clos.

I looove Montrose. The lads were kind enough to indulge me and let me pick this from the cellar, AND this was oddly for sale at Le Clos substantially below retail prices at all the major SG wine sellers.

This wine needs A LOT of air to open up and develop. Target 2 hours at least.

In the glass: classic deep dark and inky, appears full bodied, with tinge of maroon/purple.

On the nose after 1-1.5 hours in a decanter: closed and muted, with notes. Oak, leather, blackcurrant.

Palate was bone dry, mid alcohol, mid+ tannins that were very very well integrated. Body was actually more mid instead of heavy full body than its look had suggested. Lean. Concentrated. Mid+ finish.

As the wine breathed, it finally started opening up at 1.5 hours, and was much livelier and opened at 2 hours. Distinct blueberries on deep inhale. Fruits started coming in balance with the leather and cedar wood. Further development of blackcurrants. Took a long time, but the wine eventually got there. Fairly high intensity of aroma that lingers in the nasal passageway long after swallowing.

My Montrose benchmark is the 2003, which is probably unfair. The 2012 retains the characteristic dark, lean and focused nose. However, it is nowhere as explosive as the 2003. The 2003 also had a significantly more intense fruit in balance with the oak and leather. 2012 is very good, but not GREAT.