Chateau Montus Question

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Yule Kim

Yule Kim
Has anyone tried recent vintages of Chateau Montus? Especially their regular cuvees (though I would be interested in learning more about their Prestige cuvee as well).

I have read through the searches that the late 80s-90s Montus were non-spoofed Madirans. Is that still true?
 
I've had a few - from what I have read, there was a stylistic change beginning with the 2001 vintage to make the wines more accessible in their youth. I've had a few of the regular cuvees from 2001 on (2001, 2002, 2004) and they seem a bit softer than earlier vintages and are clearly marked by new oak. Of course, new oak has always been used at Montus, and I never had the chance to taste earlier vintages as young. The post-2000 wines I have tasted have given me hope that they will be fine wines with enough age. I don't know enough to know if they will be the equals of the 1980s/90s wines.

The 1995 Montus is in a great place right now.

The only post-2000 Cuvee Prestige I've tasted is the 2001 - it is heavily oaked and needs a lot of time. Again, I don't know if it will compare well with the earlier wines.

A bottle of 1995 Prestige tasted in 2009 was still too young: http://winedisorder.com/comment/56/1103/
 
I know about the oak, but doesn't time and tannat heal all wounds? I had a 1994 regular years ago that was utterly delish.
 
We've got the 2004 Montus on the floor right now and though it's tannic as can be I don't feel like the flavor of the oak is dominant. It was impenetrable on day one, enjoyed by a few on day two, and though some fruit had fled by day three I feel like it gave a glimpse of something pretty interesting and was comparatively quaffable. For a mid-twenties bottle I thought it was fair.
 
Charlottesville has an airport!

I live an hour north, but can drive down pretty easily, if you're serious. D.C. would be as easy (hard) and you'd draw a bigger crowd (though C'ville has more charm, imho).
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
Charlottesville has an airport!

I live an hour north, but can drive down pretty easily, if you're serious. D.C. would be as easy (hard) and you'd draw a bigger crowd (though C'ville has more charm, imho).
Click to expand...

The C'ville airport has a grand total of six gates, if I recall correctly, only about half of which are actually being used at any given time. Free WiFi though.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
Charlottesville has an airport!

I live an hour north, but can drive down pretty easily, if you're serious. D.C. would be as easy (hard) and you'd draw a bigger crowd (though C'ville has more charm, imho).
Click to expand...

I wouldn't mind doing a Jeebus sometime in DC. Should we try to organize one?
 
originally posted by Yule Kim:
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
Charlottesville has an airport!

I live an hour north, but can drive down pretty easily, if you're serious. D.C. would be as easy (hard) and you'd draw a bigger crowd (though C'ville has more charm, imho).
Click to expand...

I wouldn't mind doing a Jeebus sometime in DC. Should we try to organize one?
Click to expand...

How 'bout week of April 9th?
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
A D.C. Jeebus would be fine. For me, February is better; I might not be around in April.
Click to expand...

We can do a February jeebus which Ian can attend and an April jeebus when Mark is in town.

I know Cristi is interested in doing something as well.
 
Anyone want to propose a February date for Montus-fest? (February 10th?? Just throwing out a random date).

(Unfortunately I don't own Montus, but I can bring some whites to balance out all the red).
 
I am teaching on the 11th from 8:30am, so for me that does not work. And also, I am not sure if on Fridays we can get free corkage.

For me, Feb 6-7-8, Feb 20-21, and Feb 29 work best.

Whatever the theme, I will bring a barolo.
 
Whoops, I must have read the 2011 Calendar by accident. I thought the 10th was a Tuesday.

Probably the 6th, 7th, and 8th would work best for me, but generally any of the Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays in February work.
 
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