Montlandrie 2019

This is an excellent vintage of Montlandrie, with smoked coffee and cocoa bean, a ton of salinity, powerful blue and red fruits, super juicy on the finish. Enticing curled woodsmoke as it comes out of the glass, slate finish with a scrape of minerality. 40% new oak. Harvest September 30 to October 10.

Score: 94

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2023-2036 26 January 2022

The 2019 Montlandrie, Denis Durantou's Côtes de Castillon vineyard, was picked from 30 September with the Cabernets picked 7-10 October before maturation in 40% new oak. It has a well-defined, very focused and compelling bouquet with intense cranberry and raspberry scents laced with cedar and sous-bois. The palate is exquisite: built around a core of finely chiseled tannins, a mélange of black and red fruit with hints of liquorice and subtle briny notes on the persistent finish. This is outstanding.

Score: 92 - 94

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024-2044 16 June 2020

The 2019 Montlandrie is another potent, brooding wine in Denis Durantou's range. Here, too, the tannins are incisive, but there is enough fruit to balance things out. Dark fruit, spice, chocolate, leather and licorice add a real sense of gravitas. The Cabernet Sauvignon comes through in the wine's aromatic and structural profile. Montlandrie is a rare 2019 that is going to need time in bottle to be at its best. Interestingly, harvest was later here than in Lalande de Pomerol. Merlot came in between September 30 and October 4, while the Cabernets were harvested between October 7 through 10. Denis Durantou's 2019s are absolutely brilliant across the board. My tasting was obviously bittersweet, as Durantou lost his battle with illness just a few weeks prior. Denis Durantou was one of the most intriguing characters in Bordeaux. I can't say I knew him well, but I always enjoyed tasting with him, as he was a person that spoke more with his eyes than with words. Things were implied rather than overtly stated. So, I tasted the 2019s with daughters Constance and Noémie over Zoom, in typical 2020 fashion. The Durantou sisters describe 2019 as a year with an early flowering and homogenous ripening that led to small, concentrated berries and higher pHs than normal. Temperatures were kept cool in the cellar, where both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations took place over cuvaison of 21 days (for all wines), in a reductive environment with little oxygen. From top to bottom, the Durantou 2019s are positively stellar. Don't miss them!

Score: 91 - 93

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 01 June 2020

A chewy, structured red with medium body. The flavor shows blue fruit with salty, minerally undertones. It’s tannic, yet driven. Tight.

Score: 92 - 93

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 13 May 2020