While I generally agree with your comparison to 2016, I think Montrose can say with some justification that in the last decade they have moved not just up to a super second but almost up to a quasi first growth - 2019, 2020 and 2022 they’ve produced outstanding wines that have been up with the firsts and have consistently improved their farming and selection practices and from 2023 only have solely selected from the prime plots (see below credit to Farrvintners), so their more recent wines are even more outstanding when the overall vintage is supportive. They are not only benchmarking themselves to past vintages of their own wine, but to current vintages of where they think the peers are (which is bold in the current environment).
One way the Médoc is commonly divided is by terraces – six layers of different soils shaped and revealed over millions of years through glacial movement and deposits of different clays, gravels and sands. The terraces have different quality potentials and give different traits to the grapes grown on their surfaces. Terrace 4 is considered to be one of the very best. It stretches from St Estèphe in the north to Margaux in the south, forming the heart of the original vineyards for châteaux including Margaux, Léoville Las Cases and Latour – Cabernet Sauvignon royalty. The soil is formed of large gravels, with high proportions of clay, together with an iron bed that causes the vines’ routes to grow horizontally once they hit this lower surface. When these are combined it causes a gentle, constant water stress that is ideal for ripening fruit, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon.
Montrose has 45 of its 95 hectares of vines on Terrace 4. It clearly forms the heart of the property and therefore heavily defines the style here. From 2023 onwards, the fruit used in the grand vin will exclusively come from this terrace in an effort to bring their unique terroir into focus. Pierre Graffeuille (and previously Nicolas Glumineau) has worked to make Montrose one of the greatest wines in all Bordeaux. This, he feels, is the next logical step to further elevate the property’s quality and signature style. Together with Vincent Decup, the technical director responsible for the property’s burgeoning quality in the glass, they are already making incredible wines. That they think there is a further quality jump to be made is quite remarkable
I’m looking to purchase one or two cases during this campaign and wanted to get your perspective on a hypothetical decision at the upper end of my budget.
If you had to choose between a single Pomerol, either La Conseillante or VCC, and the price difference was not material, which would you choose and why?
My budget only allows for one of the two, so I’m particularly interested in how you think about the tradeoffs between them in terms of quality, style, aging potential, and overall value within the vintage.
I would wait until the wines are in bottle to assess. While VCC’s pricing was aggressive, the scores, while obviously very good, were lower than I would have expected. It’s possible the wine was just at a surly stage during the en primeur tastings and will be fine in bottle. Why risk it now? I will say I found the published analytics of the 2025 VCC a bit odd. In a vintage where wines often had lower alcohol and lower pH, VCC came in with levels consistent with prior ripe vintages. La Conseillante was lower on both and seems to better reflect the vintage characteristics, at least on those two measures.
La Conseillante, which I like quite a bit, seems to be attempting to re-price/re-brand since 2022. I’m not a fan of the new pricing levels. The fact that VCC’s price came out first and La Conseillante came out higher, is indicative of that approach.
In terms of quality, both are obviously very good wines. Some posters on this board do not like more recent vintages of La Conseillante (post 2015), but they do get good scores.
Not sure what compelled me to make an account and reply lol.
Anyway, over the years I’ve come to rely much less on critics to make purchase decisions particularly if the purchase is intended for personal consumption. The surest way to know what a good wine is (to you), is to drink lots of it.
If I had to choose without having tried barrel samples personally, I would without hesitation go with VCC. Not necessarily for their less aggressive 2025 futures pricing c/w La Conseillante or that pretty hot pink capsule…
But back many years ago, I had a 6L VCC arriving on futures with a capsule/cork delivered with some possible issues. The store was no help but I reached out to VCC and, without hesitation, stood by the customer behind their product. I was able to get the bottle switched out at a UGC tasting. Not only that, Alexandre was good enough to oblige signing the bottle first in Bordeaux!
I guess acts of kindness makes the juice taste better and memories grow fonder with age?
Anyway, not sure what you mean by a case. 6 or 12x 750s. I believe 2025 VCC is offered in a case of 3 but 6 for LC if you want an OWC? Maybe you could get both. Or get VCC and some Duo. Not sure if VCC made any Gravette this year. Apparently parcels were incorporated into the Grand Vin with such low yields.
Question for those with experience:
If no option to store large formats inclined and no easy way to change position time to time, is horizontal clearly superior to vertical? I know this topic has been discussed. I have a 15L of 09 Pichon Baron with a wax capsule that partially chiped. Noticed over the decade, the cork became stained. Excellent fill. Temp and humidity controlled all this time. Is there too much pressure on the cork vertical, would this be a concern for 3L or 6L with less fluid? Appreciate any insights. Thanks!
15 liters is the equivalent of 20 bottles, an impressive beast, but only practical in the context of weddings, or vast gatherings that drink (or a few Scottish soccer fans).
If you don’t have anything coming up in the near future, it’s not a wine I would want to keep, but if you do decide to keep it, check out local wine warehouses. It will expensive, but here would make sense.
As for 2025 Right Bank wines, I am a little agnostic. Bear in mind, my tastes run to lower alcohol wines, and this is not a vintage that will be good if you are looking for more traditional ones.I am finding even my beloved VCCs are not as interesting as in the past. The price is good though, and supply is limited, so I suspect the cost will go up. Normally I would wait to taste; in this case you could probably buy, and after tasting still sell and get your money back.
Thank you. Not quite following about the warehouse recommendation.
I have cellar and multiple storage facilities. More juice than I et al will likely consume in our lifetimes. Similar situation to many here I suppose.
It’s just that I don’t have the option to store all the large formats inclined which is probably the most ideal with some of the wine in contact with the cork without undue pressure?
Agreed. Not many opportunities to pop large formats but they are sexy on display, quite exciting when that time and opportunity presents, and are very difficult to get with good provenance after the fact esp without paying a substantial premium ex chateau or whatever.
But, yes. In my mind, the sum of joy in popping and sharing a bottle of 2009 Pichon Baron on 20 occasions is likely greater than opening the 15L once. Let alone the risk of what if the large bottle is somehow flawed…
That is one reason why I usually never just purchase a wine in large format alone without additional standard bottles. And, if the price quality etc make sense en premier, I also have the option to purchase formats from a local merchant so I don’t have to worry about shipping logistics, provenance, etc. Pick up and immediately to temp humidy control.
Thank you for the reply.
PS: Is there a general consensus horizontal is better than vertical for long term storage if one has to choose? Has cork technology improved over the years for these larger formats?
Sometimes you can see the difference in a cork that has been stored vertically for a long time versus one that has been horizontally stored. When the cork is not in contact with liquid, it loses its suppleness and springiness. So over very long times it becomes brittle and dry.
I had picked up some '90s eras wine at auction that was stored that way and it was wildly different than the ones I personally stored.
It seems to me that if you are buying super size bottles you should find a way to keep them in their OWC sideways for many years.
Yes, I continue to store virtually all my large formats in OWC horizontally other than the ones I have on display.
There seems to be lots of factors to consider. Quality of the cork, volume of liquid, duration of storage, humidity etc.
For example..over the decades, I had pulled the cork on a 5L 1982 Mouton and 6L Haut Brion. Horizontal storage. Cork was stained about 1/2 way. Excellent ullage, no seepage. Those were foil capsules.
This 15L is over 2x the size. Stored horizontal for over a decade but less than those above. The wax capsule cracked and I could see wine staining through the exposed cork and a tiny drop of dried wine on the bottom of the Nebuchadnezzer wood case.
I have a 6L M. Chapoutier L’Ermite Blanc standing vertical for nearly 2 decades on display. The wax slightly cracked, no perceivable change in ullage or cork deterioration.
Thing is I mostly leave all my large formats otherwise sealed in OWC humidity and temp controlled long-term storage off-site. Can’t open, check capsule feel the cork and so forth easily after 2 decades.
Just looking for the latest insights and innovation in storage of large bottles and some reassurance I guess lol.
Admittedly disappointed with SAQ pricing in Quebec. On a very quick review, it looks like everything except for Cos is about 10-15% up on 2024 futures pricing:
CAD $ is so low right now they have to take into account it will probably drop further. Funny though how they had the prices up and then removed them. Last year they released the prices and then LCBO beat a lot of the prices by $5 or so mean they lost sales. Still we don’t have them many options and at least they only charge us 40% now and 60% later,
Regarding 2025 Jean Faure, and not previous vintages as I have no idea there, 2025 JF was not imported into the states. I have no idea why. They might have an exclusivity with 1 negociant who did not bring any in.
Large merchants that do their own importing can bring it in. I know there is wine available. I wish I had better news, but it is what it is,