Intense aromas of kirsch, currant and spice follow through to a full-bodied palate, with round, velvety tannins and a long, long finish. This is complex, changing on the nose and palate. Layered and structured. Will improve for many years to come.

A soft plum colour, beginning to soften towards tawny and amber around the edge. On the nose tobacco, truffles, beeswax, walnut, saffron, camphor, with a softly spoken blackberry and gentle woodsmoke. Very much in its drinking window, just starting to get strawberry and higher acidity notes on the finish. This is made for a cigar and a book in front of a fire, or for chatting long into the evening with friends. Drink now and over the next five to 10 years, although no doubt it will surprise us for a few decades more. Last tasted July 2018 and it has dropped a little since then, although could be bottle variation. Harvest September 14-29. 100% 1st wine at this point, as Dame de Montrose arrived in 1986.

The 1982 Montrose is an epochal wine for this writer as it opened my mind to the joy of fermented grape juice in the first furlongs of my career. Though I have drunk it countless times thereafter, never from an imperial and no doubt that underlines why this is one of the best examples. Old school on the nose that is armed with scents of forest floor, freshly-rolled tobacco and pencil shavings, it is not earth-shatteringly complex, yet has more grace compared to regular bottles. Likewise, the palate is well balanced and fresh, delicate considering château and vintage, fine-boned with darker fruit laced with cedar towards the finish. (NM)