CHÂTEAU MONTLANDRIE

2016 Côtes de Castillon

EN PRIMEUR

75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep glass-coating colour. Seriously dry limestone-influenced fruit and power. There's real drive under this, a firm mineral power. Harder work now than some of the easier wines in the Denis Durantou stable, but time will reward. Drinking range: 2024 - 2032 Rating: 90-92 L&S (Apr 2017)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

The 2016 Montlandrie has an attractive, well-defined bouquet of blackberry, raspberry, cedar and subtle figgy aromas, the oak neatly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent tannins, and quite tarry in style, with a gentle grip on the saline, almost Left Bank-inspired finish. Fine, but a bit broody at present. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2021 - 2034 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Aug 2020)

This brilliant property delivers value and succulent fruit year after year. Particularly intense and packed with blackberry and raspberry fruits in the 2016 vintage, just now softening to become perfect to drink.Jane Anson, Decanter (Jun 2020)

Another one of those hidden gems from the Castillon region of Bordeaux, the 2016 Château Montlandrie is a rock star of a wine that readers should snatch up! From more clay soils (the region is mostly limestone) and with surprising power and richness, it offers a stacked bouquet of red and black currants, smoked earth, and chocolate. Full-bodied and concentrated, with ripe tannins and terrific balance, it’s a winner. Drink it over the coming 10-15 years. Drinking range: 2019 - 2034 Rating: 94 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Feb 2019)

The 2016 Montlandrie is laced with the essence of inky blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol and licorice. Pliant and fruity, with striking depth, the 2016 is another gorgeous wine in this set of new releases from Denis Durantou. The 2016 is irresistibly beautiful, exotic and beguiling. It's as simple as that. Drinking range: 2021 - 2031 Rating: 92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

The 2016 Montlandrie is a blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 3-17 October. It was picked at 40 hectoliters per hectare and raised in 60% new oak (although my sample was from a one-year-old barrel). It is the first vintage to include more than 80% of the vines that were planted by Denis Durantou after 2008. This has a more broody bouquet than the two Lalande-de-Pomerols, just a touch of leafiness originating from the Cabernet Sauvignon that enhances the complexity. The palate is medium-bodied with fine structure, more saline than the Les Cruzelles, backward at the moment, but the Cabernets impart some lovely graphite notes on the saline finish. Superb. Expect this to land towards the top of my banded score once in bottle. Drinking range: 2021 - 2036 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

Fresh and engaging, with lovely raspberry and plum fruit, backed by a pronounced minerally edge. Shows a slightly firm spine through the spice-tinged finish. Rating: 89-92 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2017)

Very fine and polished with pretty tannins, balance and fruit. Medium-bodied, fresh and clean. All about clarity. Rating: 92-93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)

The 2016 Montlandrie is powerful and bold to its core. Layers of dense, dark fruit, chocolate, lavender spice and sweet oak saturate the palate. Dense and voluptuous, this racy wine from Denis Durantou is packed and ready to deliver maximum pleasure upon release. Rating: 88-91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

Generally the most tannic of Denis Duranotu’s impressive range, this is the one where he says “thanks” to Cabernet Sauvignon for providing extra backbone and tannin. Dark fruits, some orange zest and considerable underlying structure make this a wine that will reward patience. Drinking range: 2025 - 2032 Rating: 93 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2017)

The 2016 Montlandrie has an attractive, well-defined bouquet of blackberry, raspberry, cedar and subtle figgy aromas, the oak neatly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent tannins, and quite tarry in style, with a gentle grip on the saline, almost Left Bank-inspired finish. Fine, but a bit broody at present. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2021 - 2034 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 1899)

Among the brightest stars of the exalted Pomerol appellation is Denis Durantou at Château l’Eglise-Clinet. A little further south-east, across the boundary in the Côtes de Castillon is Château Montlandrie that Denis bought in 2009. Much renovation has taken place at the 12ha vineyard that includes, almost uniquely for the Right Bank, new plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon that now make up 15% of the vineyard alongside the usual 65% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc.

Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.

Ordering

Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.

Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.

Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.

Confirmation

All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.

Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.

Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.

Delivery

  • Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
  • Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
  • Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
  • Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.

Practical notes - how it works

We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.

When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.

Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.

One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.

Additional charges are as follows:-

  • +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
  • +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
  • +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
  • +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.