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| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.3 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 39 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by jshufelt on 4/2/2024 & rated 90 points: Decanted 30 minutes before service. In the glass, no obvious signs of age, just a mature deep, dark purplish red. On the nose, also youthful, leading with currants and plums, with faint hints of mint and cedar in the background. On the palate, still quite a bit of fruit, with the secondary notes coming into play on the midpalate, as well as a modest amount of unresolved tannins on the finish. While there are those tannins, I'm not sure I would bet on further positive evolution at this point. (222 views) | | | Tasted by gboue on 9/26/2023: Gift (463 views) | | | Tasted by rnellans on 9/1/2023 & rated 92 points: Drinking well. Dark fruited. Balanced. No hurry to open the next one. (460 views) | | | Tasted by no leashes on 6/8/2022 & rated 91 points: Beautifully structured, dark earthy fruit. Drinking nicely with brief decant. (1168 views) | | | Tasted by no leashes on 12/31/2021 & rated 91 points: Paired with grilled ribeye on New Year's Eve, and it was delicious. Quick decant recommended, but wine is singing. (1339 views) | | | Tasted by cigar52 on 12/3/2021 & rated 90 points: Holding up nicely (surprised), but getting toward end of prime. (1353 views) | | | Tasted by levinml on 6/9/2021: As I'm trying to put in notes, I realize this might be simply the Sanctus labelling, not the Bienfaisance version. That said, nice, full bodied with fruit coming through (especially third night under pump). Think the cab franc gives it a little different flavor profile than I would normally expect, but good stuff. This will be good for a long time. (1541 views) | | | Tasted by rnellans on 4/6/2021 & rated 93 points: Classic Bordeaux nose. Rich, structured with plenty of fruit. No hurry on opening but drinking well now. (1598 views) | | | Tasted by rwpalmer on 3/15/2021 & rated 90 points: Still very dark. Full on plummy nose with oak no longer to the fore but still present. Not the most complex. Chunky. Tannins okay if not the finest. Adequate acidity. This is hugely improved since 2013 when the oak was dominating, but I still don't find it the most complex or elegant 05. However it has improved so much that I continue to hope for more. (1359 views) | | | Tasted by werdna39 on 10/9/2020 & rated 91 points: Third of six bottles (other two 6 months and 1.5 years ago) -- finally a good one. Don't know if it's serious bottle variation or if I finally waited long enough. I'm enjoying the gritty tannins on this one. (1317 views) | | | Tasted by danibus on 5/16/2020 & rated 91 points: Well balanced and structured blackberries, currant, cigar, and rocks, with still firm acidity that is drinking well and should last for five more years easy. A bit too modern me, but really impressive material. Reflects the great vintage. Not overdone like some other right banks. (1358 views) | | | Tasted by YoRi on 12/16/2019 & rated 90 points: Nettement meilleur impression que la dernière bouteille.
Couleur rouge bordeau très dense, beaucoup de lie déposée et écartée lors de la décantation.
Nez expressif, cassis, coulis de bleuets, café corsé, boite à cigare.
En bouche, les tanins sont encores biens fermes, un peu rapeux même, liqueur de cassis, chocolat noir, un peu tereux, persistance moyenne.
Pourrait soutenir encore quelques années de garde. (1526 views) | | | Tasted by mmcdds on 8/30/2019 & rated 92 points: Double decanted for about 1 1/2 hours and was still abit on the tight side but still exhibited lots of dark, penetrating, earthy blue and black fruit with tobacco undertones and a firm tannic core. This was my last bottle, and while it was quite nice, I think I should have waited a few more years to give the tannins time to integrate a little better. I guess a lot of these 05’s are still babies. (1448 views) | | | Tasted by Primordialsoup on 6/7/2019 & rated 92 points: Drinking well after a 2hr decant in decanter/glass. Welcoming nose. Resolved. Good earth in a grippy edged frame. Satisfying from entry to mid-palate and through finish. Glad I waited. Have one more and will wait another 3-5 as there is plenty left but very good tonight. (1605 views) | | | Tasted by edjBoca on 3/30/2019 & rated 91 points: OK....this was not ready with a 3 hour decant. I closed the bottle and put it in the freezer after 6 hours open. Today, a month later, I let the wine sit uncorked by the window for 4 hours. It defrosted and now resembles a medium to full bodied california Merlot. It still has some tannin, but the fruit finally showed with a big bright currant burst, before a somewhat retrained structured finish. This will be better in a few years. (1514 views) | | | Tasted by rnellans on 8/12/2018 & rated 91 points: Pleasant and nothing special Easy to drink now. Floral notes on nose. Medium body. (2157 views) | | | Tasted by tmoritz1 on 3/7/2018 & rated 92 points: Drinking very well,Nose of dried plum nd dates-bit of leather -Deep claret colorGood legs and smooth finish (2220 views) | | | Tasted by YoRi on 8/6/2016 & rated 88 points: La note tient compte du prix.
Décanté et laisser en carafe environ 1h30. Un longue traîné de liés fines laissée dans la bouteille.
Apparence ruouge bleuté très dense, légèrement voilé.
Nez discret, prune bleue, fer.
En bouche, tanins légèrement râpeux, de la mâche, sur le fruit (malgré l'âge), réglisse. Persistance moyenne. Manque de relief mais tout de même bien équilibré. (3582 views) | | | Tasted by Bob Sacamano on 12/5/2015 & rated 91 points: Tasting Bordeaux Blind (Edina, MN): Tasted Blind. Roughly 2h decant. Nose was tight and muted. Full body and dark purple in color. Powerful, even hot perhaps. Nondescript red fruit on the round, clean palette. A bit shallow on the mid-palette. Tannin seems unresolved, with too much grip still at this stage. I guessed '96 Canon-la-Gaffelière. Hold. (4120 views) | | | Tasted by Fox8868 on 9/24/2015 & rated 85 points: Could have continued aging. Still very dry. Needed to open up. Definitely decant (3948 views) | | | Tasted by jimkay21 on 4/12/2015 & rated 91 points: I, on the other hand, am finding this very enjoyable. Dark red color, trufflely, gamey nose. I'm getting a nice Bordeaux palate of black fruit, integrated tannin and acidity that seems balanced to the wine's density. Finish is medium length. Purchased on release and cellared until today. (4013 views) | | | Tasted by yossarian.livez on 7/6/2014 & rated 83 points: Nose of dark fruits, but restrained. Palate of dark fruits, green pepper, some wood. Not particularly refined or precise. Tannin is slightly coarse. Finish is modest (4556 views) | | | Tasted by rwpalmer on 9/24/2013 & rated 86 points: Consumed over three nights. Great depth of colour. Moderate brightness. Nose correct Left Bank but never opening into anything distinctive. Initially huge tannins medium-grained with a fair weight of oak, but coming into better balance on subsequent nights. The fruit is a bit lost but not absent. I am left unclear how this will develop. Many 2005's seem obturate at present and this may well have the ingredients to grow in time, though I am not certain. Leave 2+ years. (4033 views) | | | Tasted by Tj5485 on 2/6/2012 & rated 91 points: Decanted for an hour. Evolved afte every sip. Leather, coffee and berries were strong on the nose. Very long strong finish. Delicious. (5244 views) | | | Tasted by tcfishler on 9/24/2011: Dark red. Smoky, highly made-up nose shows mostly oak, albeit fine oak, along with mega-ripe strawberry fruit. The palate is dominated by similar notes (except for considerably darker fruit), but the texture is all 120s wool with almost no dryness or noticeable wood tannin. A chunky-merlot style of St. Emilion. (5476 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Château la Bienfaisance Producer website - Read more about Chateau La Bienfaisance SanctusRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanLibournais Libournais (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux) - Read more about St. Emilion and its wines - Read more about Pomerol and its wines
Saint Emilion Grat Classified Growth, Classified Growths, Grands Crus Classes, GCC
In 1954, while the "Graves" growths had just published their own classification, the wine syndicate of Saint-Emilion, composed by wine growers, brokers and wine traders with the approval of the INAO - Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (A.O.C), decided to work on a classification for the wines of Saint Emilion. Initially, four grades were defined. These were reduced to two - First Great Classified Growth (A and B) and Great Classified Growth - in 1984.
As of Medoc's 1855 historical grading, the Saint-Emilion Great Classified Growth classification is not only based on qualitative criteria by tasting the wines on a ten years period previous to the assessment, but also on commercial considerations such as:
- sales price levels
- national and international commercial distribution
- the estate's reputation on the market
Properties who don't manage to join the club of about sixty Classified Growths are given the denomination of Great Growth ("Grand Cru"), while the remaining wineries of the A.O.C are simply reported as "Saint-Emilion". It is to be noted that the owners must officially apply to appear in the official classification. Thus for example the famous Chateau Tertre-Roteboeuf, whose quality and reputation would easily justify to be listed among the First Great Classified Growths, does not appear here by the will of its owner, François Mitjaville.
The Saint-Emilion Great Growth classification was revised in 1969, 1985, 1996 and 2006. The only two guaranteed vintage (A.O.C) who can apply to the classification are the "Saint-Emilion Grand Cru" and "Saint-Emilion" areas.
By grading 61 properties, the 2006 revision confirmed many growths from the former classification, but also caused a number of surprises and a few inevitable disappointments. Many observers thought that the impressive progression of Perse's Chateau Pavie since 1998 would be rewarded by an upgrade into the First Great Classified Growths (A) category, but finally such was not the case.
Among the estates promoted to the First Great Classified Growths B category are Chateau Troplong-Mondot and Pavie-Macquin, whose efforts made since the Nineties fully justify their new grade. It should be noted that no First Great Classified Growth was relegated to the lower Great Classified Growth class.
Promoted growths from the status of Great Growth ("Grand Cru") to Great Classified Growth ("Grand Cru Classe") are: Chateaux Bellefont-Belcier, Destieux, Fleur Cardinale, Grand Corbin, Grand Corbin-Despagne and Monbousquet.
The demoted growths from the status of Great Classified Growth to Great Growth are: Chateaux Bellevue, Cadet Bon, Faurie de Souchard, Guadet Saint-Julien, La Tour du Pin-Figeac (Belivier), La Tour du Pin-Figeac (Moueix), Lamarzelle, Petite Faurie de Soutard, Tertre Daugay, Villemaurine and Yon-Figeac. If the recent samples of some of the above mentioned properties may justify their current downgrade, there are great chances that estates like Bellevue, Tertre Daugay or Yon-Figeac will be upgraded to their previous rankings by the next revision in 2016 as the progresses noted after 2000, but not entering in the range of vintages (1993 - 2002) appointed for the criteria of selection for the 2006 classification, are noticable.
The two following estates have completely disappeared from the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classification: Curé-Bon-la-Madeleine (integrated meanwhile to Chateau Canon) and La Clusière (integrated meanwhile to Chateau Pavie).
Finally, no estate considered as "garagiste" has integrated the classification. Valandraud, Mondotte, Le Dome, Bellevue-Mondotte or Magrez-Fombrauge have, for the least, the potential to be ranked as Great Classified Growths. In sight of the very fine quality reached by the above mentioned estates in recent vintages as well as all the innovative wine making methods used by the "garagistes", it remains to be seen whether the authorities will dare to cross the line in 2016..?St. Émilion Grand Cru Les Vins de St. Émilion (Syndicate Vitocole de Saint-Emilion) – Read about St. Emilion
Vins de Bordeaux:
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot
Soil: Sandy soils with alluvial gravel deposits
Surface Area: 4,160 ha |
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