A very nice Pomerol-Merlot bomb (and 15% Cab Franc). Not my first L'Eglise and being a left-banky, very positively surprised. Think that the 2005 Clos l'Eglise is just entering the drinking window by waking up from its (first) Bordeaux Beauty Sleep and thus, still a relatively youthful on the palate. Astonishing fresh red fruity notes, an intense and long finish though the tannins were a bit on the weaker side imho. Putting this one on my radar screen and willing to continue to top my toe in the right-bank wine.
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Continuing to soften, fill out, and integrate, the wine is soft, silky, and loaded with earthy cherries, plums, truffles, and flowers on the nose and palate, finishing with polished, red pit fruits, spice, and wet earth. At close to 20 years of age, this is just about ready to hit its sweet spot. Drink from 2023-2040.
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This is developing quite nicely. Still packed with deep, dark fruits, chocolate, truffle, espresso, wet earth and a touch of spice, the wine is full-bodied, there is a solid depth of flavor, length and energy in the finish. The tannins are soft, silky and polished. This is quite nice today, but it remains youthful, so another 3-5 years will be beneficial to the wine.
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Cellared since release, perfect cork and fill. Pop and pour. Dark red to rim. Intense nose bursts forth with rich dark plummy fruit, moist earth, hints of smoke. Full bodied, rich lush ripe fruit and a modern feel, good balance and a long finish right out of the gate. The 14% ABV does not stick out at all. Some noticeable oak but not intrusive.
However, tannins go from present to dominant within 30 minutes of opening, overtaking the fruit, and a slightly chemical note is subtly present. Could it be corked? No telltale hints of TCA (I’m unfortunately sensitive), and it doesn’t get any worse over the next couple of hours. Is it too extracted? Just too young? I’m not loving it so it goes into the fridge (uncorked) for the next day. Judgment reserved.
The next evening the wine is transformed. The nose is again dark plummy fruits and moist earth. The fruit is front and center on the palate, the tannins and acid are well balanced. Full body, long finish. Modern but not overblown or overextracted. My conclusion is that it’s too young. Give it a few years or lots of time in a decanter if you want to drink one now. Excellent.
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Drank really well at about 18c after a 30 min decant and held a plush plateau of dark plummy chocolatey richness for about 2 hrs then fell off the cliff.
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Showing a lot of extraction after a 2005 Pomerol Horizontal (Conseillante, Eglise-Clinet, VCC, Trotanoy, Violette, Evangile) - felt overworked with too much oak, tannin, everything. It had the same deep plum fruit as its peers but none of the silky palate textures seen in most of the other
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This 2005 Clos l’Eglise is still a baby and needs a few more years of more cellaring at least. Tasted blind – Great nose with serious intensity and rigid structure. Sweet oak barrels, ripe dark berries, smoky tar, dark chocolate, rich and sumptuous dark cherry and cassis. Tannic with good amount of new oak. Tignanello? 2010? (85/100)
Drunk next to a comtesse 03. Very big bordering on too big. Could be a good wine but it needs to be left and I still have my doubts. Comtesse was far nicer and I normally prefer Pomerols
Quite rich, red fruit, bit of stewed black fruit on end. Hint of tobacco starting to poke through. This is good and easy without being interesting. But goes down pleasantly with grilled meats on a late summer evening.
Last bottle, sigh, on a kinda emotional day RIP Anthony Bourdain. Nose - coffee, heat, dark fruit but still primary Mouth - superb mouthfeel, superbly rich, fruit compote , dense, chewy, primary. This just seemed like the right thing to do but the fact that I just drank my last bottle is lamentable as this is not yet in prime.
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If you’re in the mood for smoky truffles, licorice and dark plums, you came to the right place. Especially if you're seeking lush, sweet, silky berries, and a touch of oak along with some tannin that remains needing to resolve. The wine is offering great pleasure now and will only get better with a more time in the cellar.
decanted for several hours lush plum, coffee, suede like tannins. very nice, and likely will continue to improve. more available than the '05 Leoville Poyferre which was tasted side by side
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Can't rate this yet. Big bold tannic monster. Wish I would have waited another 3-5 years before opening this one. Very powerful wine but not near ready to drink. Would imagine this wine would have a 20-25 year drinking window...starting in 3-5 years. I see others have rated it I just don't know how the hell you rate something like this.
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2005 Bordeaux Retrospective (Morrell Wine, 1 Rockefeller Plaza): The nose showed red and blueberry fruit, soil and minerals, with intense and lifting aromas. On the palate, smooth dark fruit expanded across the senses with heavy-silky textures displaying seamless balance. Structure set in on the finish and begged the question of just how long this will mature in the cellar with its large scale fruit kept in perfect check.
Modern style, but not over-extracted. Deep, concentrated, dark purple in color. Surprisingly approachable with only 1 hour of air, but opened up nicely. Rich plum, blueberry jam, earth, truffle, and chocolate. So smooth on the palate, with impeccable balance. Firm tannins. With more oak integration and aging, this wine could easily approach 97+. Can't wait to follow this wine.
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Bordeaux 2005 : Ten years on (Bordeaux Index London): A bit metallic, beefy on the nose but also tobacco, with a “breezy freshness”. Palate is savory, with jammy red and black fruits and excellent tannic edge as well. Fully body and long finish. Delicious and manages the 14% alcohol quite well (most others are 13.5%)
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First impression is the extraordinary silky mouthfeel, second is the somewhat restrained nose and relatively short finish. Makes me believe this bottle was opened far too soon. Heard some pomerol wines are very slow to reach their apogee. No doubt that is especially true with this 2005. Lots of expectation here.
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Dinner at Bistro Rollin- 96- wonderful, special wine, beautiful bouquet and taste- black fruit, blueberry, strawberry, plum, long finish, very young- 3 hours before dinner we decanted more times than we counted, at dinner we poured back and forth from the glasses innumeral times and WOW! It showed its beauty, "sweetness" and enhanced the senses. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! While it's too young, it's not going to be possible to wait very long for the next bottle.
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Decanted for two hours. Very silk and elegant. This is the top of the hill. Vibrant and rich. The nose fills the senses. The palate permeates. and the finish goes on and on. This is one "sweet" wine and still evolving. Pomerol at its finest.
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Decanted for two hours and drank in a 42 oz glass with friends. This is the first bottle of a case purchased on release and stored in my cellar. This is a wonderful wine. Best I've had for a while. I will only drink the rest with my best friends. It is that good!
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nose - candied cherry but in a good way, in a homemade sense, like a compote. blackberry, raspberry, then coffee, toast, and dark chocolate. a crazy nose. mouth - good initial (immediate) dark fruit attack. rich wine, good minerality, mouthcoating dry tannins, and overall somewhat closed. needs time. has potential.
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Decanted four times, utilizing two decanters every half hour. The nose pure and clean. A lot of mocha, blackberry, fresh cut cedar and a little plum. The nose just screams from the glass, and yet relaxes in a soft way at the end. The palate caressingly coats your tongue with layered fruit and is quite elegant. The tannins are silky and the finish does not quite. What a classic Pomerol. Still young and would reward cellaring. Best from 2012 - .
2005 is my favorite Bordeaux vintage ever! some of them are starting to open back up and display the acidity, freshness and silky tannin character that we all fell in love with a year and a half ago. It's starting to get hard again to not drink them now. Some Chateaux will be in a dumb phase for a while - Leoville Barton, Cos D'estournel, Las Cases, L'evangile, La Mission Haut Brion, Pontet Canet and 1st Growth's (amongst others). What a vintage!!! In my opinion, better than '86 (really starting to peak) '89 (which I love!), '90 (Inspirational), '95 (finally coming around), '00 (Love and wait!) and '03 (Love and deserves more credit from the Claret snobs). The aromatic qualities are out of this world!!
Molten, black cherry with licorice, plums and mocha tease and please the nose. This wine is filled with layers of rich, ripe, black fruit that unfolds over your palate. The tannins are sweet. This full bodied, hedonistic wine feels round in your mouth. The only flaw at this point is the slight touch of oak in the finish. That will in all probability become fully integrated as the wine ages and evolves. This is a stylish example of Pomerol.
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1/10/2024 - Redbordo Likes this wine: 96 Points
One hour decant, early drinking window to my palate. Soft, good concentration and nice balance. Easy drinking pomerol.
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9/16/2023 - paulst Likes this wine: 89 Points
Earth; resolved; light blackberry; short finish.
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9/10/2023 - luHar1423 Likes this wine: 94 Points
A very nice Pomerol-Merlot bomb (and 15% Cab Franc). Not my first L'Eglise and being a left-banky, very positively surprised. Think that the 2005 Clos l'Eglise is just entering the drinking window by waking up from its (first) Bordeaux Beauty Sleep and thus, still a relatively youthful on the palate. Astonishing fresh red fruity notes, an intense and long finish though the tannins were a bit on the weaker side imho.
Putting this one on my radar screen and willing to continue to top my toe in the right-bank wine.
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5/30/2023 - mdanyc Likes this wine: 91 Points
Quite syrupy upon first opening, but a couple of hours later that passes. Intense, forward fruit, mocha, some sweetness. Still developing I think.
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2/13/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Continuing to soften, fill out, and integrate, the wine is soft, silky, and loaded with earthy cherries, plums, truffles, and flowers on the nose and palate, finishing with polished, red pit fruits, spice, and wet earth. At close to 20 years of age, this is just about ready to hit its sweet spot. Drink from 2023-2040.
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1/29/2023 - stuartwh wrote:
English lunch
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9/21/2022 - stuartwh wrote:
Dinner with wards Bentleys
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5/24/2022 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
Marvel and ready to go
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4/10/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
This is developing quite nicely. Still packed with deep, dark fruits, chocolate, truffle, espresso, wet earth and a touch of spice, the wine is full-bodied, there is a solid depth of flavor, length and energy in the finish. The tannins are soft, silky and polished. This is quite nice today, but it remains youthful, so another 3-5 years will be beneficial to the wine.
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3/10/2022 - Oaklands wrote:
CBB tasting at parlour
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2/26/2022 - dbg wrote:
Cellared since release, perfect cork and fill. Pop and pour. Dark red to rim. Intense nose bursts forth with rich dark plummy fruit, moist earth, hints of smoke. Full bodied, rich lush ripe fruit and a modern feel, good balance and a long finish right out of the gate. The 14% ABV does not stick out at all. Some noticeable oak but not intrusive.
However, tannins go from present to dominant within 30 minutes of opening, overtaking the fruit, and a slightly chemical note is subtly present. Could it be corked? No telltale hints of TCA (I’m unfortunately sensitive), and it doesn’t get any worse over the next couple of hours. Is it too extracted? Just too young? I’m not loving it so it goes into the fridge (uncorked) for the next day. Judgment reserved.
The next evening the wine is transformed. The nose is again dark plummy fruits and moist earth. The fruit is front and center on the palate, the tannins and acid are well balanced. Full body, long finish. Modern but not overblown or overextracted. My conclusion is that it’s too young. Give it a few years or lots of time in a decanter if you want to drink one now. Excellent.
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2/6/2022 - ubercuvee wrote:
Really heavily over-extracted. I doubt this will ever come into balance given that its peers in Pomerol from '05 show much better already.
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7/31/2021 - danibus Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep and rich but lacked nuance and complexity. Smooth dark fruit and coffee. I suspect it will develop nicely with another 5-10 years. Hold. 92+
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3/3/2021 - Redbordo wrote: 96 Points
Still with some tannins to resolve but excellent. Full bodied, dark fruits, oak and chocolate, with plenty of time ahead.
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12/14/2020 - jmoon Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank really well at about 18c after a 30 min decant and held a plush plateau of dark plummy chocolatey richness for about 2 hrs then fell off the cliff.
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9/7/2020 - Tom Warden wrote: 96 Points
Rich, complex, balanced.
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7/13/2020 - ubercuvee wrote:
Showing a lot of extraction after a 2005 Pomerol Horizontal (Conseillante, Eglise-Clinet, VCC, Trotanoy, Violette, Evangile) - felt overworked with too much oak, tannin, everything. It had the same deep plum fruit as its peers but none of the silky palate textures seen in most of the other
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6/3/2020 - Jammy Wine wrote: 85 Points
This 2005 Clos l’Eglise is still a baby and needs a few more years of more cellaring at least. Tasted blind – Great nose with serious intensity and rigid structure. Sweet oak barrels, ripe dark berries, smoky tar, dark chocolate, rich and sumptuous dark cherry and cassis. Tannic with good amount of new oak. Tignanello? 2010? (85/100)
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1/31/2020 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
concentrated and enjoyable with long life ahead of it
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8/24/2019 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
still tannic with no end to it in sight
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7/3/2019 - travelculture wrote: 91 Points
Drunk best right out of the bottle with fruit-tannin balance, then become less interesting over the next couple hours, but very good overall.
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5/6/2019 - HENNO1 wrote: 91 Points
Drunk next to a comtesse 03. Very big bordering on too big. Could be a good wine but it needs to be left and I still have my doubts. Comtesse was far nicer and I normally prefer Pomerols
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8/18/2018 - LW31 wrote:
Quite rich, red fruit, bit of stewed black fruit on end. Hint of tobacco starting to poke through. This is good and easy without being interesting. But goes down pleasantly with grilled meats on a late summer evening.
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6/8/2018 - soyhead wrote:
Last bottle, sigh, on a kinda emotional day RIP Anthony Bourdain.
Nose - coffee, heat, dark fruit but still primary
Mouth - superb mouthfeel, superbly rich, fruit compote , dense, chewy, primary.
This just seemed like the right thing to do but the fact that I just drank my last bottle is lamentable as this is not yet in prime.
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1/20/2018 - G_H wrote: 94 Points
A Cappella (Martin‘s House): Mocca, banana, chocolate, herbs, graphite. quite some tannins left slightly lactic but very warm
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11/11/2017 - M Little Likes this wine:
Great wine, but it’s too young. Give it 5 more years.
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9/18/2017 - dchain wrote:
Unfortunately an affected bottle. Possible closure issue.
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5/27/2017 - Jdwinedrinker Likes this wine:
My first of 6 as I dip into some 05's
I like it. Big rich fruit and powerful. Too early but was fun to drink over several hours
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7/16/2016 - mariano42 Likes this wine: 95 Points
great cassis and acidity and softness. almost like a ten year old st julien. very unlike a standard pomerol but brilliant nonetheless. lovely wine
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10/17/2015 - npdev wrote: 93 Points
Delicious but nowhere near ready to my palate
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6/28/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
If you’re in the mood for smoky truffles, licorice and dark plums, you came to the right place. Especially if you're seeking lush, sweet, silky berries, and a touch of oak along with some tannin that remains needing to resolve. The wine is offering great pleasure now and will only get better with a more time in the cellar.
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5/28/2015 - Enfantterrible wrote: 91 Points
Slow ox'd for 8 hours, but still very closed. Wait another 5 years or a very long decant. Excellent material though. Very intense wine
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4/11/2015 - soyhead wrote:
decanted for several hours
lush plum, coffee, suede like tannins. very nice, and likely will continue to improve. more available than the '05 Leoville Poyferre which was tasted side by side
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4/6/2015 - Golf_Wine wrote:
Can't rate this yet. Big bold tannic monster. Wish I would have waited another 3-5 years before opening this one. Very powerful wine but not near ready to drink. Would imagine this wine would have a 20-25 year drinking window...starting in 3-5 years. I see others have rated it I just don't know how the hell you rate something like this.
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3/30/2015 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 95 Points
2005 Bordeaux Retrospective (Morrell Wine, 1 Rockefeller Plaza): The nose showed red and blueberry fruit, soil and minerals, with intense and lifting aromas. On the palate, smooth dark fruit expanded across the senses with heavy-silky textures displaying seamless balance. Structure set in on the finish and begged the question of just how long this will mature in the cellar with its large scale fruit kept in perfect check.
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2/14/2015 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 96 Points
Modern style, but not over-extracted. Deep, concentrated, dark purple in color. Surprisingly approachable with only 1 hour of air, but opened up nicely. Rich plum, blueberry jam, earth, truffle, and chocolate. So smooth on the palate, with impeccable balance. Firm tannins. With more oak integration and aging, this wine could easily approach 97+. Can't wait to follow this wine.
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1/29/2015 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bordeaux 2005 : Ten years on (Bordeaux Index London): A bit metallic, beefy on the nose but also tobacco, with a “breezy freshness”. Palate is savory, with jammy red and black fruits and excellent tannic edge as well. Fully body and long finish. Delicious and manages the 14% alcohol quite well (most others are 13.5%)
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2/27/2014 - et-in-arcadia-ego wrote: 95 Points
First impression is the extraordinary silky mouthfeel, second is the somewhat restrained nose and relatively short finish. Makes me believe this bottle was opened far too soon. Heard some pomerol wines are very slow to reach their apogee. No doubt that is especially true with this 2005. Lots of expectation here.
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2/9/2014 - benny wrote: 95 Points
Drinking really well now. Should I cellar the wine longer hoping for a 97?
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2/8/2014 - Coffeecup Likes this wine: 96 Points
Dinner at Bistro Rollin- 96- wonderful, special wine, beautiful bouquet and taste- black fruit, blueberry, strawberry, plum, long finish, very young- 3 hours before dinner we decanted more times than we counted, at dinner we poured back and forth from the glasses innumeral times and WOW! It showed its beauty, "sweetness" and enhanced the senses. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! While it's too young, it's not going to be possible to wait very long for the next bottle.
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2/1/2014 - benny wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for two hours. Very silk and elegant. This is the top of the hill. Vibrant and rich. The nose fills the senses. The palate permeates. and the finish goes on and on. This is one "sweet" wine and still evolving. Pomerol at its finest.
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12/9/2013 - benny wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for two hours and drank in a 42 oz glass with friends. This is the first bottle of a case purchased on release and stored in my cellar. This is a wonderful wine. Best I've had for a while. I will only drink the rest with my best friends. It is that good!
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5/25/2013 - Hazevedo wrote: 92 Points
- Brick color.
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1/28/2010 - soyhead wrote: 92 Points
nose - candied cherry but in a good way, in a homemade sense, like a compote. blackberry, raspberry, then coffee, toast, and dark chocolate. a crazy nose. mouth - good initial (immediate) dark fruit attack. rich wine, good minerality, mouthcoating dry tannins, and overall somewhat closed. needs time. has potential.
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9/26/2009 - Matt Scott wrote: 95 Points
Decanted four times, utilizing two decanters every half hour. The nose pure and clean. A lot of mocha, blackberry, fresh cut cedar and a little plum. The nose just screams from the glass, and yet relaxes in a soft way at the end. The palate caressingly coats your tongue with layered fruit and is quite elegant. The tannins are silky and the finish does not quite. What a classic Pomerol. Still young and would reward cellaring. Best from 2012 - .
2005 is my favorite Bordeaux vintage ever! some of them are starting to open back up and display the acidity, freshness and silky tannin character that we all fell in love with a year and a half ago. It's starting to get hard again to not drink them now. Some Chateaux will be in a dumb phase for a while - Leoville Barton, Cos D'estournel, Las Cases, L'evangile, La Mission Haut Brion, Pontet Canet and 1st Growth's (amongst others).
What a vintage!!! In my opinion, better than '86 (really starting to peak) '89 (which I love!), '90 (Inspirational), '95 (finally coming around), '00 (Love and wait!) and '03 (Love and deserves more credit from the Claret snobs). The aromatic qualities are out of this world!!
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6/15/2008 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
Molten, black cherry with licorice, plums and mocha tease and please the nose. This wine is filled with layers of rich, ripe, black fruit that unfolds over your palate. The tannins are sweet. This full bodied, hedonistic wine feels round in your mouth. The only flaw at this point is the slight touch of oak in the finish. That will in all probability become fully integrated as the wine ages and evolves. This is a stylish example of Pomerol.
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3/28/2006 - Burgundy Al wrote:
2005 Bordeaux en Primeur; 3/26/2006-3/28/2006 (Bordeaux France): En Primeur tasting. Sweet black berries, liqueur, dark chocolate, anise with intense richness. Not the most elegant wine, but very tasty potential.
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