2005 Bordeaux

Snacks

• NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Édition 168ème 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Lovely nose, surprisingly open with a fresh bread aspect. Fine mousse. Tight on the attack initially and through the mid palate. Feels very young but there’s a density and underlying Krugosity that suggests everything is in place and will emerge as it relaxes. ***(*) but this melds nicely over an hour or so in the glass. ***(*) or **** with a quick decant.

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Game parmentier, garlic butter

• 2005 Roc de Cambes 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Côtes de Bourg

  Dense ruby. Very full and richly fruited on the nose. Very plush. It’s like being caught in the middle of the mulberry harvest. Quite smooth on the attack with a relatively flamboyant feel to the mid palate. Some tannin but very smooth, though starts to build on the teeth. Black pepper and beef with air. ***1/2

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Château Beauregard 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Deep ruby. Far more mute on the nose. A dense minerality. Ripe but a nicely balanced attack. Some cassis on top of the blackcurrant leaf. Tannin is there in some force re-enforcing a licorice element on the finish. Dense and quite chalky chewy. Even with rich food this is a surly bruiser. ***

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Guineafowl, wild mushroom, Jerusalem artichoke

• 2005 Château Poujeaux Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc

  Denser and darker. More cherry red. Vanilla tinged mulberry and blackcurrant. Darker and slightly confected. Purer on the palate though, dense blackcurrant. After a while this appears slightly corked, but it’s had a long decant, and the cardboard wordiness seems to come and go, so maybe just a little herbal. *(**). 88pts on this showing but a sun sequent bottle from the same case was significantly better and more classic a week later, so I think my suspicion of low level TCA was correct.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Château La Lagune 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Dense ruby. Very fragrant in a floral sense. Cool yet sweetly fruited in a dark red spectrum. Good line and shape. Tannins fine and resolved enough for this to be a smooth drink now. Positive finish. Delightful. Holds true throughout the evening. ****

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Roasted pigeon, beetroot, crispy potato, quinoa

• 2005 Château Brane-Cantenac 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Classic blackcurrant and blackcurrant leaf nose. A little lighter on the palate, though the fruit remains dark. Lacks some definition and length — more front end rounded albeit in a clumsy way. Seems to pull together with air. Dry. **(*1/2)

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Château du Tertre 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Deep ruby. A lovely brightness here. Dolly herbaceous feel to the blackcurrant. Dark fruited. Quite broad and rounded on the attack, breadth rather than length. A nicely floral freshness with air. **(**)

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Château Beychevelle 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Darker and denser ruby, barely translucent. More serious nose too. Denser. Dark, quite sweet-fruited. In a darker hue to the GL. Finely dusty tannins. Hinting at dryness but less so than the Brans Cantenac. **(**)

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Château Gruaud Larose 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Deep ruby. Cool elegance on the nose. Blackcurrant leaf. Lovely line, sweet dark red fruit with a really dense core. A little more resolved on the finish than some in this flight, but really needs time. **(**)

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Cheese

• 2005 Château Batailley 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Nice blackcurrant leaf nose. Calm and classical. Blackcurrant fruit on the palate. If this was a musician it would be playing slightly flat currently. Needs time to tuneup. Similar feels to a bottle tasted in 2010. Currently on the dry side. **(*1/2)

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Similarly dusty blackcurrant nose. Lovely poise and focus on the attack. Cool but with a core of balancing sweet dark fruit. A savoury edge to the finish. Initially really giving and if not quite fully open, it’s showing signs. However after 30 mins this really closes and dries up to leave a very dry and dusty feel. **(**’

  Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Château Rieussec 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Classic Rieussec nose of coconut and pineapple with a hint of barley sugar. Some botrytis but nothing overdone or medicinal. A rich but restrained style, lacking the rich exuberance of the 03 in its youth, but very assured and in a lovely place. ****

  Post a Comment / 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue