8/27/2013 - Brmaso Likes this wine:

Secondary aromatics spew from the glass of truffle, eucolyptis, mentholly mint, leather, tobacco, wet creekbed, ink, pencil lead, baked blueberry, baked cherry, honey-dipped-cassis and a tad of kirsch liquor culminating in a glorious display of new world/high-alcohol/in your face awesomeness. Not for the faint of heart, the 03 Troplong is made in a blockbuster, low acid style with amped alcohol..but it still somehow retains its freshness. The tannin is still not 100% fully integrated and dusty, and there is still a bit of oak behind the cedar on the nose and palate. But this is still a silky wine. The finish is long, glycerin tinged and very coating. Still, I would like to see a little more fresh 'pizaz' and less muddled flavors (they were a pain to differentiate until well into my buzz). Very well made, this hot vintaged wine from one of the superstars from Saint-Emilions best terroirs should hold up well for at least 10 more years. I hope to have some to check in on in 2023 to see if it has the stuffing to last 10 more. On a different note, I will never understand why well made, big 03 BDX will be so controversial. If you are a purist who says Bordeaux has to be super classical and Bordeauxy..well..fine..but I'm not an aristocrat who drinks with my pinky pointed to the sky when I slurp (I make sure to point it downwards for that)- just tell me this, if this was from California, would it not kick ass?? Best from 2016-2022 if I had to guess, but I'm hesitant creating a drinking window for 03, especially on the right bank..

5/18/2013 - Cheungtp wrote:

Birthday dinner gathering with 2003 wines (Hong Kong): Its unfortunate that this great wine didn't show its true form tonight, seems like its not ready for business. Tight, green notes and muted fruits and smoke. On the palate, not much fruit or secondary nuances, yet rather spicy. Hope this is just an off bottle, and will have better showing next time.

3/3/2013 - willmark wrote:

3rd March 2013
The last bottle I tasted was in 2010. Based on the tasting notes of that bottle, it would appear thar I left it late to taste the second bottle.
The nose is not intense with any specific bouquet. There are some legs though not significant. The first mouthful tasted a little sweet and further mouthfuls brought out some chocolate. The finish was not especially long. As such, I would prefer this wine in its youth rather than after a longer cellaring period.
Still, it is a medium bodied wine that can be enjoyed.

4/9/2013 - Brmaso Likes this wine:

It is almost appalling to read the lesser reviews of this iconic wine. There comes a point where subjectivity becomes just plain wrong...

This is a blockbuster powerhouse that will re-define your definition of tannin. The 05 Pontet is built to last the long haul for sure, and should easily turn out to be a 40+ year wine. Still young and inky, the wine possesses globs of rich fruit - creme de cassis, red currant, blackberry, blueberry and wild cherry - vibrant mineral notes, and everything else that screams Pauillac in a classic wine from a ripe vintage. The balance is impeccable, and the acidity keeps it fresh. All and all, this is a wine for your children..but please pop open a bottle or two before you pass it off to see what great, fresh young bordeaux is supposed to taste like.

Finding an argument in Alfred Tesseron's biodynamic approach to wine making is literally impossible when you taste his modern day legends after taking the realm in '94. In the golden age for bdx (2000-present), he is one of the leaders year in and year out, and this aristocratic 2005 also offers hedonists the opportunity to get lost in the moment.

Do not look for a overblown california fruit bomb here. This is power and finesse to the highest degree. Impeccable in every way. If you do not like the style, you still would not be able to make the argument that this juice is anything but extraordinary.

As a footnote, somebody said something to the effect of 'beware, this wine may not age well' or something like that... what a rookie.

1/20/2013 - Brmaso wrote:

I think the below note was from a bad bottle, as this juice has power, finesse, concentration, and weight while maintaining a harmonious balance. Light on its feet, it exhibits a fair amount of succulant dark fruits for a stacked wine at such an early stage of development, including cassis and blackberry, a fantastic limestone minerality for a wine of lower acid, sous bois, pepper and asian spices.

The Merlot is quintessential 2005 (as I find all of the high pedigree 2005 wines' Merlot has a earthtoned ripeness that is very hard to find in other wines) and at roughly 30% Merlot, it is seeming to allow the wine to open up considering its vast phenolic concentration. Well dilineated on the palate, it has a balance that will only allow this wine to get better as it gets closer and closer to maturity, which seems a good 7-15 years off (and should have a long plateau after that).

The tannin count is high, but they are so velvety and fine grained; the level of tannin integration is much higher than one would expect, although it is a tannic powerhouse (although not anywhere close to that of Troplong or Pontet, which in this vintage will redefine your definition of tannin). The tannins are sweet and round.

It just isn't as good as the 2003, which is my only complaint on this wine. While I personally prefer the style of 2005 to 2003 from a sensory view, there is just something profound about the 2003 that this wine does not possess to the same extent (perhaps considering the longevity of this wine, this will change with more time in the bottle under ideal conditions).

Great juice, and if you like classically styled ripe vintaged BDX, this wine wont dissappoint! Finesse and masculinity combined, and its better than the high residual sugar fruit bombs that seem to come from everyone in California that are just too smooth...I would highly recommend this for the price, although I would probably recommend 2005 Pontet more if you can find it for the same price..

At the end of the half of the bottle I drank, about 2-3 hours in, some subtle cedar, gaminess and smoke emerged (very subtle for the game and smoke). GORGEOUS!

2/19/2013 - Brmaso Likes this wine:

Felt the need to post detailed tasting notes as the notes for this wine here and on the net were not a decent assessment of the wine at its present state of evolution.

Liquid vanilla. The oak interplay with the merlot gives this wine the unique signature of an 09 bdx with at least 40% Merlot (however I haven't looked at the tech sheet, so thats guesswork at best).

Its very ripe, very balanced and very new worldy. I can't stop thinking that it is a dead ringer for an 8 month younger 09 Rol Valentin (which seems to have shed a touch of its vanillin at present).

Touches of milky chocolate and a feeling of viscosity boost the palate's feeling a bit more than its medium+ body would normally imply. Given its phenolic complexity and low acid, it appears to be an early drinker (kind of implied by the vintage if you are familiar with 2009 bordeaux), but this little brother to the infamous 09 Pontet Canet is still a baby.

Great kirsch, currant and sweet red cherry play nicely with the slightly dusty tannin. In such a ripe vintage I would like a bit more underlying old world complexity and power, but the hedonistic side of me loves how luscious this baby is! It screams drink me now!! For an old world francophile like me, this is the perfect bridge to link old and new world. If you have ever had 03 Pichon Lalande, this is essentially a totally primary, although somewhat dusty-tannined, version of it.

I would give it a 91+ because of the lack of complexity and concentration, but I would recommend this much quicker than most 93-95 pt wines I have tasted just for sheer enjoyment factor. Its so easy to love.

Quick update: 5 hours in and the tannic grip has taken hold, the vanillin has shed its weight giving way to a violet coffee overtone that is seesawing with the black currant and cassisy flavors/aromatics. Very good harmony at this point..not backward, just young. walnutty/Cinnamon/curry/cumin-incense aroma is also pretty cool on the back end of the nose of a soft inhale..midpalate also picked back up. In the end I think this wine will merit a different judgment based on when you taste it..as it is a true kaleidoscope wine (as are so many warm vintage bdx).. Best guess 92 (probably closer to a 91 if rated by parker), but the most delicious 92 pointer you'll taste.