Inky dark purple color. Rich mouthfeel with velvety soft tannins; this one is an outstanding example of a perfectly aged claret. Wonderfully integrated with layers of delicious black fruit, supported by interesting secondary and tertiary flavors. Consistent over two bottles.
This one is really outstanding!
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Decanted 2 hours - a great wine, but not excellent until the last glass. I should note that my wife absolutely loved the wine from the first sip. Next time, will decant for 4 hours which might do the trick. Not much fruit left but some berries detected. It was silky and did feel higher in acid, but that didn't take away from the wine itself. Overall, I was expecting more. I don't feel like the wine is going to develop further, but I think this will last another 5 years or so.
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Spectacular. The ‘05 vintage provides this Lagrange with elevated quality. Round, balanced, and complex. Can’t wait to try more Bordeaux from this year.
Two hour decant helped this bottle a lot. Drinks nicely with tertiary aromas there but not dominating. A clean, classic bdx with cassis, cedar, tar and leather. Drinks now with air but will also develop/improve from here.
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Deep ruby, opaque in the center, with some bricking on the rim, showing its age. There is still some translucent rim despite it being 19 years old. There are some legs as well.
On the nose, quite a beautiful bouquet with a great mix of earthy and fruity notes. Leather, wet earth, tobacco, forest floor, some cocoa and peppercorns, black currants, blackberries, cedar, and black plums. There is also some greenness to this in bell peppers. This is quite complex and elegant.
On the palate, tannins are somewhat resolved but it is still somewhat astringent. Medium bodied, with a great mix of leathery and black fruit notes, similar to the nose, and are balanced with the upfront acidity, with a medium plus spicy finish.
Complex and elegant, this is drinking very nicely.
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Grabbed another bottle of the 2005 from an open OWC as I was in a hurry and did not know what else to open for dinner at home. At least had a chance to give this for once a fairly long 2h decant. The extensive air did however not deliver any significant improvement over my earlier pnp bottles. This is a solid medium bodied left bank Bdx but just a bit underwhelming in terms of depth for what should have been an extraordinary vintage also at Lagrange. Consistent 91.
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Tasted this at the Chateau Lagrange Wine Dinner with Mattieu Borders at Famous Treasure hosted by Infinite Supply.
Purple in colour. On the palate the wine is creamy, with viscosity, and tension. The notes and flavours behave like sea waves: rising before subsiding before rising again.
Good level of acidity at 15 years of age. Great finesse, density and ends off with a seductive nose.
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From Mag. Drank at Gwen Restaurant in LA with friends for my 50th birthday. Decanted for an hour. Wonderful pairing with 30 day aged ribeye. Wonderful wine and meal. Brad - heavypourwine.com
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Excellent nose! Fresh, dark fruits, but also something dark. Very smooth on the palate, over time starts to live up with what one smells in the nose. Very elegant, could have more body. Long finish. Definitively giid to drink now, no need to wait any longer. Tannins fully built in.
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Drank over 2 days from a bottle kept in the fridge. Seemed very, very slightly corked, but I kept asking myself whether underneath was a better wine than the 05 Phelan Segur opened a few days earlier. Am a big Lagrange fan as it’s one of the best classified growth values in my eyes but while their 2005 shows plenty of juicy, dark berries and cedar, the Phelan Segur seems to show more depth (and the 2000 Lagrange seems the more sophisticated wine). Try again in 1-2 years.
….finally drinking although other 05s definitely are not. Many years ahead but tannins now integrating and nice balance with the fruit. It will improve with a few more years but very nice now
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Excellent. Blackberry, leather, spice on the nose. Palate has clear tertiary characteristics even though visually the wine doesn't betray its age. I don't think this is designed to go much further so I would suggest drinking now.
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The fourth of five wines tasted with a good friend over a long afternoon and evening. Tasted alongside the same vintage Certan de May.
Equally gorgeous and powerful. Layered waves of correct perfume and flavors. Resplendent Saint-Julien! Medium plus acid and medium to medium plus tannins will keep this evolving for at least another decade.
Tasting this after the profoundly satisfying 1989 Montrose validated its exceptional quality. Off-the-chain QPR and worth seeking out, even at current pricing. 96-97.
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Left bank bordeaux 2008 and older (BLVD): It was neat to try the 1995, 2000 and 2005 all in one flight. The 1995 was at peak and fully mature, with a complex and tertiary frame. The 2000 was not quite ready yet, still tannic and slightly primary. The 2005 was nowhere near ready, with primary fruit and un-integrated oak. I'll be drinking my 1 bottle of the 2005 in 10 years.
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Medium red color. Mature nose with cigar box, red currants, blackberry, tobacco. Medium+ body, medium acidity, medium tannins and very long finish. Palate consistent with nose. 93-94+ range.
Has aged beautifully.
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Visits in Bordeaux; 9/18/2023-9/19/2023 (St Julien, Saint-Emilion, Pomerol): This was the final wine poured at my visit to Chateau Lagrange and they certainly saved the best for last. The nose is expressive and layered with well balanced and elegant tones of red cherries, raspberries, spice cake, tobacco leaf, savory herbs, bell peppers, warm mushrooms, rose petals, and a touch of cedar. The Medium bodied feel is polished and refined with medium acidity and resolving, medium tannins that still have a lovely silkiness. While I wouldn't necessarily call this mature, it sure is close to it. This is really easy to love and shows off a lot of expression and balance.
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Shabbat dinner before Liz going to burning man. With ribeye steak. Absolutely lovely. Nose showed Bordeaux typicity and flavors showed high acidity, smooth tannins and great balance. I think it’s time to drink.
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Delicious, very tasty on the open and even better with some air. I am no Bordeaux expert but i am not sure i can see this getting any better. Had with seared duck breast a great pairing
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Well balanced with perfectly ripe fruit and very well integrated oak (which should be an example for a lot of other claret-producers who are to lavish with the use of new/heavy toasted wood)
This was excellent. We gave this a hour and half decant. It was a little tight out of the bottle. We had this against a Chateau Montelena and it definitely felt more French, more acidic, less fruit but it had really nice secondary flavors, earth, tobacco, leather. It was great with beef ribs. Really enjoyable wine.
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Lean but not thin. A touch sweet fruited. Good leather and other Bordeaux characteristics but did not quite match some of it's competition this evening against 2000GPL, 2001/2008 Pichon Lalande, 2008 Lynch Bages.
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Bu au resto AVV Comme chez soi de Bromont avec les FOUDUVIN! Super beau, bien fragrant et exubérant. Bu en même temps que le Chateau Montrose 2004 et il a tenu sont bout. Sur les cerises, la terre et le cêdre. Les tannins sont fins et la finale bien longue nous laisse sur une impression de terre. Super bien équilibré et délicieux. EXCELLENT
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I’ve been highly critical of the French Bordeaux 2005 vintage as being overhyped, extremely tannic, closed, and underperforming. To date my CT notes for the 30+ bottles I’ve enjoyed from this vintage, has averaged 87 points. Admittedly, most of what I’ve tried has been 2nd and 3rd tier from the Medoc and the lower end of St Emilion / Pomerol, but you’ve got to try the less costly and unheralded before cracking open a $100+ Right Bank Grand Cru Classe, or Left Bank “Classed Growth” Bordeaux. In spite of many abysmal bottles drank through 2020, I think the 2005 vintage is now “open for business”.
This St Julien is absolutely exquisite and drinking beautifully at 17+ years. Developing integration with red fruits, tannin, and acidity still looking for harmony. Stood up for two hours and decanted for an hour before enjoying with grilled Lamb chops, mushrooms and asparagus. Wonderful mix of mostly drying red fruits with the structural components still very much in play. Developing complex notes of chunky iron ore, cedar bark, drying mulch pile, drying green tobacco, belt leather, and crunchy chocolate. Perfect with the food, with more than enough power, elegance and class to support a long finish. Drink now with a decant or cellar through 2030+.
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Although it is suggested that the drinking window will only open up in two years time from now I personally believe that it is near to perfection now. Not the first bottle, not the last I will have and as a passionate wine gatherer and hunter I will definitely look out to find some more 2005 to stack up my cellar. Acidity and tannins harmonize perfectly and the cherry-flavoured palate is just yummy - long finish. A clear must-have in your cellar - bodies well with food and just like that.
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Still very tightly wound over here. I have yet to experience what others are calling ready and earthy. I have pulled a bottle from 3 different cases and they all show a lack of excitement, but with undeniable substance that gives me the indication in typical Lagrange fashion, that this has not released its tight clench yet. I think that the high acidity here has allot to do with the slow aging. NOT READY. HOLD_
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A little closed straight out of the bottle. Still quite ruby in colour. Fresh and mouthwatering. Still quite a bit of tannic structure that bodes well for further long-term evolution (time in the decanter - air and temperature softened this). Blackberry, blackcurrants and black cherry. Bay. Smoke. Spice. Some earthiness and background cedar notes. Long. As it opened up a cool menthol-like nose started to come through. Elegant. It is in a very good place.
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Barnyard initially that blew off. Blackberry, graphite, floral. We drank this for our kids high school graduation celebrating their birth year. We had this with breakfast Brie and olives for late night celebrating
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Consistent with my last note 6 months ago, this seems completely ready after a 2h decant. While this is a very nice classic Bdx, I still think the 2000 is the better wine at Lagrange.
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Chateau Lagrange (St. Julien) visit with GM - dinner and tasting (Raleigh, NC): Very good wine. More plum, raspberry and sweet oak notes that I get in more right bank wines with Merlot (chocolate, sweet cigar tobacco) and starting to show some mushroom character which I think will increase as this ages. Confirmed this has about 50% merlot, and it shows. Good, well made, but not typical St. Julien. I prefer other vintages of this wine, later vintages, that are more Cab dominant. This is still good wine though, just a bit unexpected.
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1st of 3. Cork perfect, visually the wine is quite youthful. Nose bursting with fruit (black currant and blackberry), a good amount of elegant oak (sweet cigar box and some subtle cedar notes). On the palate, the fruit is delicious and very full still, lasting nicely alongside the massive (but fine) tannins, and the very present acidity. The finish is moderately long and just a hair drying due to the tannins. This went beautifully with steak. It's a very lovely wine now if you don't mind some serious tannins, but it should be even better in another decade.
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4th bottle from a half case. Gentle oaky nose, later blackcurrant and coffee with some anise on the finish. Huge and lovely penetrating length which is still dry on the finish. I'll wait yet another 2 years at least before trying again because the 2005s are wines for the long haul and developing at a snail's pace. This could improve a lot. Be patient. Drinking well for those who like tannic claret. P.s. day 3 using Coravin the wine has opened up more and improved. Normally double decanting back into the bottle is enough but this needs to breathe.
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Seems to be in a perfect spot right now. Doubtful it will improve further. Did not experience the tannic character at al like some other reviewers. Quite mellow on the other hand. A touch of marzipan.
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I wish I had opened this wine sooner. It certainly had characteristic Bordeaux aromas & flavors such as red & black fruit (although more on the red side) and pencil shavings, but it was muted. Perhaps I opened this bottle in a "dumb" period, but I would not say this wine has much drinking window left, and I definitely would not give it until 2030.
Perhaps I am out of synch with most of the recent notes but even after a three hour decant, this still was not ready and remains tannic and unforthcoming. It has softened somewhat since my last bottle over two years ago but I will wait some time before opening one of my six remaining bottles.
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18 months since my last bottle this continues to show very well. Pnp. Dark berries with some wood spices and animal notes on the nose. Very well balanced on the palate even though it feels still fairly young. Dark berries, slightly sandy tannins, some leather and tobacco. Short to medium finish. Very nice even though I still prefer the more polished 2000
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A well balanced wine with consistent level of fruit and a solid core of acidity. A shadow of modesty or being reticent pulled the score down a point or two.
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Decanted. Dark red centre with ruby edge. A little Brett, dark plum, dark raspberry nose. Medium+ body, dark raspberry, cedar, great length. The acid feels your and the tannin coats my tongue, but it's not out of balance for a wine with this volume of fruit. Not yet mature but quite delic!
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Ruby colored in glass. This is an elegant wine, as opposed to a bold type wine. I agree with others that this has been made in a manner to push the fruit to the forefront and is successful in that endeavor. Paired with grilled ribeyes and this complements the food superbly. I could continue to indulge in wines of this ilk for a long time.
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Not the most typical Claret, and I like that. The wood is barely noticeable and the focus is on the perfectly ripe red fruits. Juicy and perfectly balanced. Very well made and their focus on the fruits should be an example for a lot of Bordeaux houses.
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One hour decant. Deep purple in color, almost a bit of a brownish hue. Nose is black fruit, tobacco, black licorice. Palate initially had a briny aspect, almost green olive (like a Rhone/GSM), strawberry, red and black currant, leather, tobacco, black pepper, bay leaf...nice balance between fruit and secondary elements. Mid- to full-bodied, with a medium- to longish finish. I loved the 1990, and this is showing very nicely.
Medium ruby, decanted for 45 minutes. Balanced wine with a great nose and a long finish. Delicious and fine to enjoy right now and will keep for a few years.
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46% Cabernet Sauvignon 45% Merlot 9% Petit Verdot (according to Matthieu Bordes)
Deep black core, reddish rim. Still very little sign of age
Nose is savory. Lots of minerals, seaweeds, crushed black berries, smoked cedary oak.
Palate is dense but resolved. Medium plus acidity, dry. Fruit is still fresh. Cassis, blackberry, dark cherry, plum. Midpalate is complex with notes of unsmoked cigar, gunpowder, graphite, fresh earth, forest floor. Finish is integrated and long.
This needs at least half an hour of decanting before it uncoils and softens up. I would personally keep this 5-10 more years because I believe the more mature version would yield greater gratification. However, as of now, it is delightful with a nice balance between freshness and evolution. Now-2035. 93.
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Super de beau claret, encore 2005 qui montre sa grandeur...il entre dans sa fenêtre. Complexe, et bien équilibré, tout est là. Des cerises, du chocolat, du graphite, de la terre, des herbes et un peu de cêdre se succèdent. Les tannins sont bien enrobés et la finale tout en velours est longue et nous laisse sur des relents de tabac. Vraiment excellente cette bouteille en ce moment.
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Big approach with leather and dark fruit, melting into sharp cherry on the finish. This is lovely now with an hour or two decant. At the beginning of its drinking window, it will evelove beautifully for 10 years easily from here.
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In a lovely spot, dark fruits, hint of pepper, plums, forest floor, hint of oak. Palate is lovely, structure is softening. Perfect spot to drink, but tons of life ahead
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From half bottle this seems to be good to go but will of course hold. On pnp a nice cedar note with cassis, liquorice, kiss of oak and acidic lift greets the claret afficionado. It's a very fresh wine on the palate with ample acidity, moderate alcohol of 13% that is borderline lean for the vintage but in a way that makes it a classic left bank that should soften with more time and flesh out once the classic Cabernet corset loosens its grip with time. I still enjoy it today for its "bite" and will go through some more of my halves now while affording the standard bottles another decade. 93 today with upside for another point or two.
Appearance: Bright and clear, the wine is of deep ruby colour, with fading rim and legs. Nose: Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit of blackberry and cassis, herbal notes of coriander, oak notes of cedar, sweet spice of clove, mineral notes of earth, kernel notes of chocolate and walnut. The wine is developing. Palate: Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin of ripe and silky texture, medium alcohol, medium (+) body and medium intensity flavours of black fruit of blackberry and cassis, oak notes of toast, sweet spice of clove, kernel notes of coffee. The wine has a medium (+) finish. Conclusion: Very good quality St-Julien with an intense nose showing good complexity, with an interesting coriander note on top of the black fruit at the beginning, then having the earthy and spicy characters surfacing in addition to the chocolate and walnut. On the palate the wine is well-balanced, with good structure and reasonably concentrated, with also a fairly long length on the finish. It is ready to drink now and can further develop for another 4-6 years.
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After pulling the cork, nose is muted and big tannins on the palate, barely drinkable.
After sitting 1 hour in the glass, nose starting to develop dark chocolate and blackcurrents and cherries. Tannins softening but still give the impression that it is a very young wine.
The typical blackcurrent and cassis flavour start developing after 3 hours, with a hint of mint and marshmallow on the background, quite sweet nose and a medium finish. Quite enjoyable with my favourite Bordeaux elements coming out.
Will hold and try my next bottle in 2 years' time
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Nice color and terrific nose. A bit of heat on the finish at first but mellowed after decant of an hour. Probably would have benefit from a longer decant but we were at restaurant. Nice velvety feel on the palate. Dark fruit. Tannins all gone. I think this wine is solid for another 5 years or so. Definitely ready to drink at 16.
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Medium ruby in appearance-still opaque at age 15 or so. Just a touch of lightening at the rim.
Fully evolved and pronounced aromas of cassis, balsamic notes , vanilla and some spice. In spite of the evolution the nose is perfectly fresh and exudes class and elegance.
Medium bodied with plenty of acidity and tannin providing structure and freshness on the palate. The palate is slightly restrained but still delivers plenty of classic St Julien black fruits, cassis and vanilla.
The finish is medium plus and delicious. Overall very well done.
Drink now or store "indefinitely" in a cold cellar.
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Brief decant and off to the condo restaurant Had a martini before the wine with appetizers The wine showed beautiful on the young side but very approachable and similar to my previous bottle Great pairing with grilled ribeye
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Medium red color. Complex Cassis/ smoke/ chocolate bouquet. The flavor is still closed, however. Too hard and tough for an accurate numerical score. Strangely, the bouquet is quite developed but the flavor is shut down. Cork pulled 2 hours before tasting.
From Mark’s 2005 Bordeaux Vintage Tasting: Attended a 36 wine ‘05 Bordeaux tasting recently. The wine above is one of those wines. Served single-blind. All wines were tasted over a 2 day period, 18 per day. The wines served on the 1st day had their corks pulled two hours prior. The second day’s wines were served “ double-decanted”, 2 hours before the first flight. The overall tasting experience was quite different, as one would expect. Day 2 wines were softer, displaying more ripe fruit, and less harsh tannins. Kudos to Mark for both a fantastic experience as well as providing an instructive opportunity on how the 2005 Bordeaux vintage is showing at this stage.
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3rd bottle from a half case (a full case shared with a friend before the days when en primeur was offered in less than a case). Gentle oaky nose, later blackcurrant and coffee. Huge and lovely penetrating length which is still dry on the finish. I'll wait 2 years before trying again because the 2005s are developing at a snail's pace and this has a long way to go.
Pronounced and evolving aromas of black fruit, cassis, vanilla and some spice. The nose is perfectly fresh and does appear to be holding something back....
Medium bodied with plenty of acidity and tannin providing structure and freshness on the palate. The palate is slightly restrained but still delivers plenty of classic St Julien black fruits, cassis and vanilla.
The finish is medium plus and delicious. Overall very well done.
If stored properly this stuff can last forever. My guess is that it will be at its best in 5 years or so- but that's just a guess of course.
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Very consistent with prior bottles. Decanted two hours. Delicious, and great with food. Quite a bit fuller bodied than most St Juliens , a reflection of the vintage. There seems to be a ceiling to the complexity of this one — not sure it will improve but will be in drinking window 5-10 years.
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Quite earthy, tannic, forest floor, shrooms, dark tobacco; moderately structured, in a good place, not for solo sipping. Get a steak or lamb. Edendale w/D. 90-91
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This Lagrange is in the perfect drinking window - no doubt, you can easily keep it another 5-10 years in your cellar. I don't think that my remaining bottles will make it that long - it is just too joyful today. The wine is perfectly colored with a deep ruby touch. The legs are medium and given the age of the wine (a mere 15 years) the sediments in the bottle are moderate. The nose fills with nuances of black currant (cassis), cherry, mineral, light toast, walnut, and a touch of butterscotch and chocolate. While the palate also returns a taste of jam, black and ripe cherries, vanilla and butterscotch. The tannins and the acidity are perfectly integrated into the wine and we have a full bodied wine in the glass with satin-like texture. The long finish let you dream of your next sip and the popping of your second bottle for great taste. I need to buy a couple of more 2005 Lagrange. Decanting the wine is highly recommended - at minimum one hour just to get you a head start for the wine fun.
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Decanted for two hrs Had it at home with dry aged ribeye Graphite and dark fruits + touch of plum on the nose Medium to full body Long finish Beautiful wine Will continue to evolve for several years
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Very nice - one of the better bottles of Lagrange I can remember drinking. Ruby color with a pink rim. Classic Saint Julien nose of cassis, tobacco, saddle leather and soil. After the Poyferre, this is downright elegant. That said, the palate is a bit muddled and lacks precision. Perfectly good yet maybe lacking excitement. Will drink well for another ten years. The nose is terrific. (91)
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A paradigmatic St. Julien - those fresh tangy dark fruits with musty but subdued dark earth behind them, all within a framework of muted and refreshing tannin. As Pavel P notes below, one would normally expect something with a bigger punch from a 2005. But instead of the big punch, we have a wine that has a quite lifted nose (although it should be doing a bit more) with flavours of greenish fruit, a palate that is rather thin and with a certain angular vulnerability, but has a finish which, although drying, has presence.
These don't sound particularly positive descriptors (I can see that by looking again at them). But all the component parts of this wine work together, to form a text that is from beginning to end coherent. Ultimately, it is the workmanship of the wine that I am admiring, which gives it a quality and (to use an outdated term) class. So, where it may at times fall down in terms of depth, it makes up for that at the level of structure.
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First bottle from an OWC. Decanted for perhaps 45 min. Surprisingly, given the vintage, this is a wine more of finesse than power or structure. Nicely delineated notes of dark fruit and soil and some wood spices. Medium body. Tannins well integrated. Medium length. This is not closed but I still wonder if there is not a touch more fruit to come with another 2 years of cellaring as the 2000 is drinking a touch better right now in my eyes
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Similar to the previous bottle tasted in 2018, however, with still quite noticeable tannins on the tight palate; overall, 91-92 points for this less enjoyable bottle.
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Decent, plenty of forest floor, sweet tobacco, little spice box, wet earth, moss, gravel. Very classic, in great shape, mid-palate is medium though, not much heft, tangy elevated acidity, ample drying tannins, but certainly a good wine. Opened up nicely after 20 minutes. With steak and fries. 91 is generous. Maybe 90 or 90.5?
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Un autre magnifique BDX 2005, quel millésime grandiose! Nez fragrant sur la terre, les fruits rouges, le tabac et le cèdre. En bouche, c'est textbook Bordeaux mais fort complexe aussi. Cerises, chocolat, graphite, tabac et un petit côté mentholée. Les tannins sont encore bien là et il y a une belle acidité. La finale est super longue et rien n'accroche, Super beau claret, bon pour encore bien des années!
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Double decanted, Worked great with food. Lovely balance, good fruit. Nice nose. Nothing exceptional here, but a genuinely pleasant aged bottle with several years left. Glad I have more.
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Very nice bottle. Decanted it, but was open for business quickly. Moderately fruity on the nose. Palate is really well balanced between fruit and earthy tones. Acid and alcohol are well balanced here. In a good drinking place right now for sure
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Very nice Lagrange. And I posit a basic disagreement with several reviewers as to its future. I like it now. Very typical St. Julien— French military correctness in Bordeaux terms. And yes, a tiny bit tight. But I doubt, even given the huge upgrade in quality here, that This wine will find hidden tertiary flavors tha justify another 3-5 year wait. Enjoy this Early showcase of the 2005 vintage now as the more complex wines take another 5-10 years to show their stuff. Deep black/red color here, with cigar box,, moist soil, dark cherry/ plum sous bois palate, But nothing that rises above.
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Very nice, some of the best Lagrange vintages I've had. Also glad that more and more 2005 Brdxs finally becoming ready to drink.
Aromatic, mostly black fruits with a bit of spices, black currant, blueberry, and blackberry on the palette, still fresh acidity goes with additional note/hint of slightly saline water. Impressively long finish
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A Small 2005 Bordeaux Horizontal: [Tasted Blind] This pours opaque ruby, with ever so faint bricking. Young in appearance considering its 15 years of age. The nose is of licorice, kirsch, plums soaked in brandy, and a little baked blackberry. Again similarly to wine #3 this shows virtually no development or secondary character. The palate is youthful and tight with medium minus acidity and medium tannin. The finish is a touch short with licroice, some noted alcohol and a faint powdered candy or crushed vitamin tablet note.
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Decanted a couple hours. Definitely accessible, but far less developed than I was expecting based on an '00 consumed a few months ago. That wine was showing all sorts of tertiary development and blew me away; by contrast the '05, while clearly identifiable as a BDX, seemed flat. I need to sit on my remaining bottles for at least three years.
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Très beau vin. Nez complexe floral, beaucoup de fruits. En bouche, c est puissant, ample mais bien rond avec une longue finale. Encore plusieurs années devant lui
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The 2005 vintage continues to stake its claim as transcendent, of which this wine offers strong testament!
By any measurable standard, somewhere between mid adolescence and very early adulthood, it delivers phenomenal poise, bordering on stateliness, and 'iron fist in a velvet glove' power! Yeah Buddy! While incredible now, after considerable air, the wine tantalizes the fortunate imbiber with hints of all it will become...over the next two decades, no less.
Regal purple, with deep crimson hues, featuring textbook balance and precision. It overachieves Third Growth quality. Moreover, every bit as noteworthy for absence of fru-fru, including heavy-handed extraction, lumber, and excessive polish.
I drink wine for wines like this and am elated to have found two other bottles for a song. At the transition between the 'no great wines, only great bottles' axiom. Bordeaux aficionados will have the privilege of following 'great bottles' of this offering over the next thirty years. 97-98.
Fragrant nose of ripe black fruits, cigar box, licorice and aniseed. Elegant palate with rich mid-palate. Flavours flowed from nose to the medium palate. Good density of herbaceous nuance which add an interesting layer to the smooth finish. Do not decant this wine, best consume straight from the bottle. Still holding well for another 5-8 years.
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In a nice drinking window today but definitely has plenty of years ahead of it. This is not particularly complex but has nice vibrant dark fruit balanced by a fine tannin structure and good acidity. Cassis, eucalyptus, menthol and some tobacco. Medium bodied with a medium finish.
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Wonderful floral flavors from start to finish, rose&violet. Delicate spiciness. Super silky tannins. This is soo good! What a improvement over 2008 which was grippy, and a disappointment.
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Needs a bit more time. Wasn’t overly expressive even after being opened several hours. But well made and you can feel the quality of the vintage. Worth holding a bit longer to see more development. 91+
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Medium dark red; rounded, cedar, hint of caramel; nice round somewhat soft mild attack, rounded tannins giving exactly the right bite, long caramel-like aftertaste; the feminine one compared to Ridge Monte Bello same year, also tasted
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The hands-down standout of a flight of four Left Bank Bordeaux, all tasted by Coravin.
Crimson to purple, less bricking than expected.
Any description of the bouquet will not do it justice...but here goes. The perfume comes in two distinct waves. The first, seemingly Merlot-driven, shows red berries, rose hips, hibiscus, and delicate sous-bois. All somewhat Burgundian-like; all distinctly classy. The second wave features purple and black berries, equally pretty, though imparting the essence of high-quality Bordeaux, and reminiscent of Margaux.
The wine features a sheen-like element, one of immovable suavity, even as it dances across the palate. This mind-bending quality masks tremendous underlying power, marked by medium plus to high acid, and powdery, medium tannin.
Most reminiscent, in recent vintages, of the 2015 Domaine de Chevalier and Pontet-Canet. If blind, the wine might take me first to Burgundy, on account of its sophisticated, red-fruited precision. Alas, the secondary qualities would most likely pull me back to Bordeaux, Margaux in particular. Superlative and still evolving. 95-96...97?
As usual this wine delivers. No detailed notes but very very impressive wine. Fresh, red and dark fruits, still young. Probably the best 2005 I had since Pontet Canet and it would be really interesting to compare these two side by side.
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Double decated to remove a little sediment. 1st sip after opening showed delicate red fruit, in particular red raspberries and liquorice, amazing. Then after airing I met layers upon layers of chocolate, liquorice, lightly toasted bread, vanilla, smooth silky tannins, minty. After tasted carried on until the next morning
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This is such a well balanced mouthful of Bordeaux. It’s got wonderful dark fruit and cedar with a 30 second finish. It’s both elegant and big. Really impressive
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Chateau Lagrange Wine Dinner at KOMA. Mr Sylvain Menard, business developer of Chateau Lagrange absence due to covid19 travel restriction. KOMA’s modern Japanese cuisine paired with St Julian classified Third Growth. Organised by Grand Vin.
Aperitif: 2016 Les Arums de Lagrange Blanc Flora, peach, lemon. Aromatic bouquet and well balanced on the palate.
Miso Glazed Eggplant and DIY Spicy Tuna paired with Les Fiefs de Lagrange 2014 and 2015. 2014 is more enjoyable than 2015, as its in the matured drinking cycle and with medium- tannin. 2015 is starting to drink well with adequate decanting. Both vintages display spices, cassis, and black fruits.
Chicken Negrima and Unagi Robata paired with 2008 Chateau Lagrange. 2008 is a good drinking vintage right now. Although it has less tannin and acidity than in 2005 and 2000, it currently offers pleasure drinking. Smoke, coffee, tobacco, black fruits. Drink now to 2025.
Wild Mushroom Fried Rice paired with 2005 Chateau Lagrange. WOTN. Firm tannin, high acidity. Chocolate, spices, coffee and tobacco. Can last easily another 10-15 years.
Prime Sirloin Steak 150g paired with 2000 Chateau Lagrange. Full-bodied black fruits with tobacco, spicy, cassis, earth notes. In its perfect drinking window. The acidity and tannin go very well with the medium-rare steak.
Dessert Sesame Profiterole paired with whatever is left.
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Sweet blackcurrant and coffee nose. Has matured really well in the last couple of years. Tannins have softened and the good weight of fruit has enable the wine to emerge excellently. Penetrating length. Finally ready to drink and should be at it's best for 5 years with a very slow decline thereafter.
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Great maturity and tannins that were so harsh at the onset have now melted together quite nicely. It is now in a plateau phase for a number of years. No real need to decant. Minimal sediment.
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Lighter purple color, great nose, still a bit tannic but overall soft and velvety with good fruit. Save for later to let it soften further but if you don't mind some tannin or have time to decant a couple hours, this is a fabulous wine. Great vineyard and great vintage combine for great results here.
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This is shutdown - clearly not ready yet... nose is muted, black fruit lurking. Mostly graphite with a hint of mint peaking through. Even on day 3, it still won't give up it's charms. I for one, will not open another bottle for at least 5 years. This needs time - and you can't rush it!
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Very early maturity. Drinking really well with a short decant. The last few bottles of this over the last two years have been surprisingly accessible. The best is yet to come, but certainly no foul in opening one to enjoy now. Elegant and refined.
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Blind, deep inky dark cherry color, heavy notes of vanilla, toasty oak, rich, thick, dusty/stemmy tannins, a beast that needs a decade to soften whatever this is and should be enjoyable over the following 2 decades. Drink from 2030-2050
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Consistent with past notes, and continues to deliver great value. Balanced and concentrated, with crushed stone, mocha, blue and black fruit and some toasted oak, well integrated. Served alongside two other 2005 St. Julien and quite held its own.
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What a great bottle from Lagrange. 2005 doesn't get as good of a press as 2000, 2009, and 2010, but it certainly deserves it. This wine has come together with all the right pieces, where the fruit is still bright and holding up wonderfully, while the tannin is soft and fine grained.
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Aging superbly. Still very dark and brooding but with a lighter body and medicinal bordeaux finish. Very fine tannin. A beautiful new world bordeaux with bottle age. Could probably last another 5-10 years.
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Exuberant with an explosion of ripe black fruits. Dense and concentrated, this is very stylish with a polished edge. Still wearing some baby fat, it has a creamy richness to it. Tannins are surprisingly subdued given the vintage, but they do more than enough to keep the whole thing together. At this rate, these will be around for quite a long time.
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Decanted for two hours, drank over next hour. Paired with beef bourgignon. Dark in glass, blackberries and currants. This is balanced and elegant. Agree with others that this is still in its primary stages and very enjoyable, with a significant upside over the next five to ten years.
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Decanted for 2 hours before back into the btl for trip to Mike & Sheryl's. Removed cork again upon arrival and poured a couple small glasses to further slow ox everything. Semi opaque bright ruby red. The tannins & oak were in pretty good stead but I was hoping to coax out more tertiary notes since this is almost age 15 this month. Never showed much aged BDX nuance tonight but, its pleasantly elegant enough to enjoy its late youth stage. Tonight a good nose with whiffs of; dark fruit, cedar and pencil. The palate is dominated by rich ripe blackberry at present but also shows cedar, currant, chocolate and minerality riding on sweet tannins and sound acidity. All bodes well for the future but, for my palate, its still primary and lacking any well aged nuance more likely achieved in another 5+ years. Call it ...91+ tonight.
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Silky smooth dark berries, stone, and cedar. Real polish but big. Begs for a steak. Nice structure. Delicious and fun to drink. Can't imagine anyone not liking this. Drink or hold.
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This wine is drinking in its prime window after 1 hour in the glass. Red raspberry, candy apple, cassis, barnyard, and cedar. Very light on its feet yet full bodied. Wine was bigger after a few hours. Sweetness throughout with nicely applied tannins. I suspect the bottle will age and grow for 5 plus years. Already showing secondary characteristics. Excellent bottle and worth three times the price.
Bordeaux Night in the Santa Ynez Valley (An Anonymous Winery's Gorgeous Cellar Table): Having largely held off on my 2005's, it was a pleasure to encounter one in prime form, punching way above its weight. Showing fine balance and concentration, with notes of crushed stone, mocha, blue and black fruit and some toasted oak, well integrated. A great value.
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Interwoven, herbs, balance, acids nicely integrated. A paragone of balance, everything is there and in just the right amount. A classical balancing act done in a way they only do in top bordeaux
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Quel beau Bordeaux...c'est un solide RQP avant la flambée des prix sur Bordeaux. Graphite, terre et tabac avec des cerises et de mures, un peu de cèdre aussi. Tanins serrés et finale bien longue. Très bon.
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From half bottle. Repeating strong recent performance. See previous TN. Nose of blueberries and dark chocolate. Still fairly primary. Well rounded but still grippy tannins. On the palate this is unusually concentrated for this chateau soaring to an almost liquor like crushed stone finish that reminds me of a Pomerol. Full throttle and this even from half bottle has a very long life ahead. Wonderful wine and amazing qpr.
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Chateau Lagrange Dinner (Harvard Club, Back Bay): The 2005 Lagrange displays a very dark aromatic profile full of blackberry and plum with cedary accents. Full, dark, pure on the palate. Surprisingly for a wine that is basically 50% cabernet sauvignon 50% merlot, this is very brooding despite a long double-decant and requires at least another 5 years before it will become easier to fully assess. Despite that, it's enjoyable to get a look at this now.
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After a 3 hour decant, still quite powerful with tannins present. Seems to lose a bit of the fruit and was hard on the palate. Lets see how it develops further.
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Chinese New Year (Gen Hoe): CNY. Courtesy of J&K, decanted prior to their arrival. Perfumed dark fruit has an appealing feminine edge. Still fairly tannic, though with nice underlying fruit. What's here is very nice, and it pairs nicely with the steak course. I might give these a few years yet though, as there's definitely some upside.
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Still feels young and primary. Classical blackcurrant, cigarbox and mint. High on acidity and tannins but well balanced, and a very nice wine with a long life ahead.
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Medium bodied with classic left-bank notes of blackcurrant, cedar, leather, cigar box and also some floral notes. It is young and will still be evolving for some years but certainly accessible with rather soft tannins. I like it.
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30+ minute decant but didn’t need it. Nose that wants to be amazing with tobacco, earth, and cedar; but elements of plum also come through. Wine is nice, but is kind of a mix of Bordeaux and CDP, which is strange. Some vanilla also comes through. Medium minus finish. Solid, but didn’t meet expectations
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Schwarze Johannisbeere, Urwaldpfeffer, Dörrobst, leichte Röstnoten, Graphit, Tabak - tolles Bouquet, trotzdem nicht parfümiert wirkend; am Gaumen eher mittelkörniges, weiches, leicht grünes Tannin, ansonsten aber tolle Melange von Frucht, Tannin und Säure, langer, trinkiger Abgang. Macht Spaß, nicht elegant, aber stilvoll!
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Consumed at Christmas dinner with Filet Mignon. Drinking beautifully right now. Black currant, leather, and a touch of green pepper. Velvety mouthfeel and a very long finish. A perfect pairing. Just stunning.
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Mieux que le 2006 bu il y a quelque temps, plus complexe et équilibré. De la terre, du cèdre, du graphite et des fruits rouges avec une peur de chocolat et du tabac. Les tannins sont charnus et la finale est longue. Excellent.
Popped & poured 2 ozs to taste. Left remainder in the bottle uncorked for 2+ hours. Initial taste was muted but promising. Bottle was opened to accompany Beef Wellington. Tannins have relaxed, dark fruit and leather. I really like this wine after being very disappointed 10 years ago.
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Drinking great. Wonderful QPR for a St Julien. Firm tannins still give a lot of structure with a long finish of tobacco box and pencil lead. Muted fruit but still very interesting and enjoyable. Paired great with a rare steak and salad.
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From half bottle first of a case. I love Lagrange and would rate it top qpr Bordeaux but never had this vintage. So naturally I was very curious to try it finally. Good news this is a great Lagrange. Quite dark ruby in colour visually very attractive already. Splash decanted and drank over an hour the wine sports a very classic Bordeaux nose from a riper vintage, structure is evident - some earth, dark fruit, smoke, oak and tobacco. On the palate it follows through and reveals a very healthy core fruit which is at present slightly fighting with the oak but from my experience with the chateau this will resolve further and integrate beautifully. As it got more air the wood already seemed to give way to more juicy fruit, loving it. If you like some toasty oak and prime fruit this is drinking extremely well now already out of half bottle. Stylistically I feel it should end up somewhere in between the spellbinding 90 and great 96. It should be in its prime in 10-20 years from standard bottle I think, halves are going to be super duper in - few years time but no crime drinking some now. Clearly better then 2000 I think although I have some doubts if previous samples that I tried of the milennial vintage were perfect bottles. Bottom line another truly superb showing from a somewhat under appreciated chateau which thanks to its large size and consequently high production levels is not a wine commanding astronomic prices. Are there better Bordeaux? Yes, but pound for pound it is very difficult to match. It has got everything I look for in Bordeaux left bank wines. A drinkers / consumer wine rather then collectors/speculator and good those wines exist. Very glad I have a case of halves and standard size - I look forward to each and very bottle! 93 today with potential to add 2-3 points in time (hence the 94 score as I have high confidence in its further melioration). One where I am firmly with Neal rather then Bob! A must buy/try for any left bank lover.
Tight out of the bottle but a lot of softening over the night. Delicious. A lot of vitality, inky, still somewhat green, a little fatty, mineral rich, darkly floral and concentrated. Hold a few more years.
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First of the case. Will be leaving for a while as this wine is still a baby and as it punches above its weight it would be a shame to drink too early. Score will be 93, today 90 ish. The 05s really are very good
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Maybe the wrong glasses or needed a decant. Or perhaps a dumb phase. This bottle was good but not giving very much.
Day 2. 24 hours later, the remaining 2/3 of the bottle is excellent. Big graphite and mineral nose, deep blue, red and black fruit, and long, slightly bitter mineral finish with tannic kick. I have plenty of other wine to drink while waiting another 3-4 years to open my next bottle
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Day 1 - Quite deep rich fruit, pleasant but muted and not the wine I was expecting given the last bottle. Day 2 - Sour and stewed notes dominate today pointing to heat damage. With time in the glass it faded revealing more of the crushed dark fruit and earthy tones that I was expected, but while the tannins were smooth and creamy the heat signature lingered on.
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I think this is a bit of an off bottle. Not a bad wine and shows classic Bordeaux notes of black fruits, pencil lead, plum, tobacco with nice texture. However, a touch musty and not quite as much sweet fruit as I would have expected. It got better after 3 hours of air. Still, I just don't think the bottle is quite perfect.
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Very elegant, floral, and fruity in the nose, berries, cherries, mints, lavenders, coffee beans, leather, and pine wood; layers of berries, cherries, dark chocolates, and spices on the palate; long finish; overall, 93-94 at this stage; evolved quite well compared to the previous bottle tasted in 2013; would try the next one in 2-3 years.
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Chateau Lagrange dinner (Blacksalt, Washington DC): Medium expressive nose displaying mostly black fruit, cassis, black cherry, a hint of plum, licorice, ink, lead pencil and mineral. Excellent concentration, nicely layered rich cassis fruit, good acidity and mineral, noticeable but fine tannins and a medium to long cassis and ink driven finish with a hint of ink and licorice at the end. Perhaps it has reach the youthful peak but will need another ten years to fully develop, gaining leather and cedar.
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Deep ruby, tiny touch of brick at the rim. Nose: red fruit, leather, strawberry, rose, touch of dirt. Palate: good fruit. Tannins still medium and grippy but just starting to evolve into velvetiness. Acid medium, dry. Touch of cherry. Leather too. With time in glass mellowed a bit but still could use more time. Super nice wine. If I owned a case I’d drink the next bottle in 2019. EDIT A WEEK LATER: this wine haunts me. Still thinking about it. Best thing I've had this year. I'd up the rating and drink more.
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Opened 2 hours prior. Dark garnet, some bricking and suspended sediment. Kirsch and tobacco leaf bouquet. Bright red fruit, spice notes on the mid-palate, fine tannins and good acidity on a medium body with a long final.
Complex and nicely balanced. This still has years in front of it and the tannins are not yet completely integrated. Drank this double blind and guessed Bordeaux. My favourite wine in the tasting.
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Medium weight with bright strawberry. A wine that shows its rounded into maturity. A good wine that will prove satisfying with a meal of lamb, beef or pork. Lacks the strong core for richer dishes like braised oxtail. Drink over the next 5-7 years.
Dark purple color. Dark fruit flavors. Secondary flavors of cedar and tobacco. Still on the young side. 10+ years. Decant for sediment. Needs about an hour to open up.
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Light garnet color. Very light nose but still strong tannins on the palate. Lingers on the mid palate with licorice and tobacco box but a bit hot. Certainly suggests it has many years to go.
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Dried strawberries and earth driving the nose here. At a nice place as the primary fruit aromas are just beginning to fade. Muscular, but not overwhelming tannins. Good showing of terroir on the palate. Plenty of life left.
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Drinking very well after a two hour decant. Deep red with very slight bricking on the edge. Pencil, herb, bright fruit. Full palate with a touch of sweetness that works great with meat. Pleasant on its own too. Good balance with bright acidity and some tannins remaining. Clean and a bit astringent on a long finish. Many years ahead.
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In a perfect spot right now. Popped and poured. Black cherry and peat moss prominently displayed on the nose. Soothing tannins and rich dark fruits make for a fruit forward style that is simply delicious. This can rival nearby wines selling at twice the price.
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Decanted for two hours had two glasses then saved the bottle overnight, and man was it worth it. On day two it evolved into a silky smooth, finely balanced, delicate yet firm experience. It is perfectly balanced at this point. One of the better 05s I have had. It can last for many more years or drunk now with some air.
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Decanted and let breath for two hours, then back in the bottle. Started drinking about 2 hours later. Very nice wine. Deep dark color, nice balance between fruit and tannins. No rush on these, but it’s open for business with a bit of air
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46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot. Manual harvest, stainless vats for separate plots 16-28 days vatting. Aged 21 months in French oak (60% new). 14% Abv. 24,165 cases Belongs to Japanese Suntory Group.
A(ccuracy)=2: Med garnet. Classic mature claret. B(alance)=3: Distinctive and pure components in harmony. C(omplexity)=2: Cassis, olive, spice, cigar box. D(epth)=1: Supple mouthfeel. Good length and finish.
Wine Tally Score [2,3,2,1] = 8/10
Classic albeit modest structure with modern fruit. At its peak.
Elegant aroma and flavour of mint, bell pepper, pencil shaving, blackberry, cedar wood, vanilla, nutmeg, some cocoa and savoury note. Mid to light weight, refreshing and easy to drink. 13%abv. Taste like from cool, lesser vintage.
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Surprised that a high percentage of Merlot is used in a such a great vintage. 46% cabernet sauvignon, 45% merlot, 9% petit verdot. Sweetness from the merlot is distinct.
Good pairing of food, the sweetness of the sauce for the braised beancurd goes in pair with the high percentage of merlot.
Nevertheless, drinking very well now with the right decant.
The Dinner didn't provide a bdx stemware for the wine.
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Tasted after the 2010. Still fairly firm and tannic, but more open and expressive. Lots of depth, dark fruit, tobacco - very pure and vibrant. Well balanced, very long. Still rather young, but close to entering its drinking window. 91-93
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Sweet oaky nose, later blackcurrant and coffee. Still very tannic and the good weight of fruit should enable the wine to emerge excellently in time. Huge penetrating length. Not ready (nor was the Leoville Barton tried recently) I'll wait a minimum of 2 years before trying again, and should wait 4 or 5. Score will improve in time.
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Brought to the restaurant. Pnp. The wine did not open up along the evening. It is not in a good phase and still too young. Needs more cellering. Don't touch this for at least another 3 years.
I have had this wine numerous times over the years and this is currently going through a closed phase. It is very tannin and astringent right now. On day 3 it is very smooth, with great flavors but by then it has also lost most of its acidity. Hold for 3 years to allow it to come back around.
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Très beau et prometteur claret, classe et complexité ici. Nez puissant. Il ya des cerises, des herbes, du cèdre et du café. En bouche belle structure et densité. Le fruit est vibrant avec des notes de chocolat et une pointe de graphite. Les tannins sont anguleux et l'acidité lui confère une belle fraicheur. Très long et persistant. Très bien avec encore de la place pour se complexifier.
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My third vintage of this wine (2000, 2005, 2014). The 2000 was a great wine, and this is heading in the same direction. After a week of slowox: Nice, sweet, dark, fruit, on the fuller side and everything in balance and harmony. Fairly traditional. 93+.
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This is just stunning right now. Great mouthfeel. Perfectly ripe, soft red fruits. Delicious now but will be better with more cellar time. Fantastic '05. Lives up to the vintage hype
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Enofusión 2017; 1/23/2017-1/25/2017 (IFEMA - Madrid): An aristocrat. Perfection in the glass. Balance and freshness. Mouth is missing for rounding but I would kill for this softness. It's got life. But right now I vively recommend an early opening if you'd consume it soon. 50% CS and 50% Merlot. A nice St Julien. My kind of wine.
Aristócrata. La perfección en la copa. Equilibrio y frescura. La boca falta por redondearse pero mataría por esta suavidad. Le queda tralla. Pero ahora mismo recomienda una apertura temprana en caso de consumirla pronto. 50% CS y 50% Merlot. Un rico St Julián. El tipo de vino que me va.
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Un très beau St-Julien, textbook Bordeaux, Super Claret. Un nez bien présent, des fruits rouges, des herbes et du cèdre. En bouche, belle présence, frais et assez long. Des cerises, du chocolat, un boisé assez discret et de beaux tannins serrés. La finale est longue, impeccable.
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Dégusté à l'aveugle. Apparence rouge Amarante, dense et légèrement brouillé. Nez très expressif. Cerise, herbes aromatiques (romarin, estragon ), notes d'élevage subtils, cèdre. En bouche continuité sur le fruit et arômes végétal, Structure ferme et tout en subtilité, soyeux tanins fins et acidité encore mordante. Persistance moyenne à longue sur les notes végétales Excellent..
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Opened one full case of 12 tonight. Decanted for 2 hours. Nose has black fruit, earth and tobacco. Palate is deep and tannic with black fruit. It still needs at least 5 more years to be accessible. Not comparable with the magnificent 00 lagrange.
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Un gros WOW pour nous encore une fois...une belle bouteille que celle-ci. Ample et généreux et tout en équilibre. Un nez charmeur et complexe sur le cèdre, les cerises et le moka. En bouche, encore un peu d'élevage mais élégant, un fruit vibrant avec des notes de chocolat et d'herbes. Un brin de sous-bois et de menthole viennent compléter la bouche. Les tannins sont fins et la finale super longue et toute en soie. EXCELLENT.
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What's with today? First we open a SUPERBLY oxidized AND (!) corked (dbl whammy) Oz wine that should've had a screw cap... And now I open this overly acidic scumbag of a watery wine. 2 hrs of aeration didn't bring restitution.
Eye: Beautiful early maturity colours. Nose: non-mistakenable Bdx origin w/extra kudos for the pure berries and Bdx-earth. Minus for 20% oxidization. Palate: meh! 2005 continues to underwhelm. Thin and acidic in a rather negative way. Decided to NOT bring this wine to the restaurant. Recorked and next day proved itself to be a decent after-party-wine. (Although the btl pricetag was more like that of a 6-pack.) Geee... it HAS to do better than this... I feel kinda unclean. I need a shower!
I do hope that this btl (w/a perfect cork) had some kind of injust, Rudy-ish kind of explanation.
(Decanter FWE 2016) :: Alongside the '08, '10 & '12. Real elegance and complexity, showing Asian spice, cigar box, leather. Lifted and beautiful. On the palate, great expression, rich & rounded, solid frame and a persistent finish.
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Decanted one hour before serving. Dark ruby colour. Cedar-cassis nose. Focused cassis, licorice, new leather, vanilla. Sweet, dusty tannins. Still very much in its infancy.
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Amazing, I would have guessed the wine is 5y younger which speaks for the quality. The tannins are remarkable present still. No bad oxidation at all. A very accomplished wine. Depth, elegance, perfectly balanced.
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Only needed one short olfactory pass over the first pour to know I could click "I like it," evoking spontaneous yelps of "that's what I'm talking about," and "thank you Sir, I'll have another"-no wait, that's not where I want this to go.
To me, great (affordable) left bank Bordeaux doesn't explode from the glass in a scud missile assault of fruit and alcoholic heat, it expresses itself in successive waves of classic cabernet driven impressions, each building and complementing the others in a holistic, integrated fashion. So far, all I've done is smell this wine once and I know.
At age 11 we find ripe red plum and currant fruit, tobacco, cedar, and graphite all just essentially hanging there for the taking. I wanted to confirm the lack of heat, and the label says 13%, which of course may not be wholly accurate, but I'm going to give it the benefit of a doubt.
Before tasting, I checked the color, and it's still opaque at the center, a dark red that starts a noticeable bricking towards the rim, suggesting some level of maturity.
The first sip is surprisingly smooth, the tannins fully resolved, and it spreads in a mouth-coating blanket over the palate. A big hit of coffee perceptible now that I missed on the nose. With air, everything is intensifying, except perhaps the fruit, which suddenly has taken a back seat. I'm going to wait for a while and come back...
Now a half hour in and it's back on plan, pretty fruit, smooth, soft, plush and very drinkable, tannins becoming a bit dusty towards the finish. I'm about to dive into an herb grilled sirloin and I think they'll become fast friends. Net net, this one isn't going to hide her charms, they are on display for all to see.
Luftet 1 time i karaffel. Kraftig med preg av lakris, solbær, cassis, kaffe, mm. I munnen er den ikke like ekspressiv, mye samme elementene, men mer dempet. Bra lengde. Drikker ok, men har fremdeles oppside de neste 5 årene.
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Medium body. Great structure. Still very young. Dark fruit with emerging tobacco and cedar flavors. Classic St. Julien. Decant. Has at least another ten years to go.
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At BWC. First bottle of half case. Still very young, primary nose of black fruits, violets. Lots of sweet blackberries, cedar on palate. Petit Verdot showing here. Wait another few years before next bottle.
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Been thinking about opening one of these for a couple of years now ... my impatience finally won out today. PnP thru an aerator. Dark fruits on the nose and not much else. Mostly black fruits on the palate, along with spice, tar/graphite and oak. Tight and still very primary with a lean, smooth, firm texture and drying tannins. Long, but slightly harsh and bitter finish. Enjoyable now, and glad I opened one, but no doubt this will improve with more time. Needs at least 5 years, but even better in 10. 91-92 now.
Slow -ox'd for 5 hours and this was singing. Elegant and charming, this wine is in a great spot right now. Will undoubtedly age gracefully and improve with more time in bottle, but this is just so good right now! Rich, with a soft supple texture, but still structured.
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Blind tasting with this, 2008 Clarendon Hills McLaren Valle Cab, and Anonymous by Orin Swift, Equinox Club. This was everyone's favorite and the age was beautiful and fresh. It was the perfect time for us to enjoy this wine. It tasted and smelled as fresh as the 2013ish Anonymous but with more character and complexity.
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Young, tightly wound, and bursting with power. This wine has a great future ahead. The only problem is that as with most great lagrange wines, it will most likely outlive us and we may not be here to enjoy. What a great wine to put some faith into...It deserves it. Lots of tart berries, cassis and the begining stages of tobacco development and allot more goodies underneath to covert into more earth and tobacco galore in the years to come. Very long, colorful, changing finish....If you like pungent, opulent Bordeaux wines, you will like this wine now, but will love it years from now....HOLD
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After a 4 hour decant, this was well approachable, even if it's still young. Fruity, round and juicy with good length. Was a perfect fit with the ossobuco. I'm glad I own two cases.
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19th Annual Lyon 10 Year Retrospective (Chez Lyon in Eugene, OR): Did a notch better in this tasting than my previous notes. I still love the dark black fruit bouncing off the stone and mineral notes. Just a touch of graphite and earth. Obvious Left Bank origin in this blind tasting. Fell of a bit on day 2, 91 pts.
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From a 375 ml bottle, nose of cigar box, earth, plum, and black cherry, more of the same on the palate, medium/big body, very tasty and rich, good complexity, medium/long finish.
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Dinner by the River: After an 8 hour decant this was WAY better than the last bottle I had in 2010. That's not saying much since the previous bottle took over 24 hrs to show up! Cassis, black cherry, plum, mocha, graphite, wet stone/earth made it stand out as Old World next to the two Cal wines this evening. Still very grippy, but at least the tannins are letting you peek at the wine now. Wait or long decant!
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Still VERY primary - this is going to need another 10 years to come round, a lot like the 1990s that are tight as a drum. 3 hours in a decanter (as per the recommendations below) loosened this up a touch but it is all about black fruit and chunky tannins. Great potential - just leave it for now. I wish I had.
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5dan FAIL dinner: aiming at November! (Bisi-Basi, Yokohama): This is an amazing Bdx. Favourite btl of tonight and especially enjoyed by Suda sensei. Open for business after 3 hrs decant. Not at all as tight as the previous btl. However, we'd guess that ~2020 is the start of their plateau, according to our taste. ...but it's darn good as is!
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What an improvement this estate has undergone! This 375, with an hour's decant, expressed classic St Julien flavors, with a strong backbone, plenty of dark cherry,cassis and cedar, some moss and earthy tones to be sure; a delightful experience, especially given the less than stellar showing in decades past.
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Complex nose, lots of fruit, spices, slightly floral and mineral. Savoury on the palate, again mineral, grippy tannins, good fruit, vibrant acidity. Elegant and very classic, excellent. Good future. 92-93(+)
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Goedhuis tasting at the Saatchi Gallery West London. Plenty on the nose: red and black fruits, cassis. Lots of grip, tannins which were and fine and smooth.
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Decanted 2,5 hours. Still pretty young, but it worked with a few hours in the decanter. I'm sure it will improve with more years in the bottle. 92 pts. now, with potential up to 93-94
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This wine is evolving nicely and is providing a lot of enjoyment at this point. With that said, there is more to come, and I will try my best to hold me remaining bottles for at least a few more years before revisiting
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Opened and compared to the 06. This was head and shoulders above. Big and brawny with power and very great concentrated. Structures with big tannin. Loads of dark plumb fruit, ink and cassis notes. So youthful and fresh with a big finish that lingers in perfect balance. Interesting to see how a great vintage compares to an average one.
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Bordeaux 2005 : Ten years on (Bordeaux Index London): Tasted next to Lascombes (revisited). Nose is more subtle (ha ha). Lovely red and black fruits, tannins are soft St Julien built to order. Smooth and savory, fine integration of oak. Juicy and can be enjoyed already today even if tannins could use another 5-10 years to be more optimally integrated. Lovely.
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Pretty dark color with some fading at the rim. On the nose, earth, coffee and truffle notes immediately jump from the glass. On the palate, there is a nice balance between the blackberry and plum fruit, cocoa, lead pencil and toast. No one component dominates the others. One almost experiences the fruit and secondary notes equally. The wine has a pretty mouthfeel and the tannins are beginning to soften and integrate nicely. This is textbook Left Bank Bordeaux.
If you like fruit, this is drinking well now. If you prefer softer tannins and more classic aged Bordeaux nuance, I'd say give this another 5 years, at which point, this may be an even better wine. All in all, this is fun to drink!
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Drunk from 375 ml. Rather stewed with prune & pomegranate. Aromatic upon opening, so I don't feel this is too young. Not a fan of the flavor profile and don't see this improving all that much. Fruit tasted dry and weak with rough tannins. Disappointing.
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encore tres (trop)jeune avec des marques d'élevages présentes (bois noble, déjà un peu fondu) cèdre; en bouche bcp de puissance, cassis encore des notes d'élevage (fumée,...) une belle bouteille en préparation mais a oublier 5 ans au moins
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Trop jeune avec encore de nettes marques d élevage , nobles. Nez très élégants cèdre menthol. En bouche de la matière tannins pas encore fondus a attendre au moins 5 ans
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This wine is drinking well, although clearly can go another 3-5 years. Typical St. Julien with strong cherry-chocolate notes. Big fruity, almost California-style wine that was drinking best on day two. Really delicious.
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way too young. Dark cassis and bell pepper notes with a tight structure and tannic palate. Re-open next one at least 5 years from now hopefully to achieve some drinkability. 89+
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As soon and the cork was removed there was a nose of dark cherries and other dark fruits. After 20 minutes to allow for the wine to come to room temperature the first taste was of a nice dry wine with mild tannins and moderately long mouth feel. It was a very pleasant wine. It was easy to finish the bottle as each sip kept my interest. It is drinking nicely now but could easily age for another 5 plus years.
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Color: dark purple Nose: representative of 05, big, rich, ripe, black fruits, dark chocolate, intense Palate: good balance, has a vanilla oak finish, medium bodied, well crafted, blackberry, cassis, still young with tannins to be tamed, will only get better with age, overall a good st julien.
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Well made, but pricy for what it gives. Cedar, cigar box, licorice, black currant. Tannins are fine, smooth from aging, just enough to keep enough structure for good food pairing with meat dishes. Finish is medium plus.
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Nice red fruit, slightly baked fruit with some aged earth and hint of funk. Slightly hot. Medium finish, lightly tannic. Not a great value even at release price
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Tasty and serious, but not particularly vibrant or complex. The wine offers blackberry, cassis, cedar, and licorice with nicely integrated oak. The tannic finish is mouth-puckering but not off-putting. Acidity and minerality are moderate. I am not qualified to opine on whether this will become something more special over time.
The next day, more of the same.
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Had next to the 2001. Ripe fruit, prominent but ripe tannins, improved noticeably after several hours of decanting. Excellent balance. Not without interest now, but really far too young to drink. Wait at least 5 if not 10 years before next bottle; surely a wine that can improve over 20+.
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Deep garnet red, take a while to open up, still approachable, earthy, mushroom, currant, dark fruits, chocolate, creamy smooth tannins, a bit smoke, vanilla, relatively simple, enjoyable though, medium length finish.
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Drank over 3+ hours for open bottle. Nose started with blackberry on the sweet side of the Bordeaux left bank, followed by mixture of granite with dark fruit. Palate agreed with nose, full body weight, and medium tannin. Well balanced medium to long finish. Compare to a bottle I tasted 2 years ago, tannin has soften a lot, and nose is more integrated. Ready to enjoy now.
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Opened about 6 hours before drinking, no decant. Took a big whiff and tiny sip upon opening, and thought it was fantastic. Huge blueberry nose, rich and full in the mouth. Unfortunately by the time we started drinking, it had closed up. Opened again towards last 1/4 of the bottle. I'm sure future bottles will perform better
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Que c'est bon Bordeaux quand c'est bien fait et équilibré. Ici un vin qui allie concentration, matière et équilibre! Des saveurs de mures, de café et de tabac avec des tannins encore serrés mais bien recouverts de fruits. Finale très longue. Avec encore un peu de cave 3-5 ans, sera merveilleux!
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In 375. Ready with a little decanting. I am surprised by some of the reviews, for while this is the best Lagrange I have tasted -- no more vegetal or mossy tones-- and it is a great vintage, this is not a great wine. It is very classic St Julien, with structure, blueberry and cassis backing to the velvet red berry broad palate, a nose of hay, blackberry and some wet wood, very nice with a steak. But it does not unfold with the kind of extra special notes of other mid- level Bordeaux like Smith Haut or Barton.
Extraordinary, one of the best reds we've had all year, amazing intensity, finesse and structure, a real winner that really shined across the board, thankfully we have another bottle that will have to wait a few more years for sure - Dark, full bodied with a nose of black fruit, plum, cedar, cigar box, mocha and vanilla, amazing structure and balance even in it's youth, complex, firm, yet sweet tannins, silky smooth on the palate with outstanding length, a legend for sure (96 Points).
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Never had Lagrange before. Also, this is one of the first of my large '05 Bordeaux buy that I have tried, so cant really assess the evolution of the vintage yet. This was fine, but I hope it in a shut down phase and will be more engaging in a few years. I'd wait.
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Decant 1.5 hours. Interesting based on some of the comments below as this bottle isn't showing much on the nose and has muted fruit and it doesn't seem like the tannins have fully resolved. Medium-short finish. I'll hold the other bottle for a couple more years and see what happens.
I let it breathe for 2-3 hours. Dark crimson with ruby around periphery. Gentle and velvety at first, followed by mid-palate blackberry, dark chocolate, and cigar box, nicely restrained tannin on the way to a long finish that's easy, rich and smooth. Enjoyed it very much.
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Forest floor, berries, cedar, bitter chocolate and bit of leather. Considering the vintage its still too early to drink. Very present. After all, it was a nice bordeaux wine.
Decanted at home for an hour and a half. No sediment whatsoever. Nose was very floral and inviting. Color was dark ruby, clean and clear. The taste was disappointing compared to previous. (93 pts) It was slightly astringent with less fruit as well as shorter, less pleasing finish. Still an elegant and subtle Bordeaux; but this bottle did not show well.
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First of the futures case and it was well worth the wait. This is still youthful and will get even better. Decanted for two hours. Nose and taste typical of a fine Bordx from a great vintage.
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Tasted blind. Bouquet of black cherry and fig with a hint of earthy mushrooms. Palate shows medium plus acidity with tight tannins and a long finish. Even though it is distinctly old world, it's still young and I didn't immediately place it as a Bordeaux.
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My wine of the night; unlike most of the Bordeaux wines from the 2005 vintage that I had tasted, this one appeared to be moderately approachable tonight; after breathing in the open bottle for more than an hour, the nose was very fruit forward with freshly cut apples, berries, and cherries followed by waves of lavenders and roses, plus some coffee and whipped cream in the background; very satisfying to sniff; the palate was creamy and somewhat salty, well-structured, and filled with chocolate, dark fruits, green peppers, and exotic spices; complex and full-bodied; the finish was long and lingering yet still rather tannic; 92+ points for now; could be superb if cellared properly until maturity (perhaps by 2018).
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Concentrated, structured, tannic, firm and built to age, this powerful, masculine St. Julien is still young. Time and effort were needed before the earthy, coffee, blackberry, fresh herb and tobacco personality began to emerge. This demands at least 5-8 years in the cellar for everything to come together.
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A little surprised by the recent notes saying that this wine is in a bad place. This bottle, the first of 12 bought en primeur, was in good shape - plenty of fruit, integrated tannins, reasonable length. It's not the most complicated wine ever, but I wasn't expecting that at this price point. But it was good last night.
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Non-blind. 1 hr decant 4 hrs slow-ox. (At Restaurant Tani, Omotesando) Impression: An outstanding wine at a bad place (considering where it ought to be, compared to Feb 2010). Not at all promising tonight. Thin, acidic, one-dimensional juice. Scraping the surface thoroughly reveals a nose of plums, dark cherries, wet grass and aggressive fruit. On the palate this is an acidic wine, with levels just inside of the acceptable border. Thin. Has some very fine mature fruit (hopefully) waiting to come out. Dark cherries everywhere. Medium length. Some promise. Didn't go well with the fois gras. The stronger cheeses on the cheese plate killed it. (Wife also 90p.) 6 btls to go. Next one not within 5 years from today.
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Very very fresh and fat fruit on the nose. Unabashedly ripe and full. Thick legs which envelope the palate very well. Traces of smoke and the tannins are very well subdued. Slightly acidic but overall a very solid wine with an exuberant character and great finesse. A great example of a St. Julien.
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After a four hour decant I am sorry to say that this wine is in a bad place. Not sure what is going on with this, but there is a serious lack of fruit and a bitter finish. I don't know how this will resolve, but I can't see this coming out of this stage for a while, if ever. I'm not really sure that there is light at the end of the tunnel. In a word - closed.
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Decanted for about 90 minutes and then drakn over the next 3+ hours. Aroma is definitely licorice, with some plum as well. Taste is actually pretty soft - not a lot of tannins, but does have some acidity. I'm sure this has much better life ahead of it, but it was pretty enjoyable now.
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An outstanding St Julien with personality and weight. Focused nose with massive fruit, cedar and pungent spice. Tight and ripe on palate with balancing acidity and thick fine grained tannis. Very juicy and velvety with persistent finish. Needs time possibly more than 4-6 years.
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this is the first lagrange i have ever been disappointed by, and it is the most expensive. of course it is an '05, which suggests it is not ready to drink. i popped and poured, and the positive review i read of it here was for one that was decanted 3 hours. i will save mine until another day and hopefully it will improve. I am not optimistic though considering how tannic, acidic, and unfruitful this is now. as usual, the wines highly reviewed by the critics seem to be the ones that cannot be enjoyed during ones immediate future. i greatly preferred the 2007, and every other year i have had. if one has to wait more than 7 years to enjoy ones wine, one might as well buy latour or las cases.
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Tasted double blind. Decanted 3 hours. Plum and cassis aromas. Similar palate of dark plum and black currant. Still quite tannic, giving big and chewy textures. Perfume and spice starting to emerge at end.
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Dark in color with typical nose of leater but not overwhelming. After a one hour decant this wine was very enjoyable, with mild tannins and was relatively long encourageing continued drinking.
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Elegant dark wine that started flat but improved dramatically after 60 minutes in a decanter. Not an in your face pauillac but a well balanced gentleman.
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Tasted this alongside with another St Juelien - a 1997 Ch Langoa Barton. Nose of rose petals was more fragrant than the older bottle. Color was a very similar deep ruby hue. Both wines had similar fruit notes of red currant, with minerals that contributed to a great mouthfeel. Some chocolate, tobacco in the finish. Tannins may need some time to evolve for this to achieve its peak. Looking forward to tasting this again after a few years.
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Very nice, opened up in 30 or 40 minutes. nice fruit, a little tobacco, balanced and lasted front to back. A bit tannic, will wait a some time to open other bottles.
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N - Dark forest fruits, redcurrants. P - Soft, mouth-filling, really nice. Creamy. Happy with this but wants more time; also not sure there is a huge amount of fruit to show off. Best with food?
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From a 375. Dense crushed red cherry, tannic and tight for sure but quite beautiful. Quality and concentration is there and I didn't find it too modern, as there wasn't any heavy-handed oak treatment as far as I can tell ... may age to be a lovely elegant bordeaux. Day 2 – The nose came alive today, with ripe red fruit and quite floral. Smooth yet powerful in an elegant way, what an excellent bordeaux ... I didn't find this too modern or 'parkerized' at all.
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I decanted 2+ hours in advance of the meal. Tight and tannic. When served, it was still a bit in its shell, but beginning to poke out. Substantial tannins, cassis and black cherries, the usual young Lagrange blast of cedar meets cocoa oak. Tannins are quite present, but fairly smooth/ripe and with the meat this does well. Looooooonngg. The thing I like about Lagrange is that even in a big ripe year there's a solid acid backbone. Curiosity assuaged, now I can put these away for 10 year. B/B+ for current drinking, I'm expecting to get into A territory in future.
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To be honest, this wine, at least at this point in its development-- and that's a very big "if"-- was a disappointment. It was too parkerized. The very things I typically look for in Lagrange-- restraint, tradition, austerity, classicism, balance, a paragon of the St. Julien appellation-- were missing, replaced by high alcohol, over-extraction, heat and wood. The bottle says 13%, but I'm just finding that really hard to believe. This was like a St. Julien Monbousquet, way too hot for me. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say I have enjoyed literally every single vintage of Lagrange I have ever tasted-- to me, it is one of the penultimate St. Juliens-- the 2000 I had a couple weeks ago was magical-- but this 2005 was just too much to handle. The color was good, a very deep and rich "Mouton Purple." But from the moment I uncorked the bottle to the last drop, I was fighting the raging, ferocious, wild-bull tannins. The one glimmer of hope I am going to hold out is that, at age five, this wine *should* be in an awkward state. Still, it shouldn't be *this* disjointed. I'll give it 88 points for potential but two big question marks for some very serious questions about this wine. 88(??)
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Two hours after opening but (no decant) I wondered if it was slightly corked. Nothing "off", I just wasn't getting anything out of it, the "mute" button was on. Kinda peeved in the middle of a tasting, I pulled a '00 Langoa Barton which met expectations. The next day the remaining 3-4 oz's of this wine where showing very well! Much more typical w/ some graphite and cigar box dancing around the black fruit. It's been a few years since I've had a non-port act so closed/shut down/dumb phased. If you have cold storage conditions consider waiting a few more years (me five) and decant for hours.
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Going out on a limb with this one on the points, because this is EXACTLY what I love with Bordeaux. Jam-packed with intense fruit, a full royal body and completely devoid of all circus and fair-ground so popular everywhere these days. This wine is a winner. It will outlive many of us, and it will bloom more and more over the years to come. Furthermore, the price makes it affordable, and a case or two, in your cellar will never cease to amaze. Fully enjoyable today... (Tasting at Oenoteca, Yokohama)
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Purple in color. A little dry with tacky stiff tannins. High solid acid and deep purple fruit. Clean and somewhat closed still with a long finish and some nice herb and tobacco. Silky. Will only get better with a couple more years.
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Compact wine with a lot of good cassis fruit and round tannin. Pleasant oak. Another really good Lagrange. Already giving a lot of pleasure, but it is probably wiser not to start drinking before 2015. 92+
Deep, dark black/ruby color. Quite primary in character; laden with sweet, oaky dark fruit. There is an interesting smokiness that cuts through the vanilla/oak/jammy character of the fruit, which seems to hint at interesting things to come. Well structured, with a wall of ripe, fine tannin on the finish.
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This wine was decanted and poured. It showed well from start to finish. The aromatics show black currants, graphite, tobacco and cedar notes. The color is a dark ruby to black. It is youthful and vibrant. The medium/full bodied palate shows enough forward, youthful fruit and balance to be enjoyable now. The palate shows excellent texture, a rich core of fruit and enough tannins to give it structure. This should improve with bottle age and drink very well at about ten years of age.
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A little dry with tacky stiff tannins. High solid acid and deep purple fruit. Clean and somewhat closed with a long stiff finish and some nice herb and tobacco. Hard to tell what this will become, but I believe it will be high class.
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Tasted at The Sampler. The oak, which is rather toasty, leads in the nose. Quite ripe, very nice fruit is hiding in the background but this is very very young.
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Very nice, aerated for 8 hours to 'soften' it up a bit, a wine with great potential that is definitely for the long term, but couldn't resist trying it out - Dark purple, medium/full bodied with notes of black fruit, plum, cigar box, spices and vanilla on the nose, very well structured and balanced, prevalent tannins on the front palate, smoothening off at the rear with amazing length (90 Points).
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This is super vino. The aroma of black currant and mocha jumped out of the glass and was followed by a medium to full bodied furry tannic beauty. It will need 5 good years to settle down and integrate, but the toasty mocha and ink lathered cassis make this one of the best value for money wines in the stable of 05's. Drink it from 2013 and watch it improve with time....giddy up!
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This bottle was given to us to try. I did not want to open the wine because it being from the Northern Medoc I knew the tannin level was going to be brisk in this wine. The wine was very dark and the nose muted. I did get cassis berry smoked cedar and spice on the nose. The first sip revealed massive tannins. It took a few sips to realy taste the hidden fruit. The fruit however is very plentiful in this wine but it will take this wine years to smooth out. The wine tastes of spice herb smoked meat leather and cassis and berry. There is also tobacco graphite and wet clay present on the mid palate. The finish is very long and it tells me the fruit is there and the backbone is well constructed. This one will take 20 yrs before its ready. It is a great value for the pricing of this vintage but right now it is not a wine you can drink unless you love the tannin monster. All in all I would recommend buying it but burying it in your cellar for 20 yrs. Rating now 89 but I do think this wine will develop nicely to a 93-95 point level when the tannins level out.
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2005 Bordeaux: Episode 2 (Wine Exchange - Orange, CA): 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot. Dense aromas of blackberry, cassis, spice, and lead pencil. Very minerally on the palate, with additional notes of cassis, spice, and crushed rocks. WA 91-93, WS 93.
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2005 Bordeaux Report: Episode 2 (Wine Exchange - Orange, CA): Fresh flowers, raspberry, and inky currant on the nose. Great minerality with currant leaf, boysenberry, and earth flavors. The firm sweet tannins couple well with the fruit and the amazing finish leading to perfect balance. Superb.
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Pebble Beach Food and Wine; 3/27/2008-3/30/2008 (Pebble Beach Resort, CA): Nose of pencil, dark fruits. Well structure on the palate with fine smooth tannins, a bit drying but not too bothersome even this young. Medium length finish and medium complexity. A very solid young Bordeaux that drinks well now, but should improve.
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Truly lovely floral aromas. Good freshness, although the palate is not quite as cohesive as Branaire Ducru, for example. But there is a pleasing concentration. A bit of warmth on the finish, but overall quite fine.
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Wines over the weekend; 2/1/2008-2/2/2008 (at home): Opening fairly toasty with a bit of green herb and bell pepper right up front before settling into a slightly roasted, tarry blackberry vein with notes of vanilla, buttery oak, and fudge under the roasted meat and herb notes. This is fairly full bodied with a big pop of sweet fruit on the attack. Opulent and round with blackberry and cassis fruit and quite some tannins as well as balancing acidity. The finish reveals a bit of earth and licorice as well as black spice and cigar ash before a final note of toasty oak. The oak is a bit more than I would like but the fruit should support it well.
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2005 Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux Tasting (Drake Hotel, Chicago, Illinois): 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Petite Verdot. I lied the 2003 vintage of this wine so much that the 2005 would be hard pressed to match it but it came close. Another very open wine at this tasting. Softer tannins than many of the 2005's. Round with notes of ripe cherry and plum. Long finish. 93+ points.
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At the Chateau. Started with this and Marcel DuCasse, winemaker and manager, opened bottle after bottle going back nearly all of his 22 years at LaGrange. 91-92 pts.
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BORDEAUX 2005 / Cabernet rules; 4/5/2006-4/10/2006 (Bordeaux): Nice red fruit nose with lots of strawberry; a tad tight on the palate yet shows substance lacking in the two prior wines – still tight and foreboding. Will likely open up with barrel aging, and I tend to be positive about this wine. 89-91+
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2005 Bordeaux en Primeur; 3/26/2006-3/28/2006 (Bordeaux France): En Primeur tasting. Big and bold black cherry and currant with licorice and allspice. Very good concentration and length, slightly firm for now on finish. 90-93 point potential, 2015 forward.
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4/21/2024 - BernieMSY Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for three hours practice tasting.
Inky dark purple color.
Rich mouthfeel with velvety soft tannins; this one is an outstanding example of a perfectly aged claret. Wonderfully integrated with layers of delicious black fruit, supported by interesting secondary and tertiary flavors. Consistent over two bottles.
This one is really outstanding!
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4/14/2024 - karanan Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted 2 hours - a great wine, but not excellent until the last glass. I should note that my wife absolutely loved the wine from the first sip. Next time, will decant for 4 hours which might do the trick. Not much fruit left but some berries detected. It was silky and did feel higher in acid, but that didn't take away from the wine itself. Overall, I was expecting more. I don't feel like the wine is going to develop further, but I think this will last another 5 years or so.
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4/11/2024 - wine_enjoyer Likes this wine: 94 Points
Spectacular. The ‘05 vintage provides this Lagrange with elevated quality. Round, balanced, and complex. Can’t wait to try more Bordeaux from this year.
Colour: deep garnet.
Tannins: high.
Acid: high.
Texture: velvety.
Finish: long.
Aromas: sour cherry, leather, slightly earthy, and floral (violets and roses).
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4/8/2024 - steveiiiiii Likes this wine: 93 Points
Two hour decant helped this bottle a lot. Drinks nicely with tertiary aromas there but not dominating. A clean, classic bdx with cassis, cedar, tar and leather. Drinks now with air but will also develop/improve from here.
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3/29/2024 - Scapolite Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep ruby, opaque in the center, with some bricking on the rim, showing its age. There is still some translucent rim despite it being 19 years old. There are some legs as well.
On the nose, quite a beautiful bouquet with a great mix of earthy and fruity notes. Leather, wet earth, tobacco, forest floor, some cocoa and peppercorns, black currants, blackberries, cedar, and black plums. There is also some greenness to this in bell peppers. This is quite complex and elegant.
On the palate, tannins are somewhat resolved but it is still somewhat astringent. Medium bodied, with a great mix of leathery and black fruit notes, similar to the nose, and are balanced with the upfront acidity, with a medium plus spicy finish.
Complex and elegant, this is drinking very nicely.
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3/24/2024 - pavel_p wrote:
Grabbed another bottle of the 2005 from an open OWC as I was in a hurry and did not know what else to open for dinner at home. At least had a chance to give this for once a fairly long 2h decant. The extensive air did however not deliver any significant improvement over my earlier pnp bottles. This is a solid medium bodied left bank Bdx but just a bit underwhelming in terms of depth for what should have been an extraordinary vintage also at Lagrange. Consistent 91.
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3/8/2024 - stayhappy21 wrote: 95 Points
Tasted this at the Chateau Lagrange Wine Dinner with Mattieu Borders at Famous Treasure hosted by Infinite Supply.
Purple in colour. On the palate the wine is creamy, with viscosity, and tension. The notes and flavours behave like sea waves: rising before subsiding before rising again.
Good level of acidity at 15 years of age. Great finesse, density and ends off with a seductive nose.
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3/6/2024 - Mpickup wrote:
40th birthday!
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2/28/2024 - HeavyPourWine wrote: 94 Points
From Mag. Drank at Gwen Restaurant in LA with friends for my 50th birthday. Decanted for an hour. Wonderful pairing with 30 day aged ribeye. Wonderful wine and meal. Brad - heavypourwine.com
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2/6/2024 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Really in a fine place right now. A touch medicinal but quite good.
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1/19/2024 - King_Arthur Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent nose! Fresh, dark fruits, but also something dark. Very smooth on the palate, over time starts to live up with what one smells in the nose. Very elegant, could have more body. Long finish. Definitively giid to drink now, no need to wait any longer. Tannins fully built in.
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1/11/2024 - pavel_p wrote: 91 Points
Drank over 2 days from a bottle kept in the fridge. Seemed very, very slightly corked, but I kept asking myself whether underneath was a better wine than the 05 Phelan Segur opened a few days earlier. Am a big Lagrange fan as it’s one of the best classified growth values in my eyes but while their 2005 shows plenty of juicy, dark berries and cedar, the Phelan Segur seems to show more depth (and the 2000 Lagrange seems the more sophisticated wine). Try again in 1-2 years.
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12/29/2023 - HOS wrote: 93 Points
PnP. Currant, earthy, medium bodied with good finish.
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12/23/2023 - HENNO1 wrote: 92 Points
….finally drinking although other 05s definitely are not. Many years ahead but tannins now integrating and nice balance with the fruit. It will improve with a few more years but very nice now
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12/22/2023 - tak4 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent. Blackberry, leather, spice on the nose. Palate has clear tertiary characteristics even though visually the wine doesn't betray its age. I don't think this is designed to go much further so I would suggest drinking now.
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11/7/2023 - rocknroller wrote: 94 Points
Commanderie de Bordeaux: Chateau Lagrange with Mathieu Bordes (Paris Dining Club, Mpls, MN): Very dark red/purple color. Drank a glass over an hour plus. I think this had about 30 minutes in decanter. This was showing great, earthy, leather, ripe, cassis, black raspberry, spice, gravel and tar. My red wine of the night.
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11/5/2023 - Motz wrote: 97 Points
The fourth of five wines tasted with a good friend over a long afternoon and evening. Tasted alongside the same vintage Certan de May.
Equally gorgeous and powerful. Layered waves of correct perfume and flavors. Resplendent Saint-Julien! Medium plus acid and medium to medium plus tannins will keep this evolving for at least another decade.
Tasting this after the profoundly satisfying 1989 Montrose validated its exceptional quality. Off-the-chain QPR and worth seeking out, even at current pricing. 96-97.
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10/28/2023 - mafi71 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Utmärkt Bordeaux
Passar fint till Boeuf Bourgogne
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10/16/2023 - galewskj wrote: 89 Points
Left bank bordeaux 2008 and older (BLVD): It was neat to try the 1995, 2000 and 2005 all in one flight. The 1995 was at peak and fully mature, with a complex and tertiary frame. The 2000 was not quite ready yet, still tannic and slightly primary. The 2005 was nowhere near ready, with primary fruit and un-integrated oak. I'll be drinking my 1 bottle of the 2005 in 10 years.
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10/15/2023 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
Monthly Tasting Group: Bordeaux 2008 and Older (BLVD Kitchen & Bar, Wayzata, MN): Small taste. Sappy, cassis, ripe and supple, round too, oak, but restrained. 92+ to 93pts.
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9/25/2023 - CWilliam wrote: 93 Points
Medium red color. Mature nose with cigar box, red currants, blackberry, tobacco. Medium+ body, medium acidity, medium tannins and very long finish. Palate consistent with nose. 93-94+ range.
Has aged beautifully.
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9/18/2023 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
Visits in Bordeaux; 9/18/2023-9/19/2023 (St Julien, Saint-Emilion, Pomerol): This was the final wine poured at my visit to Chateau Lagrange and they certainly saved the best for last. The nose is expressive and layered with well balanced and elegant tones of red cherries, raspberries, spice cake, tobacco leaf, savory herbs, bell peppers, warm mushrooms, rose petals, and a touch of cedar. The Medium bodied feel is polished and refined with medium acidity and resolving, medium tannins that still have a lovely silkiness. While I wouldn't necessarily call this mature, it sure is close to it. This is really easy to love and shows off a lot of expression and balance.
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8/25/2023 - Snowey Likes this wine:
Shabbat dinner before Liz going to burning man. With ribeye steak. Absolutely lovely. Nose showed Bordeaux typicity and flavors showed high acidity, smooth tannins and great balance. I think it’s time to drink.
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8/13/2023 - JDB Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious, very tasty on the open and even better with some air. I am no Bordeaux expert but i am not sure i can see this getting any better. Had with seared duck breast a great pairing
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7/13/2023 - Kris G Likes this wine: 91 Points
Well balanced with perfectly ripe fruit and very well integrated oak (which should be an example for a lot of other claret-producers who are to lavish with the use of new/heavy toasted wood)
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7/9/2023 - ftsai71@gmail.com Likes this wine: 93 Points
This was excellent. We gave this a hour and half decant. It was a little tight out of the bottle. We had this against a Chateau Montelena and it definitely felt more French, more acidic, less fruit but it had really nice secondary flavors, earth, tobacco, leather. It was great with beef ribs. Really enjoyable wine.
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7/3/2023 - Jd6725 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lean but not thin. A touch sweet fruited. Good leather and other Bordeaux characteristics but did not quite match some of it's competition this evening against 2000GPL, 2001/2008 Pichon Lalande, 2008 Lynch Bages.
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6/20/2023 - maxima wrote: 93 Points
Bu au resto AVV Comme chez soi de Bromont
avec les FOUDUVIN!
Super beau, bien fragrant et exubérant.
Bu en même temps que le Chateau Montrose 2004
et il a tenu sont bout.
Sur les cerises, la terre et le cêdre.
Les tannins sont fins et la finale bien
longue nous laisse sur une impression de terre.
Super bien équilibré et délicieux.
EXCELLENT
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6/16/2023 - wmccone54 wrote: 93 Points
I’ve been highly critical of the French Bordeaux 2005 vintage as being overhyped, extremely tannic, closed, and underperforming. To date my CT notes for the 30+ bottles I’ve enjoyed from this vintage, has averaged 87 points. Admittedly, most of what I’ve tried has been 2nd and 3rd tier from the Medoc and the lower end of St Emilion / Pomerol, but you’ve got to try the less costly and unheralded before cracking open a $100+ Right Bank Grand Cru Classe, or Left Bank “Classed Growth” Bordeaux. In spite of many abysmal bottles drank through 2020, I think the 2005 vintage is now “open for business”.
This St Julien is absolutely exquisite and drinking beautifully at 17+ years. Developing integration with red fruits, tannin, and acidity still looking for harmony. Stood up for two hours and decanted for an hour before enjoying with grilled Lamb chops, mushrooms and asparagus. Wonderful mix of mostly drying red fruits with the structural components still very much in play. Developing complex notes of chunky iron ore, cedar bark, drying mulch pile, drying green tobacco, belt leather, and crunchy chocolate. Perfect with the food, with more than enough power, elegance and class to support a long finish. Drink now with a decant or cellar through 2030+.
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6/12/2023 - luHar1423 wrote: 93 Points
Although it is suggested that the drinking window will only open up in two years time from now I personally believe that it is near to perfection now. Not the first bottle, not the last I will have and as a passionate wine gatherer and hunter I will definitely look out to find some more 2005 to stack up my cellar.
Acidity and tannins harmonize perfectly and the cherry-flavoured palate is just yummy - long finish.
A clear must-have in your cellar - bodies well with food and just like that.
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6/9/2023 - Purple Tooth wrote: 92 Points
Still very tightly wound over here. I have yet to experience what others are calling ready and earthy. I have pulled a bottle from 3 different cases and they all show a lack of excitement, but with undeniable substance that gives me the indication in typical Lagrange fashion, that this has not released its tight clench yet. I think that the high acidity here has allot to do with the slow aging. NOT READY. HOLD_
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6/3/2023 - pcwoz Likes this wine: 93 Points
A little closed straight out of the bottle. Still quite ruby in colour. Fresh and mouthwatering. Still quite a bit of tannic structure that bodes well for further long-term evolution (time in the decanter - air and temperature softened this). Blackberry, blackcurrants and black cherry. Bay. Smoke. Spice. Some earthiness and background cedar notes. Long. As it opened up a cool menthol-like nose started to come through. Elegant. It is in a very good place.
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6/2/2023 - Hiker4life70 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Barnyard initially that blew off. Blackberry, graphite, floral. We drank this for our kids high school graduation celebrating their birth year. We had this with breakfast Brie and olives for late night celebrating
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5/21/2023 - merlotsmile wrote:
Bordeaux 2023-05-21 (Château Lagrange): On place
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4/15/2023 - pavel_p wrote:
Consistent with my last note 6 months ago, this seems completely ready after a 2h decant. While this is a very nice classic Bdx, I still think the 2000 is the better wine at Lagrange.
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3/31/2023 - tzelmer wrote: 93 Points
Chateau Lagrange (St. Julien) visit with GM - dinner and tasting (Raleigh, NC): Very good wine. More plum, raspberry and sweet oak notes that I get in more right bank wines with Merlot (chocolate, sweet cigar tobacco) and starting to show some mushroom character which I think will increase as this ages. Confirmed this has about 50% merlot, and it shows. Good, well made, but not typical St. Julien. I prefer other vintages of this wine, later vintages, that are more Cab dominant. This is still good wine though, just a bit unexpected.
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2/5/2023 - trumpet60201 Likes this wine: 93 Points
1st of 3. Cork perfect, visually the wine is quite youthful. Nose bursting with fruit (black currant and blackberry), a good amount of elegant oak (sweet cigar box and some subtle cedar notes). On the palate, the fruit is delicious and very full still, lasting nicely alongside the massive (but fine) tannins, and the very present acidity. The finish is moderately long and just a hair drying due to the tannins. This went beautifully with steak. It's a very lovely wine now if you don't mind some serious tannins, but it should be even better in another decade.
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1/30/2023 - wineforth Likes this wine: 93 Points
4th bottle from a half case. Gentle oaky nose, later blackcurrant and coffee with some anise on the finish. Huge and lovely penetrating length which is still dry on the finish. I'll wait yet another 2 years at least before trying again because the 2005s are wines for the long haul and developing at a snail's pace. This could improve a lot. Be patient. Drinking well for those who like tannic claret. P.s. day 3 using Coravin the wine has opened up more and improved. Normally double decanting back into the bottle is enough but this needs to breathe.
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1/21/2023 - Guy Libot wrote:
Seems to be in a perfect spot right now. Doubtful it will improve further. Did not experience the tannic character at al like some other reviewers. Quite mellow on the other hand. A touch of marzipan.
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1/9/2023 - West of Chicago wrote:
I wish I had opened this wine sooner. It certainly had characteristic Bordeaux aromas & flavors such as red & black fruit (although more on the red side) and pencil shavings, but it was muted. Perhaps I opened this bottle in a "dumb" period, but I would not say this wine has much drinking window left, and I definitely would not give it until 2030.
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12/18/2022 - doug374 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep ruby color with berry and chocolate scents. Medium weight with unobtrusive tannins. Matured very well and should be good for many more years.
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12/14/2022 - burlingtonm Likes this wine: 91 Points
Perhaps I am out of synch with most of the recent notes but even after a three hour decant, this still was not ready and remains tannic and unforthcoming. It has softened somewhat since my last bottle over two years ago but I will wait some time before opening one of my six remaining bottles.
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12/5/2022 - FrancoisD Likes this wine: 93 Points
beau vin d'une grande année.
Cerise noire, graphite, jasmin en ouverture.
puis ça se prolonge sur la violette et le cèdre.
soyeux et bien balancé.
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10/26/2022 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 92 Points
18 months since my last bottle this continues to show very well. Pnp. Dark berries with some wood spices and animal notes on the nose. Very well balanced on the palate even though it feels still fairly young. Dark berries, slightly sandy tannins, some leather and tobacco. Short to medium finish.
Very nice even though I still prefer the more polished 2000
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10/1/2022 - stevenc.rees@gmail.com Likes this wine:
Drinking very nicely now.
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9/9/2022 - doug374 Likes this wine: 91 Points
A well balanced wine with consistent level of fruit and a solid core of acidity. A shadow of modesty or being reticent pulled the score down a point or two.
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8/29/2022 - KVM wrote:
Decanted. Dark red centre with ruby edge. A little Brett, dark plum, dark raspberry nose. Medium+ body, dark raspberry, cedar, great length. The acid feels your and the tannin coats my tongue, but it's not out of balance for a wine with this volume of fruit. Not yet mature but quite delic!
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8/12/2022 - gew71walsh wrote: 94 Points
Ruby colored in glass. This is an elegant wine, as opposed to a bold type wine. I agree with others that this has been made in a manner to push the fruit to the forefront and is successful in that endeavor. Paired with grilled ribeyes and this complements the food superbly. I could continue to indulge in wines of this ilk for a long time.
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8/1/2022 - Kris G Likes this wine: 92 Points
Not the most typical Claret, and I like that. The wood is barely noticeable and the focus is on the perfectly ripe red fruits. Juicy and perfectly balanced. Very well made and their focus on the fruits should be an example for a lot of Bordeaux houses.
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6/24/2022 - doug374 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Good dark fruits integrated through smooth and matured tannins. Very enjoyable food friendly wine.
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5/23/2022 - FoinZap Likes this wine: 95 Points
One hour decant. Deep purple in color, almost a bit of a brownish hue. Nose is black fruit, tobacco, black licorice. Palate initially had a briny aspect, almost green olive (like a Rhone/GSM), strawberry, red and black currant, leather, tobacco, black pepper, bay leaf...nice balance between fruit and secondary elements. Mid- to full-bodied, with a medium- to longish finish. I loved the 1990, and this is showing very nicely.
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5/8/2022 - Sonoma Duck Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium ruby, decanted for 45 minutes. Balanced wine with a great nose and a long finish. Delicious and fine to enjoy right now and will keep for a few years.
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5/7/2022 - Vancouver Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium to deep ruby in appearance with just some lightening at the rim. Very impressive color at at age 16 or so.
Pronounced and evolved nose of black fruits, cassis, vanilla and some lead pencil. The nose is still fruit dominated at this point. Classic St Julien.
Medium plus body with plenty of acidity and structure and great flavor concentration- as with the nose there is still a ton of fruit on the palate.
Medium plus and delicious finish.
This is a great wine that will last "indefinitely" in a cold cellar.
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5/1/2022 - NarunP Likes this wine: 93 Points
46% Cabernet Sauvignon 45% Merlot 9% Petit Verdot (according to Matthieu Bordes)
Deep black core, reddish rim. Still very little sign of age
Nose is savory. Lots of minerals, seaweeds, crushed black berries, smoked cedary oak.
Palate is dense but resolved. Medium plus acidity, dry. Fruit is still fresh. Cassis, blackberry, dark cherry, plum. Midpalate is complex with notes of unsmoked cigar, gunpowder, graphite, fresh earth, forest floor. Finish is integrated and long.
This needs at least half an hour of decanting before it uncoils and softens up. I would personally keep this 5-10 more years because I believe the more mature version would yield greater gratification. However, as of now, it is delightful with a nice balance between freshness and evolution. Now-2035. 93.
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3/1/2022 - maxima wrote: 92 Points
Super de beau claret, encore 2005 qui montre
sa grandeur...il entre dans sa fenêtre.
Complexe, et bien équilibré, tout est là.
Des cerises, du chocolat, du graphite, de la terre,
des herbes et un peu de cêdre se succèdent.
Les tannins sont bien enrobés et la finale
tout en velours est longue et nous laisse
sur des relents de tabac.
Vraiment excellente cette bouteille en ce moment.
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2/27/2022 - 79bulldog Likes this wine: 93 Points
Big approach with leather and dark fruit, melting into sharp cherry on the finish. This is lovely now with an hour or two decant. At the beginning of its drinking window, it will evelove beautifully for 10 years easily from here.
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2/12/2022 - SadEdjo Likes this wine: 92 Points
like-new cork; dark, impenetrable colour; initially reductive; still somewhat tight; polished cassis, cedar, sandalwood; long finish; many years ahead
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2/5/2022 - AWBryce wrote:
In a lovely spot, dark fruits, hint of pepper, plums, forest floor, hint of oak. Palate is lovely, structure is softening. Perfect spot to drink, but tons of life ahead
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1/27/2022 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 93 Points
From half bottle this seems to be good to go but will of course hold. On pnp a nice cedar note with cassis, liquorice, kiss of oak and acidic lift greets the claret afficionado. It's a very fresh wine on the palate with ample acidity, moderate alcohol of 13% that is borderline lean for the vintage but in a way that makes it a classic left bank that should soften with more time and flesh out once the classic Cabernet corset loosens its grip with time. I still enjoy it today for its "bite" and will go through some more of my halves now while affording the standard bottles another decade. 93 today with upside for another point or two.
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12/31/2021 - Guy Libot wrote:
Great tertiary aromas of leather, tobacco.
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12/19/2021 - Kris G Likes this wine: 91 Points
Juicy wine with a bit of an atypical profile for a claret with fresh fruits and a lovely acidity reminding me of a Tuscan wine.
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11/12/2021 - Hanibal wrote: 91 Points
lots of pencil shavings... true to self
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10/30/2021 - peterchoy wrote: 91 Points
Appearance: Bright and clear, the wine is of deep ruby colour, with fading rim and legs.
Nose: Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit of blackberry and cassis, herbal notes of coriander, oak notes of cedar, sweet spice of clove, mineral notes of earth, kernel notes of chocolate and walnut. The wine is developing.
Palate: Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin of ripe and silky texture, medium alcohol, medium (+) body and medium intensity flavours of black fruit of blackberry and cassis, oak notes of toast, sweet spice of clove, kernel notes of coffee. The wine has a medium (+) finish.
Conclusion: Very good quality St-Julien with an intense nose showing good complexity, with an interesting coriander note on top of the black fruit at the beginning, then having the earthy and spicy characters surfacing in addition to the chocolate and walnut. On the palate the wine is well-balanced, with good structure and reasonably concentrated, with also a fairly long length on the finish. It is ready to drink now and can further develop for another 4-6 years.
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10/17/2021 - KendraPM wrote: 93 Points
Paired with a truffle risotto and glazed pork tenderloin. Amazing body and finish with the dishes. No hint on the age of this wine.
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10/13/2021 - clementwolf wrote: 93 Points
Opened and drank over the night:
After pulling the cork, nose is muted and big tannins on the palate, barely drinkable.
After sitting 1 hour in the glass, nose starting to develop dark chocolate and blackcurrents and cherries. Tannins softening but still give the impression that it is a very young wine.
The typical blackcurrent and cassis flavour start developing after 3 hours, with a hint of mint and marshmallow on the background, quite sweet nose and a medium finish. Quite enjoyable with my favourite Bordeaux elements coming out.
Will hold and try my next bottle in 2 years' time
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9/25/2021 - unc0rked wrote: 92 Points
Nice color and terrific nose. A bit of heat on the finish at first but mellowed after decant of an hour. Probably would have benefit from a longer decant but we were at restaurant. Nice velvety feel on the palate. Dark fruit. Tannins all gone. I think this wine is solid for another 5 years or so. Definitely ready to drink at 16.
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8/22/2021 - Vancouver wrote: 93 Points
Medium ruby in appearance-still opaque at age 15 or so. Just a touch of lightening at the rim.
Fully evolved and pronounced aromas of cassis, balsamic notes , vanilla and some spice. In spite of the evolution the nose is perfectly fresh and exudes class and elegance.
Medium bodied with plenty of acidity and tannin providing structure and freshness on the palate. The palate is slightly restrained but still delivers plenty of classic St Julien black fruits, cassis and vanilla.
The finish is medium plus and delicious. Overall very well done.
Drink now or store "indefinitely" in a cold cellar.
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8/20/2021 - Purple Tooth wrote: 92 Points
All I can say is, not ready. Needs 10 years. Ohmmmmm is the word. HOLD
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7/16/2021 - redknife Likes this wine: 94 Points
Brief decant and off to the condo restaurant
Had a martini before the wine with appetizers
The wine showed beautiful on the young side but very approachable and similar to my previous bottle
Great pairing with grilled ribeye
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7/6/2021 - VinhoVerde Likes this wine:
Medium red color. Complex Cassis/ smoke/ chocolate bouquet. The flavor is still closed, however. Too hard and tough for an accurate numerical score. Strangely, the bouquet is quite developed but the flavor is shut down.
Cork pulled 2 hours before tasting.
From Mark’s 2005 Bordeaux Vintage Tasting:
Attended a 36 wine ‘05 Bordeaux tasting recently. The wine above is one of those wines. Served single-blind.
All wines were tasted over a 2 day period, 18 per day. The wines served on the 1st day had their corks pulled two hours prior. The second day’s wines were served “ double-decanted”, 2 hours before the first flight. The overall tasting experience was quite different, as one would expect. Day 2 wines were softer, displaying more ripe fruit, and less harsh tannins.
Kudos to Mark for both a fantastic experience as well as providing an instructive opportunity on how the 2005 Bordeaux vintage is showing at this stage.
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6/26/2021 - Eric wrote:
2005 Bordeaux at 16 years courtesy of Mark Taylor; 6/26/2021-6/27/2021 (Atlanta, GA): Mmmm, pencil lead, tobacco, left bank. Very classic, austere, still on the tannins, clean, very proper, straight down the fairway. My #2 and the group #2. I knew this was either Lagrange or d'Angludet and incorrectly settled on d'Angludet.
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6/24/2021 - wineforth Likes this wine: 93 Points
3rd bottle from a half case (a full case shared with a friend before the days when en primeur was offered in less than a case). Gentle oaky nose, later blackcurrant and coffee. Huge and lovely penetrating length which is still dry on the finish. I'll wait 2 years before trying again because the 2005s are developing at a snail's pace and this has a long way to go.
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5/24/2021 - Vancouver wrote: 92 Points
Medium ruby in appearance. No sign of lightening.
Pronounced and evolving aromas of black fruit, cassis, vanilla and some spice. The nose is perfectly fresh and does appear to be holding something back....
Medium bodied with plenty of acidity and tannin providing structure and freshness on the palate. The palate is slightly restrained but still delivers plenty of classic St Julien black fruits, cassis and vanilla.
The finish is medium plus and delicious. Overall very well done.
If stored properly this stuff can last forever. My guess is that it will be at its best in 5 years or so- but that's just a guess of course.
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5/23/2021 - ccn wrote: 91 Points
Very consistent with prior bottles. Decanted two hours. Delicious, and great with food. Quite a bit fuller bodied than most St Juliens , a reflection of the vintage. There seems to be a ceiling to the complexity of this one — not sure it will improve but will be in drinking window 5-10 years.
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4/20/2021 - peternelson wrote: 91 Points
Quite earthy, tannic, forest floor, shrooms, dark tobacco; moderately structured, in a good place, not for solo sipping. Get a steak or lamb. Edendale w/D. 90-91
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4/4/2021 - tluk Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wonderful to drink right now, even if it Could last some more in cellar.
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3/13/2021 - luHar1423 Likes this wine: 93 Points
This Lagrange is in the perfect drinking window - no doubt, you can easily keep it another 5-10 years in your cellar. I don't think that my remaining bottles will make it that long - it is just too joyful today. The wine is perfectly colored with a deep ruby touch. The legs are medium and given the age of the wine (a mere 15 years) the sediments in the bottle are moderate.
The nose fills with nuances of black currant (cassis), cherry, mineral, light toast, walnut, and a touch of butterscotch and chocolate. While the palate also returns a taste of jam, black and ripe cherries, vanilla and butterscotch. The tannins and the acidity are perfectly integrated into the wine and we have a full bodied wine in the glass with satin-like texture. The long finish let you dream of your next sip and the popping of your second bottle for great taste. I need to buy a couple of more 2005 Lagrange.
Decanting the wine is highly recommended - at minimum one hour just to get you a head start for the wine fun.
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2/28/2021 - redknife Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for two hrs
Had it at home with dry aged ribeye
Graphite and dark fruits + touch of plum on the nose
Medium to full body
Long finish
Beautiful wine
Will continue to evolve for several years
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2/20/2021 - dbkitc wrote: 91 Points
Very nice - one of the better bottles of Lagrange I can remember drinking. Ruby color with a pink rim. Classic Saint Julien nose of cassis, tobacco, saddle leather and soil. After the Poyferre, this is downright elegant. That said, the palate is a bit muddled and lacks precision. Perfectly good yet maybe lacking excitement. Will drink well for another ten years. The nose is terrific. (91)
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2/13/2021 - vide Likes this wine: 92 Points
A paradigmatic St. Julien - those fresh tangy dark fruits with musty but subdued dark earth behind them, all within a framework of muted and refreshing tannin. As Pavel P notes below, one would normally expect something with a bigger punch from a 2005. But instead of the big punch, we have a wine that has a quite lifted nose (although it should be doing a bit more) with flavours of greenish fruit, a palate that is rather thin and with a certain angular vulnerability, but has a finish which, although drying, has presence.
These don't sound particularly positive descriptors (I can see that by looking again at them). But all the component parts of this wine work together, to form a text that is from beginning to end coherent. Ultimately, it is the workmanship of the wine that I am admiring, which gives it a quality and (to use an outdated term) class. So, where it may at times fall down in terms of depth, it makes up for that at the level of structure.
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2/12/2021 - pavel_p wrote: 92 Points
First bottle from an OWC. Decanted for perhaps 45 min. Surprisingly, given the vintage, this is a wine more of finesse than power or structure. Nicely delineated notes of dark fruit and soil and some wood spices. Medium body. Tannins well integrated. Medium length. This is not closed but I still wonder if there is not a touch more fruit to come with another 2 years of cellaring as the 2000 is drinking a touch better right now in my eyes
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2/10/2021 - CWang wrote: 92 Points
Similar to the previous bottle tasted in 2018, however, with still quite noticeable tannins on the tight palate; overall, 91-92 points for this less enjoyable bottle.
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2/9/2021 - peternelson Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decent, plenty of forest floor, sweet tobacco, little spice box, wet earth, moss, gravel. Very classic, in great shape, mid-palate is medium though, not much heft, tangy elevated acidity, ample drying tannins, but certainly a good wine. Opened up nicely after 20 minutes. With steak and fries. 91 is generous. Maybe 90 or 90.5?
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2/3/2021 - maxima wrote: 92 Points
Un autre magnifique BDX 2005, quel millésime grandiose!
Nez fragrant sur la terre, les fruits rouges, le tabac et
le cèdre.
En bouche, c'est textbook Bordeaux mais fort
complexe aussi. Cerises, chocolat, graphite,
tabac et un petit côté mentholée.
Les tannins sont encore bien là et il y a une belle
acidité. La finale est super longue et rien n'accroche,
Super beau claret, bon pour encore bien des années!
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1/9/2021 - ccn wrote: 91 Points
Lovely and drinking well but plenty of time left. Tannins soft and integrated. Concentrated berry fruit.
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12/31/2020 - Rechrom wrote: 92 Points
Double decanted, Worked great with food. Lovely balance, good fruit. Nice nose. Nothing exceptional here, but a genuinely pleasant aged bottle with several years left. Glad I have more.
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12/31/2020 - BrendanMcS wrote: 92 Points
Very nice bottle. Decanted it, but was open for business quickly. Moderately fruity on the nose. Palate is really well balanced between fruit and earthy tones. Acid and alcohol are well balanced here. In a good drinking place right now for sure
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12/29/2020 - Sotto325 wrote: 89 Points
Very nice Lagrange. And I posit a basic disagreement with several reviewers as to its future. I like it now. Very typical St. Julien— French military correctness in Bordeaux terms. And yes, a tiny bit tight. But I doubt, even given the huge upgrade in quality here, that This wine will find hidden tertiary flavors tha justify another 3-5 year wait. Enjoy this Early showcase of the 2005 vintage now as the more complex wines take another 5-10 years to show their stuff. Deep black/red color here, with cigar box,, moist soil, dark cherry/ plum sous bois palate, But nothing that rises above.
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12/20/2020 - Guy Libot wrote:
Great at this time. Cedar. Little sediment.
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12/19/2020 - martin_e Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very nice, some of the best Lagrange vintages I've had. Also glad that more and more 2005 Brdxs finally becoming ready to drink.
Aromatic, mostly black fruits with a bit of spices, black currant, blueberry, and blackberry on the palette, still fresh acidity goes with additional note/hint of slightly saline water. Impressively long finish
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12/17/2020 - Wine Canuck wrote: 90 Points
A Small 2005 Bordeaux Horizontal: [Tasted Blind] This pours opaque ruby, with ever so faint bricking. Young in appearance considering its 15 years of age. The nose is of licorice, kirsch, plums soaked in brandy, and a little baked blackberry. Again similarly to wine #3 this shows virtually no development or secondary character. The palate is youthful and tight with medium minus acidity and medium tannin. The finish is a touch short with licroice, some noted alcohol and a faint powdered candy or crushed vitamin tablet note.
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12/17/2020 - JCGuthrie wrote:
Decanted a couple hours. Definitely accessible, but far less developed than I was expecting based on an '00 consumed a few months ago. That wine was showing all sorts of tertiary development and blew me away; by contrast the '05, while clearly identifiable as a BDX, seemed flat. I need to sit on my remaining bottles for at least three years.
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11/7/2020 - jonanator wrote: 92 Points
Similar to a year ago, best is still yet to come but really quite accessible at this point. Very enjoyable.
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9/26/2020 - Renevin Likes this wine: 94 Points
Très beau vin. Nez complexe floral, beaucoup de fruits. En bouche, c est puissant, ample mais bien rond avec une longue finale. Encore plusieurs années devant lui
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9/13/2020 - Motz wrote: 97 Points
From the bottle Coravined in May.
The 2005 vintage continues to stake its claim as transcendent, of which this wine offers strong testament!
By any measurable standard, somewhere between mid adolescence and very early adulthood, it delivers phenomenal poise, bordering on stateliness, and 'iron fist in a velvet glove' power! Yeah Buddy! While incredible now, after considerable air, the wine tantalizes the fortunate imbiber with hints of all it will become...over the next two decades, no less.
Regal purple, with deep crimson hues, featuring textbook balance and precision. It overachieves Third Growth quality. Moreover, every bit as noteworthy for absence of fru-fru, including heavy-handed extraction, lumber, and excessive polish.
I drink wine for wines like this and am elated to have found two other bottles for a song. At the transition between the 'no great wines, only great bottles' axiom. Bordeaux aficionados will have the privilege of following 'great bottles' of this offering over the next thirty years. 97-98.
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9/11/2020 - Psdycp wrote: 90 Points
Fragrant nose of ripe black fruits, cigar box, licorice and aniseed. Elegant palate with rich mid-palate. Flavours flowed from nose to the medium palate. Good density of herbaceous nuance which add an interesting layer to the smooth finish. Do not decant this wine, best consume straight from the bottle. Still holding well for another 5-8 years.
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8/4/2020 - madalyn Likes this wine: 92 Points
still young
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7/14/2020 - nywine68 wrote: 92 Points
In a nice drinking window today but definitely has plenty of years ahead of it. This is not particularly complex but has nice vibrant dark fruit balanced by a fine tannin structure and good acidity. Cassis, eucalyptus, menthol and some tobacco. Medium bodied with a medium finish.
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7/12/2020 - gothamfreerider Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wonderful floral flavors from start to finish, rose&violet. Delicate spiciness. Super silky tannins. This is soo good! What a improvement over 2008 which was grippy, and a disappointment.
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7/4/2020 - SonnyChiba wrote: 91 Points
Needs a bit more time. Wasn’t overly expressive even after being opened several hours. But well made and you can feel the quality of the vintage. Worth holding a bit longer to see more development. 91+
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6/6/2020 - Miceri Likes this wine: 95 Points
Medium dark red; rounded, cedar, hint of caramel; nice round somewhat soft mild attack, rounded tannins giving exactly the right bite, long caramel-like aftertaste; the feminine one compared to Ridge Monte Bello same year, also tasted
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5/30/2020 - PMHouser Likes this wine: 93 Points
This got better from the last bottle. Doubled decanted and let air for about 2 hours. Beautiful wine and went perfectly with a grilled steak.
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5/29/2020 - Motz wrote: 96 Points
The hands-down standout of a flight of four Left Bank Bordeaux, all tasted by Coravin.
Crimson to purple, less bricking than expected.
Any description of the bouquet will not do it justice...but here goes. The perfume comes in two distinct waves. The first, seemingly Merlot-driven, shows red berries, rose hips, hibiscus, and delicate sous-bois. All somewhat Burgundian-like; all distinctly classy. The second wave features purple and black berries, equally pretty, though imparting the essence of high-quality Bordeaux, and reminiscent of Margaux.
The wine features a sheen-like element, one of immovable suavity, even as it dances across the palate. This mind-bending quality masks tremendous underlying power, marked by medium plus to high acid, and powdery, medium tannin.
Most reminiscent, in recent vintages, of the 2015 Domaine de Chevalier and Pontet-Canet. If blind, the wine might take me first to Burgundy, on account of its sophisticated, red-fruited precision. Alas, the secondary qualities would most likely pull me back to Bordeaux, Margaux in particular. Superlative and still evolving. 95-96...97?
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5/19/2020 - sergio65 Likes this wine: 94 Points
As usual this wine delivers. No detailed notes but very very impressive wine. Fresh, red and dark fruits, still young. Probably the best 2005 I had since Pontet Canet and it would be really interesting to compare these two side by side.
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5/4/2020 - Scottlmatthews Likes this wine: 89 Points
It is two years too late
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4/17/2020 - flyinburrito Likes this wine:
Enjoyed but experience was underwhelming. Not much on the nose. Tannic still. High neck fill. Reminded me of a moderately priced Walla Walla cab.
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4/5/2020 - Winnje Likes this wine: 93 Points
Double decated to remove a little sediment. 1st sip after opening showed delicate red fruit, in particular red raspberries and liquorice, amazing. Then after airing I met layers upon layers of chocolate, liquorice, lightly toasted bread, vanilla, smooth silky tannins, minty. After tasted carried on until the next morning
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4/4/2020 - NYCITYRAT Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is such a well balanced mouthful of Bordeaux. It’s got wonderful dark fruit and cedar with a 30 second finish. It’s both elegant and big. Really impressive
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3/19/2020 - Sean Tay wrote:
Chateau Lagrange Wine Dinner at KOMA. Mr Sylvain Menard, business developer of Chateau Lagrange absence due to covid19 travel restriction. KOMA’s modern Japanese cuisine paired with St Julian classified Third Growth. Organised by Grand Vin.
Aperitif: 2016 Les Arums de Lagrange Blanc
Flora, peach, lemon. Aromatic bouquet and well balanced on the palate.
Miso Glazed Eggplant and DIY Spicy Tuna paired with Les Fiefs de Lagrange 2014 and 2015.
2014 is more enjoyable than 2015, as its in the matured drinking cycle and with medium- tannin. 2015 is starting to drink well with adequate decanting. Both vintages display spices, cassis, and black fruits.
Chicken Negrima and Unagi Robata paired with 2008 Chateau Lagrange.
2008 is a good drinking vintage right now. Although it has less tannin and acidity than in 2005 and 2000, it currently offers pleasure drinking. Smoke, coffee, tobacco, black fruits. Drink now to 2025.
Wild Mushroom Fried Rice paired with 2005 Chateau Lagrange.
WOTN. Firm tannin, high acidity. Chocolate, spices, coffee and tobacco. Can last easily another 10-15 years.
Prime Sirloin Steak 150g paired with 2000 Chateau Lagrange.
Full-bodied black fruits with tobacco, spicy, cassis, earth notes. In its perfect drinking window. The acidity and tannin go very well with the medium-rare steak.
Dessert Sesame Profiterole paired with whatever is left.
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3/9/2020 - wineforth Likes this wine: 93 Points
Sweet blackcurrant and coffee nose. Has matured really well in the last couple of years. Tannins have softened and the good weight of fruit has enable the wine to emerge excellently. Penetrating length. Finally ready to drink and should be at it's best for 5 years with a very slow decline thereafter.
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1/5/2020 - Guy Libot wrote:
Great maturity and tannins that were so harsh at the onset have now melted together quite nicely. It is now in a plateau phase for a number of years. No real need to decant. Minimal sediment.
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12/29/2019 - Chris Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lighter purple color, great nose, still a bit tannic but overall soft and velvety with good fruit. Save for later to let it soften further but if you don't mind some tannin or have time to decant a couple hours, this is a fabulous wine. Great vineyard and great vintage combine for great results here.
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12/27/2019 - unrelenting wrote: 94 Points
Wow, what a difference a year makes. 1 hour decant
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12/26/2019 - vino vidi vici Likes this wine:
This is shutdown - clearly not ready yet... nose is muted, black fruit lurking. Mostly graphite with a hint of mint peaking through. Even on day 3, it still won't give up it's charms. I for one, will not open another bottle for at least 5 years. This needs time - and you can't rush it!
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12/1/2019 - ZMAng wrote: 85 Points
Sampler quarterly. Green, thin mid-palate, fine tannins. 84-86.
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11/25/2019 - jonanator wrote: 93 Points
Very early maturity. Drinking really well with a short decant. The last few bottles of this over the last two years have been surprisingly accessible. The best is yet to come, but certainly no foul in opening one to enjoy now. Elegant and refined.
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11/24/2019 - Ara Kafafian Likes this wine: 93 Points
Blind, deep inky dark cherry color, heavy notes of vanilla, toasty oak, rich, thick, dusty/stemmy tannins, a beast that needs a decade to soften whatever this is and should be enjoyable over the following 2 decades. Drink from 2030-2050
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11/14/2019 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 93 Points
Consistent with past notes, and continues to deliver great value. Balanced and concentrated, with crushed stone, mocha, blue and black fruit and some toasted oak, well integrated. Served alongside two other 2005 St. Julien and quite held its own.
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11/14/2019 - up4wine wrote: 92 Points
What a great bottle from Lagrange. 2005 doesn't get as good of a press as 2000, 2009, and 2010, but it certainly deserves it. This wine has come together with all the right pieces, where the fruit is still bright and holding up wonderfully, while the tannin is soft and fine grained.
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10/20/2019 - BadOyster wrote: 92 Points
Aging superbly. Still very dark and brooding but with a lighter body and medicinal bordeaux finish. Very fine tannin. A beautiful new world bordeaux with bottle age. Could probably last another 5-10 years.
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10/10/2019 - depechemoroder Likes this wine: 93 Points
Exuberant with an explosion of ripe black fruits. Dense and concentrated, this is very stylish with a polished edge. Still wearing some baby fat, it has a creamy richness to it. Tannins are surprisingly subdued given the vintage, but they do more than enough to keep the whole thing together. At this rate, these will be around for quite a long time.
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10/8/2019 - gew71walsh wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for two hours, drank over next hour. Paired with beef bourgignon. Dark in glass, blackberries and currants. This is balanced and elegant. Agree with others that this is still in its primary stages and very enjoyable, with a significant upside over the next five to ten years.
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9/7/2019 - chablis28 wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for 2 hours before back into the btl for trip to Mike & Sheryl's. Removed cork again upon arrival and poured a couple small glasses to further slow ox everything. Semi opaque bright ruby red. The tannins & oak were in pretty good stead but I was hoping to coax out more tertiary notes since this is almost age 15 this month. Never showed much aged BDX nuance tonight but, its pleasantly elegant enough to enjoy its late youth stage. Tonight a good nose with whiffs of; dark fruit, cedar and pencil. The palate is dominated by rich ripe blackberry at present but also shows cedar, currant, chocolate and minerality riding on sweet tannins and sound acidity. All bodes well for the future but, for my palate, its still primary and lacking any well aged nuance more likely achieved in another 5+ years. Call it ...91+ tonight.
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8/25/2019 - Jimaronson Likes this wine: 94 Points
Open and drinking very well now. See last note.
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8/10/2019 - danibus Likes this wine: 93 Points
Silky smooth dark berries, stone, and cedar. Real polish but big. Begs for a steak. Nice structure. Delicious and fun to drink. Can't imagine anyone not liking this. Drink or hold.
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7/23/2019 - Jimaronson Likes this wine: 94 Points
This wine is drinking in its prime window after 1 hour in the glass. Red raspberry, candy apple, cassis, barnyard, and cedar. Very light on its feet yet full bodied. Wine was bigger after a few hours. Sweetness throughout with nicely applied tannins. I suspect the bottle will age and grow for 5 plus years. Already showing secondary characteristics. Excellent bottle and worth three times the price.
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7/18/2019 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 93 Points
Bordeaux Night in the Santa Ynez Valley (An Anonymous Winery's Gorgeous Cellar Table): Having largely held off on my 2005's, it was a pleasure to encounter one in prime form, punching way above its weight. Showing fine balance and concentration, with notes of crushed stone, mocha, blue and black fruit and some toasted oak, well integrated. A great value.
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6/16/2019 - miadelt Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drink next 2021. This wine is still too tannic. Will be very good.
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6/14/2019 - I1bearup Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very drinkable. Tar, spice, blueberry. Nice tannin with just enough acid. Hold, has many years left.
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6/10/2019 - Vinogan(s) wrote: 92 Points
Interwoven, herbs, balance, acids nicely integrated. A paragone of balance, everything is there and in just the right amount. A classical balancing act done in a way they only do in top bordeaux
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6/10/2019 - Kris G Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still fresh fruits, well balanced, classic, smoke, spices, elegant and complex.
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4/27/2019 - PMHouser Likes this wine: 91 Points
Beautiful Bordeaux, needs an hour or two of decanting.
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4/3/2019 - maxima wrote: 91 Points
Quel beau Bordeaux...c'est un solide RQP avant la flambée
des prix sur Bordeaux.
Graphite, terre et tabac avec des cerises et de mures,
un peu de cèdre aussi.
Tanins serrés et finale bien longue.
Très bon.
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4/2/2019 - Ibetian wrote:
Popped and poured. Good, elegant wine, but a bit tight. Give it an hour or two decant or better wait a year or three.
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3/27/2019 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 94 Points
From half bottle. Repeating strong recent performance. See previous TN. Nose of blueberries and dark chocolate. Still fairly primary. Well rounded but still grippy tannins. On the palate this is unusually concentrated for this chateau soaring to an almost liquor like crushed stone finish that reminds me of a Pomerol. Full throttle and this even from half bottle has a very long life ahead. Wonderful wine and amazing qpr.
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3/23/2019 - englishman's claret wrote: 94 Points
Chateau Lagrange Dinner (Harvard Club, Back Bay): The 2005 Lagrange displays a very dark aromatic profile full of blackberry and plum with cedary accents. Full, dark, pure on the palate. Surprisingly for a wine that is basically 50% cabernet sauvignon 50% merlot, this is very brooding despite a long double-decant and requires at least another 5 years before it will become easier to fully assess. Despite that, it's enjoyable to get a look at this now.
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3/17/2019 - Guy Libot wrote:
After a 3 hour decant, still quite powerful with tannins present. Seems to lose a bit of the fruit and was hard on the palate. Lets see how it develops further.
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2/10/2019 - AllRed wrote: 92 Points
Chinese New Year (Gen Hoe): CNY. Courtesy of J&K, decanted prior to their arrival. Perfumed dark fruit has an appealing feminine edge. Still fairly tannic, though with nice underlying fruit. What's here is very nice, and it pairs nicely with the steak course. I might give these a few years yet though, as there's definitely some upside.
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2/2/2019 - casoe Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still feels young and primary. Classical blackcurrant, cigarbox and mint. High on acidity and tannins but well balanced, and a very nice wine with a long life ahead.
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1/11/2019 - larsth wrote: 92 Points
Medium bodied with classic left-bank notes of blackcurrant, cedar, leather, cigar box and also some floral notes. It is young and will still be evolving for some years but certainly accessible with rather soft tannins. I like it.
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1/4/2019 - PMJak11 wrote: 93 Points
30+ minute decant but didn’t need it. Nose that wants to be amazing with tobacco, earth, and cedar; but elements of plum also come through. Wine is nice, but is kind of a mix of Bordeaux and CDP, which is strange. Some vanilla also comes through. Medium minus finish. Solid, but didn’t meet expectations
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12/29/2018 - wurzel68 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Schwarze Johannisbeere, Urwaldpfeffer, Dörrobst, leichte Röstnoten, Graphit, Tabak - tolles Bouquet, trotzdem nicht parfümiert wirkend; am Gaumen eher mittelkörniges, weiches, leicht grünes Tannin, ansonsten aber tolle Melange von Frucht, Tannin und Säure, langer, trinkiger Abgang. Macht Spaß, nicht elegant, aber stilvoll!
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12/26/2018 - BHP1994 wrote: 93 Points
Consumed at Christmas dinner with Filet Mignon. Drinking beautifully right now. Black currant, leather, and a touch of green pepper. Velvety mouthfeel and a very long finish. A perfect pairing. Just stunning.
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11/25/2018 - maxima wrote: 92 Points
Mieux que le 2006 bu il y a quelque temps,
plus complexe et équilibré.
De la terre, du cèdre, du graphite et des fruits rouges
avec une peur de chocolat et du tabac.
Les tannins sont charnus et la finale est longue.
Excellent.
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11/25/2018 - JDB Likes this wine: 92 Points
Popped & poured 2 ozs to taste. Left remainder in the bottle uncorked for 2+ hours. Initial taste was muted but promising. Bottle was opened to accompany Beef Wellington. Tannins have relaxed, dark fruit and leather. I really like this wine after being very disappointed 10 years ago.
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11/7/2018 - mreinhard74@gmail.com Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking great. Wonderful QPR for a St Julien. Firm tannins still give a lot of structure with a long finish of tobacco box and pencil lead. Muted fruit but still very interesting and enjoyable. Paired great with a rare steak and salad.
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10/19/2018 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 94 Points
From half bottle first of a case. I love Lagrange and would rate it top qpr Bordeaux but never had this vintage. So naturally I was very curious to try it finally. Good news this is a great Lagrange. Quite dark ruby in colour visually very attractive already. Splash decanted and drank over an hour the wine sports a very classic Bordeaux nose from a riper vintage, structure is evident - some earth, dark fruit, smoke, oak and tobacco. On the palate it follows through and reveals a very healthy core fruit which is at present slightly fighting with the oak but from my experience with the chateau this will resolve further and integrate beautifully. As it got more air the wood already seemed to give way to more juicy fruit, loving it. If you like some toasty oak and prime fruit this is drinking extremely well now already out of half bottle. Stylistically I feel it should end up somewhere in between the spellbinding 90 and great 96. It should be in its prime in 10-20 years from standard bottle I think, halves are going to be super duper in - few years time but no crime drinking some now. Clearly better then 2000 I think although I have some doubts if previous samples that I tried of the milennial vintage were perfect bottles. Bottom line another truly superb showing from a somewhat under appreciated chateau which thanks to its large size and consequently high production levels is not a wine commanding astronomic prices. Are there better Bordeaux? Yes, but pound for pound it is very difficult to match. It has got everything I look for in Bordeaux left bank wines. A drinkers / consumer wine rather then collectors/speculator and good those wines exist. Very glad I have a case of halves and standard size - I look forward to each and very bottle! 93 today with potential to add 2-3 points in time (hence the 94 score as I have high confidence in its further melioration). One where I am firmly with Neal rather then Bob! A must buy/try for any left bank lover.
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9/8/2018 - Decanting fool Likes this wine:
Tight out of the bottle but a lot of softening over the night. Delicious. A lot of vitality, inky, still somewhat green, a little fatty, mineral rich, darkly floral and concentrated. Hold a few more years.
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9/8/2018 - HENNO1 wrote: 90 Points
First of the case. Will be leaving for a while as this wine is still a baby and as it punches above its weight it would be a shame to drink too early. Score will be 93, today 90 ish. The 05s really are very good
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9/1/2018 - Romol Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 2 hours. Still pretty young. I guess this will be much better with 5 more years in the cellar. 92-93 pts.
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8/20/2018 - Enfantterrible wrote: 92 Points
Maybe the wrong glasses or needed a decant. Or perhaps a dumb phase. This bottle was good but not giving very much.
Day 2. 24 hours later, the remaining 2/3 of the bottle is excellent. Big graphite and mineral nose, deep blue, red and black fruit, and long, slightly bitter mineral finish with tannic kick. I have plenty of other wine to drink while waiting another 3-4 years to open my next bottle
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7/25/2018 - Hazeo wrote:
Day 1 - Quite deep rich fruit, pleasant but muted and not the wine I was expecting given the last bottle.
Day 2 - Sour and stewed notes dominate today pointing to heat damage. With time in the glass it faded revealing more of the crushed dark fruit and earthy tones that I was expected, but while the tannins were smooth and creamy the heat signature lingered on.
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6/26/2018 - Old School Fan wrote: 88 Points
I think this is a bit of an off bottle. Not a bad wine and shows classic Bordeaux notes of black fruits, pencil lead, plum, tobacco with nice texture. However, a touch musty and not quite as much sweet fruit as I would have expected. It got better after 3 hours of air. Still, I just don't think the bottle is quite perfect.
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6/23/2018 - CWang wrote: 93 Points
Very elegant, floral, and fruity in the nose, berries, cherries, mints, lavenders, coffee beans, leather, and pine wood; layers of berries, cherries, dark chocolates, and spices on the palate; long finish; overall, 93-94 at this stage; evolved quite well compared to the previous bottle tasted in 2013; would try the next one in 2-3 years.
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6/9/2018 - broadband013 wrote: 91 Points
Probablement à son apogée mais avec encore de belles années devant lui !
Vraiment agréable !
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5/8/2018 - dcwino wrote: 93 Points
Chateau Lagrange dinner (Blacksalt, Washington DC): Medium expressive nose displaying mostly black fruit, cassis, black cherry, a hint of plum, licorice, ink, lead pencil and mineral. Excellent concentration, nicely layered rich cassis fruit, good acidity and mineral, noticeable but fine tannins and a medium to long cassis and ink driven finish with a hint of ink and licorice at the end. Perhaps it has reach the youthful peak but will need another ten years to fully develop, gaining leather and cedar.
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5/3/2018 - tak4 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep ruby, tiny touch of brick at the rim. Nose: red fruit, leather, strawberry, rose, touch of dirt. Palate: good fruit. Tannins still medium and grippy but just starting to evolve into velvetiness. Acid medium, dry. Touch of cherry. Leather too. With time in glass mellowed a bit but still could use more time. Super nice wine. If I owned a case I’d drink the next bottle in 2019.
EDIT A WEEK LATER: this wine haunts me. Still thinking about it. Best thing I've had this year. I'd up the rating and drink more.
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4/26/2018 - David Meddings wrote: 92 Points
Opened 2 hours prior. Dark garnet, some bricking and suspended sediment. Kirsch and tobacco leaf bouquet. Bright red fruit, spice notes on the mid-palate, fine tannins and good acidity on a medium body with a long final.
Complex and nicely balanced. This still has years in front of it and the tannins are not yet completely integrated. Drank this double blind and guessed Bordeaux. My favourite wine in the tasting.
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4/14/2018 - BradA wrote: 90 Points
Medium weight with bright strawberry. A wine that shows its rounded into maturity. A good wine that will prove satisfying with a meal of lamb, beef or pork. Lacks the strong core for richer dishes like braised oxtail. Drink over the next 5-7 years.
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4/7/2018 - djarcara wrote: 92 Points
Dark purple color. Dark fruit flavors. Secondary flavors of cedar and tobacco. Still on the young side. 10+ years. Decant for sediment. Needs about an hour to open up.
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3/21/2018 - mreinhard74@gmail.com Likes this wine: 90 Points
Light garnet color. Very light nose but still strong tannins on the palate. Lingers on the mid palate with licorice and tobacco box but a bit hot. Certainly suggests it has many years to go.
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3/4/2018 - billynorris Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dried strawberries and earth driving the nose here. At a nice place as the primary fruit aromas are just beginning to fade. Muscular, but not overwhelming tannins. Good showing of terroir on the palate. Plenty of life left.
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3/3/2018 - Rechrom wrote: 94 Points
Drinking very well after a two hour decant. Deep red with very slight bricking on the edge. Pencil, herb, bright fruit. Full palate with a touch of sweetness that works great with meat. Pleasant on its own too. Good balance with bright acidity and some tannins remaining. Clean and a bit astringent on a long finish. Many years ahead.
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3/3/2018 - Tannic Monster Likes this wine: 93 Points
In a perfect spot right now. Popped and poured. Black cherry and peat moss prominently displayed on the nose. Soothing tannins and rich dark fruits make for a fruit forward style that is simply delicious. This can rival nearby wines selling at twice the price.
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2/4/2018 - SadEdjo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted one hour before. Polished cassis, dark fruit with hint of liqueur. Well resolved sweet tannins. Spicy minerality.
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1/23/2018 - Gen NY Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for two hours had two glasses then saved the bottle overnight, and man was it worth it. On day two it evolved into a silky smooth, finely balanced, delicate yet firm experience. It is perfectly balanced at this point. One of the better 05s I have had. It can last for many more years or drunk now with some air.
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1/21/2018 - Enfantterrible wrote: 92 Points
Decanted and let breath for two hours, then back in the bottle. Started drinking about 2 hours later. Very nice wine. Deep dark color, nice balance between fruit and tannins. No rush on these, but it’s open for business with a bit of air
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11/11/2017 - WineTally Likes this wine:
46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot.
Manual harvest, stainless vats for separate plots 16-28 days vatting.
Aged 21 months in French oak (60% new).
14% Abv. 24,165 cases
Belongs to Japanese Suntory Group.
A(ccuracy)=2: Med garnet. Classic mature claret.
B(alance)=3: Distinctive and pure components in harmony.
C(omplexity)=2: Cassis, olive, spice, cigar box.
D(epth)=1: Supple mouthfeel. Good length and finish.
Wine Tally Score [2,3,2,1] = 8/10
Classic albeit modest structure with modern fruit. At its peak.
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10/1/2017 - RayOB wrote: 94 Points
Drank at 67
Maturing beautifully and drinking now.
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9/23/2017 - wineappellation Likes this wine: 91 Points
Elegant aroma and flavour of mint, bell pepper, pencil shaving, blackberry, cedar wood, vanilla, nutmeg, some cocoa and savoury note. Mid to light weight, refreshing and easy to drink. 13%abv. Taste like from cool, lesser vintage.
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9/16/2017 - vegasoenophile Likes this wine: 89 Points
Nice, mellow and good fruit. Not very complex, but drinking nice at the moment. Very enjoyable.
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6/18/2017 - walla_wallou Likes this wine: 93 Points
Great nose, nice fruit, good length, still young!
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6/18/2017 - djarcara Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still very young tasting. Give at least an hour of aeration. Decant for sediment. Full body. Dark fruit, pencil lead, and tobacco. Classic Bordeaux.
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6/11/2017 - mimik Likes this wine: 92 Points
Same notes as above but more open.
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5/5/2017 - sc03852 wrote:
4 - Smokey, mocha, coffee, black cherry, good acidity. 46% cab, 45% merlot, 9% petit Verdot.
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5/3/2017 - Remedy Likes this wine:
Drank at Chateau Lagrange Wine Dinner
Surprised that a high percentage of Merlot is used in a such a great vintage. 46% cabernet sauvignon, 45% merlot, 9% petit verdot.
Sweetness from the merlot is distinct.
Good pairing of food, the sweetness of the sauce for the braised beancurd goes in pair with the high percentage of merlot.
Nevertheless, drinking very well now with the right decant.
The Dinner didn't provide a bdx stemware for the wine.
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3/25/2017 - rossi.wine wrote: 92 Points
Tasted after the 2010. Still fairly firm and tannic, but more open and expressive. Lots of depth, dark fruit, tobacco - very pure and vibrant. Well balanced, very long. Still rather young, but close to entering its drinking window. 91-93
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2/25/2017 - wineforth Likes this wine: 91 Points
Sweet oaky nose, later blackcurrant and coffee. Still very tannic and the good weight of fruit should enable the wine to emerge excellently in time. Huge penetrating length. Not ready (nor was the Leoville Barton tried recently) I'll wait a minimum of 2 years before trying again, and should wait 4 or 5. Score will improve in time.
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2/24/2017 - MarcelloW Likes this wine:
Brought to the restaurant. Pnp. The wine did not open up along the evening. It is not in a good phase and still too young. Needs more cellering. Don't touch this for at least another 3 years.
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2/22/2017 - miadelt Likes this wine: 91 Points
I have had this wine numerous times over the years and this is currently going through a closed phase. It is very tannin and astringent right now. On day 3 it is very smooth, with great flavors but by then it has also lost most of its acidity. Hold for 3 years to allow it to come back around.
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2/13/2017 - maxima wrote: 93 Points
Très beau et prometteur claret, classe et complexité ici.
Nez puissant. Il ya des cerises, des herbes, du cèdre et du café.
En bouche belle structure et densité. Le fruit est vibrant avec des notes de chocolat et une pointe de graphite.
Les tannins sont anguleux et l'acidité lui confère une belle fraicheur.
Très long et persistant.
Très bien avec encore de la place pour se complexifier.
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2/12/2017 - miadelt Likes this wine: 93 Points
Solid Bordeaux. Great flavors. Seems to have lost some of its body over the years but maybe that will come back.
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2/11/2017 - Peck Does not like this wine: 85 Points
The wine is not in a good place for the moment It lacks harmony
The oak is heavy cola stuff with something burnt in
And the fruit just is not there
Lagrange has to work to get there
The vinyard is excellent
But where is The heart
P
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2/10/2017 - Sundbyberg wrote: 93 Points
My third vintage of this wine (2000, 2005, 2014).
The 2000 was a great wine, and this is heading in the same direction. After a week of slowox: Nice, sweet, dark, fruit, on the fuller side and everything in balance and harmony.
Fairly traditional. 93+.
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2/6/2017 - jonanator wrote: 93 Points
This is just stunning right now. Great mouthfeel. Perfectly ripe, soft red fruits. Delicious now but will be better with more cellar time. Fantastic '05. Lives up to the vintage hype
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1/25/2017 - Harley1199 Likes this wine:
Enofusión 2017; 1/23/2017-1/25/2017 (IFEMA - Madrid): An aristocrat. Perfection in the glass. Balance and freshness. Mouth is missing for rounding but I would kill for this softness. It's got life. But right now I vively recommend an early opening if you'd consume it soon. 50% CS and 50% Merlot. A nice St Julien. My kind of wine.
Aristócrata. La perfección en la copa. Equilibrio y frescura. La boca falta por redondearse pero mataría por esta suavidad. Le queda tralla. Pero ahora mismo recomienda una apertura temprana en caso de consumirla pronto. 50% CS y 50% Merlot. Un rico St Julián. El tipo de vino que me va.
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1/18/2017 - maxima wrote: 93 Points
Un très beau St-Julien, textbook Bordeaux, Super Claret.
Un nez bien présent, des fruits rouges, des herbes et du cèdre.
En bouche, belle présence, frais et assez long. Des cerises, du chocolat, un boisé assez discret et de beaux tannins serrés. La finale est longue, impeccable.
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1/14/2017 - YoRi Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dégusté à l'aveugle.
Apparence rouge Amarante, dense et légèrement brouillé.
Nez très expressif. Cerise, herbes aromatiques (romarin, estragon ), notes d'élevage subtils, cèdre.
En bouche continuité sur le fruit et arômes végétal, Structure ferme et tout en subtilité, soyeux tanins fins et acidité encore mordante.
Persistance moyenne à longue sur les notes végétales
Excellent..
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12/30/2016 - Burgnick wrote: 90 Points
Opened one full case of 12 tonight. Decanted for 2 hours. Nose has black fruit, earth and tobacco. Palate is deep and tannic with black fruit. It still needs at least 5 more years to be accessible. Not comparable with the magnificent 00 lagrange.
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12/22/2016 - maxima wrote: 94 Points
Un gros WOW pour nous encore une fois...une belle bouteille que celle-ci. Ample et généreux et tout en équilibre.
Un nez charmeur et complexe sur le cèdre, les cerises et le moka.
En bouche, encore un peu d'élevage mais élégant, un fruit vibrant avec des notes de chocolat et d'herbes.
Un brin de sous-bois et de menthole viennent compléter la bouche.
Les tannins sont fins et la finale super longue et toute en soie.
EXCELLENT.
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12/20/2016 - StefanAkiko Does not like this wine: 83 Points
What's with today?
First we open a SUPERBLY oxidized AND (!) corked (dbl whammy) Oz wine that should've had a screw cap... And now I open this overly acidic scumbag of a watery wine. 2 hrs of aeration didn't bring restitution.
Eye: Beautiful early maturity colours.
Nose: non-mistakenable Bdx origin w/extra kudos for the pure berries and Bdx-earth. Minus for 20% oxidization.
Palate: meh! 2005 continues to underwhelm. Thin and acidic in a rather negative way. Decided to NOT bring this wine to the restaurant. Recorked and next day proved itself to be a decent after-party-wine. (Although the btl pricetag was more like that of a 6-pack.)
Geee... it HAS to do better than this...
I feel kinda unclean.
I need a shower!
I do hope that this btl (w/a perfect cork) had some kind of injust, Rudy-ish kind of explanation.
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12/2/2016 - jmcmchi Likes this wine: 91 Points
At a sweet spot now.
Surprisingly together, tannins present but largely integrated into black plum and light oak package. Cedar on finish
Maturing well into traditional St J attractiveness
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11/18/2016 - Phenol73 Likes this wine: 93 Points
(Decanter FWE 2016) :: Alongside the '08, '10 & '12. Real elegance and complexity, showing Asian spice, cigar box, leather. Lifted and beautiful. On the palate, great expression, rich & rounded, solid frame and a persistent finish.
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10/16/2016 - SadEdjo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted one hour before serving. Dark ruby colour. Cedar-cassis nose. Focused cassis, licorice, new leather, vanilla. Sweet, dusty tannins. Still very much in its infancy.
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10/16/2016 - Guy Libot wrote:
Nice pairing with the first game dish of the season. Tannins have nicely melted. Still to enjoy for many years to come in my opinion.
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10/9/2016 - dissler Likes this wine: 95 Points
Amazing, I would have guessed the wine is 5y younger which speaks for the quality. The tannins are remarkable present still. No bad oxidation at all. A very accomplished wine. Depth, elegance, perfectly balanced.
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9/2/2016 - bevetroppo Likes this wine: 90 Points
Only needed one short olfactory pass over the first pour to know I could click "I like it," evoking spontaneous yelps of "that's what I'm talking about," and "thank you Sir, I'll have another"-no wait, that's not where I want this to go.
To me, great (affordable) left bank Bordeaux doesn't explode from the glass in a scud missile assault of fruit and alcoholic heat, it expresses itself in successive waves of classic cabernet driven impressions, each building and complementing the others in a holistic, integrated fashion. So far, all I've done is smell this wine once and I know.
At age 11 we find ripe red plum and currant fruit, tobacco, cedar, and graphite all just essentially hanging there for the taking. I wanted to confirm the lack of heat, and the label says 13%, which of course may not be wholly accurate, but I'm going to give it the benefit of a doubt.
Before tasting, I checked the color, and it's still opaque at the center, a dark red that starts a noticeable bricking towards the rim, suggesting some level of maturity.
The first sip is surprisingly smooth, the tannins fully resolved, and it spreads in a mouth-coating blanket over the palate. A big hit of coffee perceptible now that I missed on the nose. With air, everything is intensifying, except perhaps the fruit, which suddenly has taken a back seat. I'm going to wait for a while and come back...
Now a half hour in and it's back on plan, pretty fruit, smooth, soft, plush and very drinkable, tannins becoming a bit dusty towards the finish. I'm about to dive into an herb grilled sirloin and I think they'll become fast friends. Net net, this one isn't going to hide her charms, they are on display for all to see.
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8/26/2016 - Bernt Olav wrote: 91 Points
Luftet 1 time i karaffel. Kraftig med preg av lakris, solbær, cassis, kaffe, mm. I munnen er den ikke like ekspressiv, mye samme elementene, men mer dempet. Bra lengde. Drikker ok, men har fremdeles oppside de neste 5 årene.
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7/4/2016 - grapist Likes this wine: 93 Points
Showing very well. In its prime.
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6/22/2016 - Scottlmatthews Likes this wine: 91 Points
Needs even more time.
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6/2/2016 - djarcara Likes this wine: 92 Points
Medium body. Great structure. Still very young. Dark fruit with emerging tobacco and cedar flavors. Classic St. Julien. Decant. Has at least another ten years to go.
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3/27/2016 - weiny Likes this wine: 93 Points
Überraschend guter Trink-Bordeaux
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3/20/2016 - macker100 wrote: 92 Points
At BWC. First bottle of half case. Still very young, primary nose of black fruits, violets. Lots of sweet blackberries, cedar on palate. Petit Verdot showing here. Wait another few years before next bottle.
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3/20/2016 - cos65 Likes this wine:
Boerne wine club - Bordeaux vs Italy vs California: really lovely. Decanted for about an hour.
Light fresh, balanced dark fruit, but with the stuffing to last another 20+ years.
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3/19/2016 - rickspicks wrote: 92 Points
Been thinking about opening one of these for a couple of years now ... my impatience finally won out today. PnP thru an aerator. Dark fruits on the nose and not much else. Mostly black fruits on the palate, along with spice, tar/graphite and oak. Tight and still very primary with a lean, smooth, firm texture and drying tannins. Long, but slightly harsh and bitter finish. Enjoyable now, and glad I opened one, but no doubt this will improve with more time. Needs at least 5 years, but even better in 10. 91-92 now.
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3/14/2016 - jonanator wrote: 93 Points
Slow -ox'd for 5 hours and this was singing. Elegant and charming, this wine is in a great spot right now. Will undoubtedly age gracefully and improve with more time in bottle, but this is just so good right now! Rich, with a soft supple texture, but still structured.
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2/20/2016 - Romol Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 2,5 hours. Young but already very good. It will improve with more years in the bottle. 92 pts now.
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1/18/2016 - KendraPM wrote: 94 Points
Blind tasting with this, 2008 Clarendon Hills McLaren Valle Cab, and Anonymous by Orin Swift, Equinox Club. This was everyone's favorite and the age was beautiful and fresh. It was the perfect time for us to enjoy this wine. It tasted and smelled as fresh as the 2013ish Anonymous but with more character and complexity.
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1/3/2016 - Purple Tooth wrote: 93 Points
Young, tightly wound, and bursting with power. This wine has a great future ahead. The only problem is that as with most great lagrange wines, it will most likely outlive us and we may not be here to enjoy. What a great wine to put some faith into...It deserves it. Lots of tart berries, cassis and the begining stages of tobacco development and allot more goodies underneath to covert into more earth and tobacco galore in the years to come. Very long, colorful, changing finish....If you like pungent, opulent Bordeaux wines, you will like this wine now, but will love it years from now....HOLD
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12/21/2015 - ccn Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still on primary fruit, but approachable. Good concentration without heaviness.
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12/8/2015 - RayOB wrote: 93 Points
Davy's Wine Tasting (Davy's of St James): The more I drink of the 2005's the more I love them. These are maturing beautifully.
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12/7/2015 - MarcelloW Likes this wine: 93 Points
After a 4 hour decant, this was well approachable, even if it's still young. Fruity, round and juicy with good length. Was a perfect fit with the ossobuco. I'm glad I own two cases.
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11/1/2015 - Grinner wrote: 93 Points
19th Annual Lyon 10 Year Retrospective (Chez Lyon in Eugene, OR): Did a notch better in this tasting than my previous notes. I still love the dark black fruit bouncing off the stone and mineral notes. Just a touch of graphite and earth. Obvious Left Bank origin in this blind tasting. Fell of a bit on day 2, 91 pts.
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10/17/2015 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 93 Points
From a 375 ml bottle, nose of cigar box, earth, plum, and black cherry, more of the same on the palate, medium/big body, very tasty and rich, good complexity, medium/long finish.
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9/5/2015 - Grinner wrote: 92 Points
Dinner by the River: After an 8 hour decant this was WAY better than the last bottle I had in 2010. That's not saying much since the previous bottle took over 24 hrs to show up! Cassis, black cherry, plum, mocha, graphite, wet stone/earth made it stand out as Old World next to the two Cal wines this evening. Still very grippy, but at least the tannins are letting you peek at the wine now. Wait or long decant!
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7/26/2015 - pjaines wrote:
Still VERY primary - this is going to need another 10 years to come round, a lot like the 1990s that are tight as a drum. 3 hours in a decanter (as per the recommendations below) loosened this up a touch but it is all about black fruit and chunky tannins. Great potential - just leave it for now. I wish I had.
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6/1/2015 - jonanator wrote: 91 Points
This drank nicely but seemed a little muted in comparison to previous bottles. I would hold.
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5/25/2015 - StefanAkiko Likes this wine: 94 Points
5dan FAIL dinner: aiming at November! (Bisi-Basi, Yokohama): This is an amazing Bdx. Favourite btl of tonight and especially enjoyed by Suda sensei. Open for business after 3 hrs decant. Not at all as tight as the previous btl. However, we'd guess that ~2020 is the start of their plateau, according to our taste.
...but it's darn good as is!
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5/23/2015 - Sotto325 wrote: 91 Points
What an improvement this estate has undergone! This 375, with an hour's decant, expressed classic St Julien flavors, with a strong backbone, plenty of dark cherry,cassis and cedar, some moss and earthy tones to be sure; a delightful experience, especially given the less than stellar showing in decades past.
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5/9/2015 - rossi.wine wrote: 93 Points
Complex nose, lots of fruit, spices, slightly floral and mineral. Savoury on the palate, again mineral, grippy tannins, good fruit, vibrant acidity. Elegant and very classic, excellent. Good future. 92-93(+)
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4/26/2015 - MEKWINE Likes this wine: 93 Points
Goedhuis tasting at the Saatchi Gallery West London. Plenty on the nose: red and black fruits, cassis. Lots of grip, tannins which were and fine and smooth.
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3/14/2015 - Romol Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 2,5 hours. Still pretty young, but it worked with a few hours in the decanter. I'm sure it will improve with more years in the bottle.
92 pts. now, with potential up to 93-94
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2/20/2015 - jonanator wrote: 92 Points
This wine is evolving nicely and is providing a lot of enjoyment at this point. With that said, there is more to come, and I will try my best to hold me remaining bottles for at least a few more years before revisiting
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2/14/2015 - Nionio Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drinking quite well now. More new world than classic Bordeaux but enjoyable nevertheless.
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1/31/2015 - Poisey Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened and compared to the 06. This was head and shoulders above. Big and brawny with power and very great concentrated. Structures with big tannin. Loads of dark plumb fruit, ink and cassis notes. So youthful and fresh with a big finish that lingers in perfect balance. Interesting to see how a great vintage compares to an average one.
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1/29/2015 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 93 Points
Bordeaux 2005 : Ten years on (Bordeaux Index London): Tasted next to Lascombes (revisited). Nose is more subtle (ha ha). Lovely red and black fruits, tannins are soft St Julien built to order. Smooth and savory, fine integration of oak. Juicy and can be enjoyed already today even if tannins could use another 5-10 years to be more optimally integrated. Lovely.
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1/5/2015 - Old School Fan Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pretty dark color with some fading at the rim. On the nose, earth, coffee and truffle notes immediately jump from the glass. On the palate, there is a nice balance between the blackberry and plum fruit, cocoa, lead pencil and toast. No one component dominates the others. One almost experiences the fruit and secondary notes equally. The wine has a pretty mouthfeel and the tannins are beginning to soften and integrate nicely. This is textbook Left Bank Bordeaux.
If you like fruit, this is drinking well now. If you prefer softer tannins and more classic aged Bordeaux nuance, I'd say give this another 5 years, at which point, this may be an even better wine. All in all, this is fun to drink!
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1/1/2015 - InflationHedge Likes this wine: 90 Points
A nice wine, but faced with tough competition. A more austere wine - earthy palate, tobacco and coffee note. Good strucutre, but missing the fruit.
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12/28/2014 - khmark7 wrote: 84 Points
Drunk from 375 ml. Rather stewed with prune & pomegranate. Aromatic upon opening, so I don't feel this is too young. Not a fan of the flavor profile and don't see this improving all that much. Fruit tasted dry and weak with rough tannins. Disappointing.
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12/7/2014 - k H i L o Likes this wine: 89 Points
Vin très équilibré avec beaucoup de finesse. Un vrai Saint-Julien. Manque uuuuun peu de longueur en bouche pour un "Grand cru" .
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11/30/2014 - zarped wrote: 92 Points
encore tres (trop)jeune avec des marques d'élevages présentes (bois noble, déjà un peu fondu) cèdre; en bouche bcp de puissance, cassis encore des notes d'élevage (fumée,...) une belle bouteille en préparation mais a oublier 5 ans au moins
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11/29/2014 - zarped wrote: 89 Points
Trop jeune avec encore de nettes marques d élevage , nobles. Nez très élégants cèdre menthol. En bouche de la matière tannins pas encore fondus a attendre au moins 5 ans
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11/26/2014 - RayOB wrote: 94 Points
Drank at Davy's
A high proportion of Merlot (45%) was used this vintage which produces a wine with rich powerful spice, blackcurrants and cassis.
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11/16/2014 - mattlennert Likes this wine: 91 Points
This wine is drinking well, although clearly can go another 3-5 years. Typical St. Julien with strong cherry-chocolate notes. Big fruity, almost California-style wine that was drinking best on day two. Really delicious.
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11/13/2014 - mimik Likes this wine: 89 Points
way too young. Dark cassis and bell pepper notes with a tight structure and tannic palate. Re-open next one at least 5 years from now hopefully to achieve some drinkability. 89+
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10/31/2014 - LSussman Likes this wine: 91 Points
As soon and the cork was removed there was a nose of dark cherries and other dark fruits. After 20 minutes to allow for the wine to come to room temperature the first taste was of a nice dry wine with mild tannins and moderately long mouth feel. It was a very pleasant wine. It was easy to finish the bottle as each sip kept my interest. It is drinking nicely now but could easily age for another 5 plus years.
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10/25/2014 - jonanator wrote: 92 Points
Second time I have had this in two nights. Showing amazing. Consistent notes as previous bottle
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10/25/2014 - jonanator wrote: 92 Points
Clearly young but starting to show very, very well. I wouldn't hesitate to open another tomorrow. Extremely balanced and well made wine
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9/23/2014 - Roentgen Ray wrote: 91 Points
Very balanced and lithe with lots of minerality and starting to drink well, clearly this is a young wine, and still open enough to drink now.
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9/17/2014 - eddie100 wrote: 97 Points
not fully open. dark elegant . beautiful smell fruity. long after test.
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9/8/2014 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine: 92 Points
Color: dark purple
Nose: representative of 05, big, rich, ripe, black fruits, dark chocolate, intense
Palate: good balance, has a vanilla oak finish, medium bodied, well crafted, blackberry, cassis, still young with tannins to be tamed, will only get better with age, overall a good st julien.
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8/31/2014 - Þórr Þunraz wrote: 90 Points
Quite a bit of herbacious, vegetal green pepper on the palate - indicates the leaves on the vines were not properly managed.
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8/10/2014 - matt182 wrote: 90 Points
Well made, but pricy for what it gives. Cedar, cigar box, licorice, black currant. Tannins are fine, smooth from aging, just enough to keep enough structure for good food pairing with meat dishes. Finish is medium plus.
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7/13/2014 - Guy Libot wrote:
Dark ruby with still residual but not overpowering tannins. Benefits from some airing (2-3 hours) and can undoubtedly further improve in its balance
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6/26/2014 - 1981er wrote:
Nice red fruit, slightly baked fruit with some aged earth and hint of funk. Slightly hot. Medium finish, lightly tannic. Not a great value even at release price
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6/15/2014 - neng Likes this wine: 91 Points
Easy to enjoy. Lots of black berry. Drink now but can be enjoy for several years.
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5/12/2014 - rmalloy Likes this wine: 90 Points
Tasty and serious, but not particularly vibrant or complex. The wine offers blackberry, cassis, cedar, and licorice with nicely integrated oak. The tannic finish is mouth-puckering but not off-putting. Acidity and minerality are moderate. I am not qualified to opine on whether this will become something more special over time.
The next day, more of the same.
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5/2/2014 - Ken63 Likes this wine:
No decant drank over 2 hours, not fully opened. But blackberry, mushroom, cassis flavors, mild-moderate tannins. Needs some more time maybe 3-5 years
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4/20/2014 - ccn wrote: 93 Points
Had next to the 2001. Ripe fruit, prominent but ripe tannins, improved noticeably after several hours of decanting. Excellent balance. Not without interest now, but really far too young to drink. Wait at least 5 if not 10 years before next bottle; surely a wine that can improve over 20+.
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3/16/2014 - Hawk94 wrote: 91 Points
Deep garnet red, take a while to open up, still approachable, earthy, mushroom, currant, dark fruits, chocolate, creamy smooth tannins, a bit smoke, vanilla, relatively simple, enjoyable though, medium length finish.
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2/16/2014 - WorldTraveler Al Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank over 3+ hours for open bottle. Nose started with blackberry on the sweet side of the Bordeaux left bank, followed by mixture of granite with dark fruit. Palate agreed with nose, full body weight, and medium tannin. Well balanced medium to long finish. Compare to a bottle I tasted 2 years ago, tannin has soften a lot, and nose is more integrated. Ready to enjoy now.
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2/15/2014 - wcchang wrote: 92 Points
Light nose. Good complexity on palate. Dark olive, dark berry, cigar box.
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12/25/2013 - Enfantterrible wrote: 88 Points
Opened about 6 hours before drinking, no decant. Took a big whiff and tiny sip upon opening, and thought it was fantastic. Huge blueberry nose, rich and full in the mouth. Unfortunately by the time we started drinking, it had closed up. Opened again towards last 1/4 of the bottle. I'm sure future bottles will perform better
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12/9/2013 - maxima wrote: 93 Points
Que c'est bon Bordeaux quand c'est bien fait et équilibré.
Ici un vin qui allie concentration, matière et équilibre! Des saveurs de mures, de café et de tabac avec des tannins encore serrés mais bien recouverts de fruits.
Finale très longue.
Avec encore un peu de cave 3-5 ans, sera merveilleux!
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12/8/2013 - archambault wrote: 93 Points
Equilibre avec un goût de caramel et terreux. Parfaite harmonie et gras moelleux.
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11/17/2013 - Sotto325 wrote: 90 Points
In 375. Ready with a little decanting. I am surprised by some of the reviews, for while this is the best Lagrange I have tasted -- no more vegetal or mossy tones-- and it is a great vintage, this is not a great wine. It is very classic St Julien, with structure, blueberry and cassis backing to the velvet red berry broad palate, a nose of hay, blackberry and some wet wood, very nice with a steak. But it does not unfold with the kind of extra special notes of other mid- level Bordeaux like Smith Haut or Barton.
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11/2/2013 - miadelt Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great Bordeaux. This wine has been drinking great from the start. Silky smooth, full body, long finish, good balance between dry and sweet.
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10/27/2013 - Tarrant wrote: 96 Points
Extraordinary, one of the best reds we've had all year, amazing intensity, finesse and structure, a real winner that really shined across the board, thankfully we have another bottle that will have to wait a few more years for sure - Dark, full bodied with a nose of black fruit, plum, cedar, cigar box, mocha and vanilla, amazing structure and balance even in it's youth, complex, firm, yet sweet tannins, silky smooth on the palate with outstanding length, a legend for sure (96 Points).
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10/22/2013 - jfeingold wrote: 93 Points
Woody, fruity
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9/23/2013 - Pearls_b4Swine wrote: 91 Points
Never had Lagrange before. Also, this is one of the first of my large '05 Bordeaux buy that I have tried, so cant really assess the evolution of the vintage yet. This was fine, but I hope it in a shut down phase and will be more engaging in a few years. I'd wait.
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9/23/2013 - awise45 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for an hour and was in nice balance.
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9/22/2013 - tonybona wrote: 87 Points
Decant 1.5 hours. Interesting based on some of the comments below as this bottle isn't showing much on the nose and has muted fruit and it doesn't seem like the tannins have fully resolved. Medium-short finish. I'll hold the other bottle for a couple more years and see what happens.
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9/22/2013 - jsjoe wrote: 93 Points
I let it breathe for 2-3 hours. Dark crimson with ruby around periphery. Gentle and velvety at first, followed by mid-palate blackberry, dark chocolate, and cigar box, nicely restrained tannin on the way to a long finish that's easy, rich and smooth. Enjoyed it very much.
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9/12/2013 - KleinAberWein Likes this wine: 92 Points
Forest floor, berries, cedar, bitter chocolate and bit of leather. Considering the vintage its still too early to drink. Very present. After all, it was a nice bordeaux wine.
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8/2/2013 - grapist Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted at home for an hour and a half. No sediment whatsoever. Nose was very floral and inviting. Color was dark ruby, clean and clear. The taste was disappointing compared to previous. (93 pts) It was slightly astringent with less fruit as well as shorter, less pleasing finish. Still an elegant and subtle Bordeaux; but this bottle did not show well.
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4/11/2013 - grapist Likes this wine: 93 Points
First of the futures case and it was well worth the wait. This is still youthful and will get even better. Decanted for two hours. Nose and taste typical of a fine Bordx from a great vintage.
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3/23/2013 - yaki wrote: 91 Points
Tasted blind. Bouquet of black cherry and fig with a hint of earthy mushrooms. Palate shows medium plus acidity with tight tannins and a long finish. Even though it is distinctly old world, it's still young and I didn't immediately place it as a Bordeaux.
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3/2/2013 - awise45 wrote: 92 Points
Very nice and rounding into form. Mixture of dark fruit but with a fresh finish.
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2/26/2013 - CWang wrote: 92 Points
My wine of the night; unlike most of the Bordeaux wines from the 2005 vintage that I had tasted, this one appeared to be moderately approachable tonight; after breathing in the open bottle for more than an hour, the nose was very fruit forward with freshly cut apples, berries, and cherries followed by waves of lavenders and roses, plus some coffee and whipped cream in the background; very satisfying to sniff; the palate was creamy and somewhat salty, well-structured, and filled with chocolate, dark fruits, green peppers, and exotic spices; complex and full-bodied; the finish was long and lingering yet still rather tannic; 92+ points for now; could be superb if cellared properly until maturity (perhaps by 2018).
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12/17/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Concentrated, structured, tannic, firm and built to age, this powerful, masculine St. Julien is still young. Time and effort were needed before the earthy, coffee, blackberry, fresh herb and tobacco personality began to emerge. This demands at least 5-8 years in the cellar for everything to come together.
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11/21/2012 - AlanM68 Likes this wine: 90 Points
A little surprised by the recent notes saying that this wine is in a bad place. This bottle, the first of 12 bought en primeur, was in good shape - plenty of fruit, integrated tannins, reasonable length. It's not the most complicated wine ever, but I wasn't expecting that at this price point. But it was good last night.
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11/2/2012 - StefanAkiko wrote: 90 Points
Non-blind. 1 hr decant 4 hrs slow-ox. (At Restaurant Tani, Omotesando)
Impression: An outstanding wine at a bad place (considering where it ought to be, compared to Feb 2010).
Not at all promising tonight. Thin, acidic, one-dimensional juice.
Scraping the surface thoroughly reveals a nose of plums, dark cherries, wet grass and aggressive fruit.
On the palate this is an acidic wine, with levels just inside of the acceptable border. Thin. Has some very fine mature fruit (hopefully) waiting to come out. Dark cherries everywhere. Medium length. Some promise.
Didn't go well with the fois gras. The stronger cheeses on the cheese plate killed it. (Wife also 90p.) 6 btls to go. Next one not within 5 years from today.
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10/14/2012 - emzee.mc wrote: 93 Points
Very very fresh and fat fruit on the nose. Unabashedly ripe and full. Thick legs which envelope the palate very well. Traces of smoke and the tannins are very well subdued. Slightly acidic but overall a very solid wine with an exuberant character and great finesse. A great example of a St. Julien.
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10/13/2012 - sandwich wrote:
After a four hour decant I am sorry to say that this wine is in a bad place. Not sure what is going on with this, but there is a serious lack of fruit and a bitter finish. I don't know how this will resolve, but I can't see this coming out of this stage for a while, if ever. I'm not really sure that there is light at the end of the tunnel. In a word - closed.
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10/5/2012 - Wine Sparty wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for about 90 minutes and then drakn over the next 3+ hours. Aroma is definitely licorice, with some plum as well. Taste is actually pretty soft - not a lot of tannins, but does have some acidity. I'm sure this has much better life ahead of it, but it was pretty enjoyable now.
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4/14/2012 - archambault wrote: 90 Points
Harmonie, fin et belle longueur, mérite plus de structure avec tanin peu présent, mais équilibre parfait
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3/23/2012 - Dokken wrote: 94 Points
An outstanding St Julien with personality and weight. Focused nose with massive fruit, cedar and pungent spice. Tight and ripe on palate with balancing acidity and thick fine grained tannis. Very juicy and velvety with persistent finish. Needs time possibly more than 4-6 years.
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3/12/2012 - mathwonk wrote:
this is the first lagrange i have ever been disappointed by, and it is the most expensive. of course it is an '05, which suggests it is not ready to drink. i popped and poured, and the positive review i read of it here was for one that was decanted 3 hours. i will save mine until another day and hopefully it will improve. I am not optimistic though considering how tannic, acidic, and unfruitful this is now. as usual, the wines highly reviewed by the critics seem to be the ones that cannot be enjoyed during ones immediate future. i greatly preferred the 2007, and every other year i have had. if one has to wait more than 7 years to enjoy ones wine, one might as well buy latour or las cases.
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3/3/2012 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
Tasted double blind. Decanted 3 hours. Plum and cassis aromas. Similar palate of dark plum and black currant. Still quite tannic, giving big and chewy textures. Perfume and spice starting to emerge at end.
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1/27/2012 - Vasari12 wrote: 92 Points
A very good wine!
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12/14/2011 - BklynNeophyte wrote: 91 Points
Closed right now. Better a year ago and probably great in another few years. Comparable: Ryan Braun.
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11/15/2011 - LSussman wrote: 90 Points
Dark in color with typical nose of leater but not overwhelming. After a one hour decant this wine was very enjoyable, with mild tannins and was relatively long encourageing continued drinking.
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11/6/2011 - NYCITYRAT wrote: 91 Points
Elegant dark wine that started flat but improved dramatically after 60 minutes in a decanter. Not an in your face pauillac but a well balanced gentleman.
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10/27/2011 - Capybara562 wrote: 92 Points
Deep red, with strong tannins and tobacco and lingering fruit on the finish. Still needs time - leave the other bottles until at least 2012-2013.
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10/13/2011 - winolee wrote: 90 Points
Tasted this alongside with another St Juelien - a 1997 Ch Langoa Barton. Nose of rose petals was more fragrant than the older bottle. Color was a very similar deep ruby hue. Both wines had similar fruit notes of red currant, with minerals that contributed to a great mouthfeel. Some chocolate, tobacco in the finish. Tannins may need some time to evolve for this to achieve its peak. Looking forward to tasting this again after a few years.
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8/4/2011 - dougie wrote: 92 Points
Surprised how well this drank. Full, fruity and complex. Tannins are not walling off much at this time. Opened two hours and poured off a glass.
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7/17/2011 - DSZ51 wrote: 90 Points
Very nice, opened up in 30 or 40 minutes. nice fruit, a little tobacco, balanced and lasted front to back. A bit tannic, will wait a some time to open other bottles.
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7/10/2011 - archambault wrote: 95 Points
Exceptionnel. Servi avec gigot d'agneua. Carafé 1 heure....
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7/5/2011 - bmagic wrote:
N - Dark forest fruits, redcurrants. P - Soft, mouth-filling, really nice. Creamy. Happy with this but wants more time; also not sure there is a huge amount of fruit to show off. Best with food?
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5/1/2011 - kopatrota wrote: 88 Points
decevant
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4/12/2011 - Miceri wrote: 89 Points
Dark red; sweet vanilla nose; steely, fresh, quite tannic to begin with but mellowing with time, ripe berries; elegant, degree of length
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2/20/2011 - Lord of the Bottles wrote: 87 Points
Soft oak smell, decent fruit. Oak balanced with tannin, moderate length. Nicely balanced but a bit too one dimensional and austere for my tastes. 87+.
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1/8/2011 - archambault wrote: 90 Points
Gagnerait à être conserver encore. Décanter un Bon 2 h lui conférerait plus de corps. À valider à une prochaine
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12/25/2010 - Hazeo wrote: 93 Points
From a 375. Dense crushed red cherry, tannic and tight for sure but quite beautiful. Quality and concentration is there and I didn't find it too modern, as there wasn't any heavy-handed oak treatment as far as I can tell ... may age to be a lovely elegant bordeaux.
Day 2 – The nose came alive today, with ripe red fruit and quite floral. Smooth yet powerful in an elegant way, what an excellent bordeaux ... I didn't find this too modern or 'parkerized' at all.
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12/19/2010 - Porchino wrote: 89 Points
U can taste currant and plumb but not worth 55 smackers
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11/28/2010 - Shiketadamaya wrote: 91 Points
With uchibayashisan
Thanksgiving
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11/28/2010 - Shiketadamaya wrote: 90 Points
With uchibayashisan
After one hour tannin smooths out
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8/7/2010 - DaleW wrote:
I decanted 2+ hours in advance of the meal. Tight and tannic. When served, it was still a bit in its shell, but beginning to poke out. Substantial tannins, cassis and black cherries, the usual young Lagrange blast of cedar meets cocoa oak. Tannins are quite present, but fairly smooth/ripe and with the meat this does well. Looooooonngg. The thing I like about Lagrange is that even in a big ripe year there's a solid acid backbone. Curiosity assuaged, now I can put these away for 10 year. B/B+ for current drinking, I'm expecting to get into A territory in future.
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7/28/2010 - JimHow wrote: 88 Points
To be honest, this wine, at least at this point in its development-- and that's a very big "if"-- was a disappointment. It was too parkerized. The very things I typically look for in Lagrange-- restraint, tradition, austerity, classicism, balance, a paragon of the St. Julien appellation-- were missing, replaced by high alcohol, over-extraction, heat and wood. The bottle says 13%, but I'm just finding that really hard to believe. This was like a St. Julien Monbousquet, way too hot for me. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say I have enjoyed literally every single vintage of Lagrange I have ever tasted-- to me, it is one of the penultimate St. Juliens-- the 2000 I had a couple weeks ago was magical-- but this 2005 was just too much to handle. The color was good, a very deep and rich "Mouton Purple." But from the moment I uncorked the bottle to the last drop, I was fighting the raging, ferocious, wild-bull tannins. The one glimmer of hope I am going to hold out is that, at age five, this wine *should* be in an awkward state. Still, it shouldn't be *this* disjointed. I'll give it 88 points for potential but two big question marks for some very serious questions about this wine. 88(??)
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2/21/2010 - Grinner wrote: 91 Points
Two hours after opening but (no decant) I wondered if it was slightly corked. Nothing "off", I just wasn't getting anything out of it, the "mute" button was on. Kinda peeved in the middle of a tasting, I pulled a '00 Langoa Barton which met expectations. The next day the remaining 3-4 oz's of this wine where showing very well! Much more typical w/ some graphite and cigar box dancing around the black fruit. It's been a few years since I've had a non-port act so closed/shut down/dumb phased. If you have cold storage conditions consider waiting a few more years (me five) and decant for hours.
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2/7/2010 - StefanAkiko wrote: 95 Points
Going out on a limb with this one on the points, because this is EXACTLY what I love with Bordeaux. Jam-packed with intense fruit, a full royal body and completely devoid of all circus and fair-ground so popular everywhere these days. This wine is a winner. It will outlive many of us, and it will bloom more and more over the years to come. Furthermore, the price makes it affordable, and a case or two, in your cellar will never cease to amaze. Fully enjoyable today...
(Tasting at Oenoteca, Yokohama)
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2/5/2010 - Cphofmann wrote: 91 Points
Purple in color. A little dry with tacky stiff tannins. High solid acid and deep purple fruit. Clean and somewhat closed still with a long finish and some nice herb and tobacco. Silky. Will only get better with a couple more years.
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11/22/2009 - Zweder wrote: 92 Points
Compact wine with a lot of good cassis fruit and round tannin. Pleasant oak. Another really good Lagrange. Already giving a lot of pleasure, but it is probably wiser not to start drinking before 2015. 92+
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8/29/2009 - recarv wrote:
Early.
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4/18/2009 - Siggy wrote: 91 Points
Deep, dark black/ruby color. Quite primary in character; laden with sweet, oaky dark fruit. There is an interesting smokiness that cuts through the vanilla/oak/jammy character of the fruit, which seems to hint at interesting things to come. Well structured, with a wall of ripe, fine tannin on the finish.
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3/29/2009 - sehill wrote: 92 Points
This wine was decanted and poured. It showed well from start to finish. The aromatics show black currants, graphite, tobacco and cedar notes. The color is a dark ruby to black. It is youthful and vibrant. The medium/full bodied palate shows enough forward, youthful fruit and balance to be enjoyable now. The palate shows excellent texture, a rich core of fruit and enough tannins to give it structure. This should improve with bottle age and drink very well at about ten years of age.
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11/20/2008 - MRichman wrote:
A little dry with tacky stiff tannins. High solid acid and deep purple fruit. Clean and somewhat closed with a long stiff finish and some nice herb and tobacco. Hard to tell what this will become, but I believe it will be high class.
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11/10/2008 - jtt300 wrote: 92 Points
I was amazed at how balanced this was for such a young Bordeaux. It was 3rd of 11 in our 2005 Bordeaux tasting. I'm getting more to lay down.
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11/2/2008 - Alex H wrote: 81 Points
Crystal French Wine Sale (Bordeaux) (Crystal Wines): Spice box and gun smoke fumes. Dense dark fruits with teeth staining powdery tannins. Decent.
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9/28/2008 - abh wrote:
Tasted at The Sampler. The oak, which is rather toasty, leads in the nose. Quite ripe, very nice fruit is hiding in the background but this is very very young.
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8/9/2008 - Tarrant wrote: 90 Points
Very nice, aerated for 8 hours to 'soften' it up a bit, a wine with great potential that is definitely for the long term, but couldn't resist trying it out - Dark purple, medium/full bodied with notes of black fruit, plum, cigar box, spices and vanilla on the nose, very well structured and balanced, prevalent tannins on the front palate, smoothening off at the rear with amazing length (90 Points).
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6/27/2008 - winejam wrote: 94 Points
This is super vino. The aroma of black currant and mocha jumped out of the glass and was followed by a medium to full bodied furry tannic beauty. It will need 5 good years to settle down and integrate, but the toasty mocha and ink lathered cassis make this one of the best value for money wines in the stable of 05's. Drink it from 2013 and watch it improve with time....giddy up!
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5/29/2008 - Pavie Princess wrote: 89 Points
This bottle was given to us to try. I did not want to open the wine because it being from the Northern Medoc I knew the tannin level was going to be brisk in this wine. The wine was very dark and the nose muted. I did get cassis berry smoked cedar and spice on the nose. The first sip revealed massive tannins. It took a few sips to realy taste the hidden fruit. The fruit however is very plentiful in this wine but it will take this wine years to smooth out. The wine tastes of spice herb smoked meat leather and cassis and berry. There is also tobacco graphite and wet clay present on the mid palate. The finish is very long and it tells me the fruit is there and the backbone is well constructed. This one will take 20 yrs before its ready. It is a great value for the pricing of this vintage but right now it is not a wine you can drink unless you love the tannin monster. All in all I would recommend buying it but burying it in your cellar for 20 yrs. Rating now 89 but I do think this wine will develop nicely to a 93-95 point level when the tannins level out.
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5/10/2008 - cab blends wrote: 89 Points
AHA Hearts Delight - Bordeaux 2005 Wine Tasting: Berry - new style Bordeaux - shortish finish
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4/26/2008 - Paul Lin wrote: 88 Points
2005 Bordeaux: Episode 2 (Wine Exchange - Orange, CA): 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot. Dense aromas of blackberry, cassis, spice, and lead pencil. Very minerally on the palate, with additional notes of cassis, spice, and crushed rocks. WA 91-93, WS 93.
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4/26/2008 - Badfish wrote: 94 Points
2005 Bordeaux Report: Episode 2 (Wine Exchange - Orange, CA): Fresh flowers, raspberry, and inky currant on the nose. Great minerality with currant leaf, boysenberry, and earth flavors. The firm sweet tannins couple well with the fruit and the amazing finish leading to perfect balance. Superb.
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3/27/2008 - Nutty08 wrote: 90 Points
Pebble Beach Food and Wine; 3/27/2008-3/30/2008 (Pebble Beach Resort, CA): Nose of pencil, dark fruits. Well structure on the palate with fine smooth tannins, a bit drying but not too bothersome even this young. Medium length finish and medium complexity. A very solid young Bordeaux that drinks well now, but should improve.
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3/9/2008 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine:
Truly lovely floral aromas. Good freshness, although the palate is not quite as cohesive as Branaire Ducru, for example. But there is a pleasing concentration. A bit of warmth on the finish, but overall quite fine.
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2/23/2008 - Vinoguy wrote: 90 Points
Decanter Bordeaux Fine Wine Encounter (The Landmark Hotel, London): Distinctive Bdx nose. Supremely concentrated, very tannic, backward. A monster of a wine.
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2/2/2008 - Gregory Dal Piaz wrote: 91 Points
Wines over the weekend; 2/1/2008-2/2/2008 (at home): Opening fairly toasty with a bit of green herb and bell pepper right up front before settling into a slightly roasted, tarry blackberry vein with notes of vanilla, buttery oak, and fudge under the roasted meat and herb notes. This is fairly full bodied with a big pop of sweet fruit on the attack. Opulent and round with blackberry and cassis fruit and quite some tannins as well as balancing acidity. The finish reveals a bit of earth and licorice as well as black spice and cigar ash before a final note of toasty oak. The oak is a bit more than I would like but the fruit should support it well.
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1/22/2008 - Vino Me wrote: 93 Points
2005 Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux Tasting (Drake Hotel, Chicago, Illinois): 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Petite Verdot. I lied the 2003 vintage of this wine so much that the 2005 would be hard pressed to match it but it came close. Another very open wine at this tasting. Softer tannins than many of the 2005's. Round with notes of ripe cherry and plum. Long finish. 93+ points.
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1/21/2008 - winefool wrote: 93 Points
UGC 2005 Bordeaux Tasting (and dinner) (The Drake): Full soft red color. Medium bright black fruit nose with a hint of heat. Nice rich chocolate covered blackberry with stiff tannins. Long finish.
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1/19/2008 - hcampana wrote: 92 Points
2005 Bordeaux @ Union des Grand Crus (San Francisco, CA): Nose is very exotic and attractive. Roasted coffee, pencil shavings and pure black fruit. medium to full bodied, nice coverage, long finish. Excellent St. Julien.
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1/19/2008 - tanglenet wrote:
Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (San Francisco): Tasted at the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux in SF. Quick notes: dark fruit with some smoke and a dry finish. Good.
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5/11/2006 - grapist wrote: 91 Points
At the Chateau. Started with this and Marcel DuCasse, winemaker and manager, opened bottle after bottle going back nearly all of his 22 years at LaGrange. 91-92 pts.
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4/5/2006 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 90 Points
BORDEAUX 2005 / Cabernet rules; 4/5/2006-4/10/2006 (Bordeaux): Nice red fruit nose with lots of strawberry; a tad tight on the palate yet shows substance lacking in the two prior wines – still tight and foreboding. Will likely open up with barrel aging, and I tend to be positive about this wine. 89-91+
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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. Big and bold black cherry and currant with licorice and allspice. Very good concentration and length, slightly firm for now on finish. 90-93 point potential, 2015 forward.
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