2005 Château La Garde

JancisRobinson.com

• By Julia Harding, MW
  11/4/2009, (See more on JancisRobinson.com...)

  (Ch La Garde Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text.

• By Julia Harding, MW
  7/15/2008, (See more on JancisRobinson.com...)

  (Ch La Garde Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text.

• By Julia Harding, MW
  4/14/2006, (See more on JancisRobinson.com...)

  (Ch La Garde Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text.

RJonWine.com

• By Richard Jennings
  6/28/2011, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 88 points

  (Château La Garde) Bricking very dark violet color; roasted plum, loam, herbal nose; tart cassis, roasted plum, loam palate; medium-plus finish

• By Richard Jennings
  2/24/2009, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 89 points

  (Château La Garde) Dark red violet color; focused cassis and ripe berry nose; young and tight yet, but good tart cassis, tart blackberry palate with a touch of menthol, sweet tannins; medium finish (needs 2-3 years)

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  10/15/2008, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (La Garde Pessac-Leognan) 2005 Bordeaux Dear Friends, I received a dearth of emails yesterday regarding my vintage assessment - most asked for more 2005 Bordeaux and (if I can find any) 2005 Burgundy. I'm committed to pounding the pavement for the next two weeks and this morning I've found my first cache. Here we go - a cast-off 2005 Grand Vin Bordeaux at a price that is about the same (or lower) than it was on first tranche back in 2006 (first tranche was the first pre-arrival price offered). When I say cast-off, it is not a statement of quality, it was cast-off because it received the dreaded 89pt score so it was basically ignored (which is a statement of how addicted we are to numbers in the wine game - if 2005 de Vogue Musigny VV received an 89 my hunch is that many would ignore it as well when the wine would most likely blossom into something spectacular with a few years in bottle?). It's no secret that Pessac had a great 2005 (check Haut Brion and La Mission) and this style is why most of us love Bordeaux - elegant and perfumed with a Graves-like, gravel and smoke aromatic that is lightly tinged by tobacco and cedar. The wine is complimented by the reserved power of the 2005 vintage and the regal quality this possesses would put most in this price range to shame - certainly most Cabernet-based wines of the world under $20. This is another reason why Bordeaux still represents your very best buy in the world. To put this in perspective, La Garde is akin to a Napa property in a prime location (let's say, something like Staglin) and this is their top wine in one on the greatest vintages of the last 50 years. That about sums it up. The review below sounds like a beautiful wine to me and one I would drink every night (I agree with the verbiage completely) - if it received one more point, it would have disappeared form the market two years ago, but the "89" is where you benefit: An absolute steal of a deal - I rarely say this (if ever, as it veers toward retailer hyperbole) but I would encourage you to invest in more than a few bottles with this one. This parcel is directly from the source with the finest provenance available in the world: (this is a full 750ml, not a half bottle) 2005 Chateau La Garde (Pessac-Leognan) (750ml) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Bord8460