It's a cliché, but
no less true for that: you should look for the smaller estates in a
great Bordeaux vintage, and the great estates in a lesser vintage. Such
advice has never been more apt than with 2005, the "perfect" vintage
that started the modern era of over-the-top prices and launched the
first growths and their siblings into the stratosphere.
2005, which London merchant
Bordeaux Index
has just presented to a small group of journalists as the latest in its
annual "Bordeaux 10 Years On" tastings, was always going to be the
stuff of legend. "If it could,
Bordeaux
would settle for a 2005-type vintage every year," the négociant Bill
Blatch said at the time. The growing season was ideal, with minimal rain
(what fell, fell in gentle showers at just the right time), consistent
sunshine but no heatwaves, and a long, dry autumn allowing vignerons to
harvest in a leisurely fashion.
Today it's clear that 2005 is indeed a wonderful vintage. I was
constantly surprised and delighted by the elegance and succulence of the
wines. The finest wines are rich without being jammy, lean without
being drying, with finesse and opulence and, above all, concentration
that will ensure them a life of decades.
As in all great vintages this is true across the board – the wines
are extraordinarily consistent. Although I thought Saint-Julien showed
best, each commune, especially on the left bank, is studded with gems.
The Right Bank was slightly less compelling in that there was more
chance of finding wines that were over-oaked and over-extracted, in a
few cases (Pavie, and Pavie-Decesse to name two) they finished with a
banana-peel dryness that will not soften with age. That was
Saint-Émilion; the Pomerols, by contrast, were as consistently excellent
as their Left-Bank counterparts.
Commune by commune
Saint-Émilion
The perfect growing season led to very ripe Merlot on the right bank,
high in alcohol and with powerful tannins. Those that went for full
ripeness (some properties picked into October) had to be careful with
extraction. Some wines have tannins that, even after 10 years, are
robust to the point of dryness. There are lovely restrained wines at the
more classic end of the spectrum. High prices throughout precluded
recommending a great value wine.
Top choice: Château Cheval Blanc, 1er Grand Cru Classé A, Saint-Émilion
Delicate tarry mouthfeel, very opulent and plush, tannins under tight
control, dry and very intense blackcurrant fruit, coffee and dark
chocolate. Harmonious, very elegant.
© Wine-Searcher |
Adam's top choices from 2005.
Pomerol
Dominated by the properties of J-P Moueix and its sure-handed
proprietor Christian Moueix, Pomerol shines. There are sumptuous
offerings at every level. Way out of reach of any but the ultra-rich,
Petrus is a model of discretion and power. Pomerol being such a tiny
appellation, obtainable wines are few.
Top choice: Petrus, Pomerol
Discreet smoky nose, leading to fresh and powerful
blackberry, black cherry and minty, spicy tar on the palate, and a dry
length releasing fresh gouts of juice. A long, long time before this is
ready.
Best value: Château Gazin, Pomerol
Hint of beef stew on the nose and sweet black cherry. Tannins – at
the moment – are sharp and sour, they hardly seem to have evolved. The
whole is dense, sweet and charming, with a kind of restrained
sumptuousness.
Saint Estèphe
With the exception of Cos d'Estournel, always an outlier, the 2005s
of Saint-Estèphe are characteristically restrained and, even 10 years
on, they have an austerity you don't expect from such a fabled vintage.
Cos's tarry, violet perfume and opulent fruit are echoed in Calon-Ségur
and Montrose, but on a tighter rein, the tannins fresher and drier, the
gouts of juice less exuberant, but with the certainty they will soften
over the next decade.
Top Choice: Château Calon-Ségur, 3ème Cru Classé, Saint-Estèphe
Nose very restrained, closed, palate presenting (at
first) dry, austere tannins. Then classic briar fruit pushes through,
the tannins become silky and dissolve to the tiniest darts of juice.
Very pure, arrow-straight acidity is a guarantee of how this will
mature. Finesse and power. Masterful.
Best value: Les Pagodes de Cos, Saint-Estèphe
Cos's second wine is more restrained and more typically Saint-Estèphe
than its often egregious big brother. Lovely meaty peppery nose, violet
perfume on the palate with fresh green herbal notes. Elegant and fine.
Pauillac
A run of marvels, fresh and savory delights with muscle and finesse.
Of the first growths, Latour has numinous power and concentration, while
Lafite and Mouton – if you had to choose – have an added dimension of
light-footed elegance. Pontet-Canet and the Pichons Comtesse and Baron
have all produced superb wines with decades ahead of them. At every
level my notes repeat the words "spice", "delicate perfume", "savory
elegance", and "minerality". The most robust wines have hints of beef;
all are shot through with freshness and purity, the finest with herbal
notes.
Top Choice: Château Lafite Rothschild, 1er Cru Classé, Pauillac
In a very close field, Lafite comes first for the sheer confidence of
the winemaking. The bright, lifted blackcurrant and blackberry fruit is
sweet and fresh, the tannins ripe, the acidity mouthwatering, the whole
complex and charming with a sense of everything held back to be
released as the decades go by. Triumphant.
Best Value: Château Haut-Batailley, 5ème Cru Classé, Pauillac
Smoky burnt briar nose, very sweet, then palate linear and full of
juice, restraint with opulence. This ends with lovely weight and
freshness, full length, uncomplicated.
Saint-Julien
Just to the south of Pauillac without the iron that characterises its
neighbor's soils, Saint-Julien's wines – exemplified by Léoville Barton
– are perfumed and delicate. This commune has excelled in 2005, the
wines loaded with perfume, coffee, sweet plum fruit, and fresh tannins.
Top Choice: Château Léoville Barton, 2ème Cru Classé, Saint-Julien
Sophisticated nose full of life but discreet, with such charm and
freshness. Weight provided by coffee and truffle, and a saline
minerality. Length of finesse and power. Very fine indeed.
Best value: Château Talbot, 4ème Cru Classé, Saint-Julien
Rich mineral, savory nose with great charm. Palate also full of
charm, defined blackberry and coffee, very discreet and old-fashioned,
like the château itself. Tannins are dry but dissolving and sweet at the
end. Very attractive.
© Wine-Searcher |
Adam's best value choices from 2005.
Margaux, Listrac and Moulis
If there is a wine which stands out for purity, freshness and control
in 2005, it is Palmer. 2005 in Margaux is charming, the wines with
lovely weight and balance of acidity and tannin, many with additional
layers of old-fashioned cigar box, pot-pourri and fresh autumn fruits.
And don't discount the sub-regions of Listrac and Moulis, whose wines
show the same consistency.
Top Choice: Château Palmer, 3ème Cru Classé, Margaux
Very dark in hue and viscous. Very discreet,
perfumed violet nose, incredibly subtle but exotic; tannins present and
juicy, lovely weight in mouth, constant interplay of dryness and juice,
tannins and acidity, wonderfully controlled – now and forever.
Best value: Château Poujeaux, Cru Bourgeois Moulis
Violet perfume and sweet briar. On the palate, damson and cedar, sour
plum with lots of spice – cloves – the whole juicy and mouthwatering.
Soft length, delicate, not powerful but defined.
Pessac-Léognan
Rich, powerful and savory wines, from the hints of smoke and bacon in
Haut-Bailly to the rich licorice and blackberry of Smith Haut Lafitte.
The appellation stands out for its opulence and depth; Haut-Brion, and
its renowned sister La Mission Haut-Brion, though many levels above in
terms of price, hardly eclipse the likes of Domaine de Chevalier.
Top choice: Domaine de Chevalier, Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan
Rich creamy nose, real sense of depth and richness, blackberry
compote, truffle, licorice. Instant austerity, though, on the palate,
leading gradually to fine damson, violet perfume and fresh acidity.
Delicate deceptively fine length with gripping, juicy tannins.
Best value: Château Malartic-Lagravière, Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan
Very savory beefstock nose with ripe plum. Tannins kick in dry and
early, releasing juice and sour-sweet plum and damson flavors. Fresh,
defined, classic, not opulent, tannins still dry. Now – 2020.
