I have only opened a 2005 Gloria in the past year. It was lovely, and I really enjoyed it…but it was still very primary(in a good way). I’ve been drinking my 2000 Les Ormes de Pez like they have the cure. I think for my enjoyment it’s the late 70’s & 80’s right now.
Bummer about Cantemerle. Why did you not love it?
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I drank a 2005 La Lagune at some point this year. Developing very well and drank equally well after aeration. No rush to drink. I’ll say this could be a top vintage for this estate.
I have some ‘05 Pichon Lalande picked up maybe a year ago (I don’t now recall) because the price was simply too tempting. First opened just to try out since I tasted it en primeur - very tight over the course of a casual dinner. A month or two later, I opened one to see how it would be with an hour-and-a-half decant for aeration - materially heftier, deeper & more giving.
Opened another over dinner tonight with a couple of longtime friends - one of whom in Manila for a visit as he’s been based back in Bdx to head/run his family’s Château Siran (his aunt sold Pichon Lalande many years ago). This bottle I decanted for aeration for around 2&1/2 hours, & served it blind.
Edouard quickly identified it as a Pauillac from 2005; but declined to guess the producer. Good enough. Guess he’s been practicing…
Anyway, it was definitely a nice, enjoyable wine with our identical mains of roasted veal rack. “At peak”? No, but definitely enjoyable. I agree it would be better with more age; but I don’t feel any need to wait on this particular ‘05.
Thanks to all for the input, much appreciated.
Thanks for your notes and pics. Always a treat!
My pleasure!
I like my wine young and primary so take this with a grain of salt. Over the last 12 months, I’ve had 2005 Duhart-Milon, d’Issan, Pontet-Canet, and Cantenac Brown. All were good and pleasurable. If you want the nuances than can only develop over time, 2025 may be the sweet spot.
Julian,
I’ve had a couple of '05 Lagrange over the last two years. As Todd suggests, they are not all that giving, by no means a sweet spot. With air, 1-2 hr decant, they do show “correctly,” as Lagrange tends to do.
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I had a 2005 Cantemerle over the past two nights. Day one it was hollow with a pronounced metallic edge to it. Day two it did open up with dark fruits, but had a bitter core on the close. Not what I was hoping for.
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Had a bottle of Armailhac the other evening. It was pretty closed upon opening and really took an hour or so to open up a bit. I would probably recommend waiting another 5 years.
I have several cases of La Mission Haut Brion 2005, which I bought cheap (around $200 per bottle) when the Negam-Aki Debacle hit the fan, but have not tried a single bottle. This reminds me to do so.
The only two wines I’ve tried within the last few years are Beaumont and Camensac. Beaumont is ready to go but Camensac is a lot slower to come around. It budged in the right direction around the third day, showing no decline. I think the tannin is so formidable that it can seem to overtake the fruit, but I think plenty is there to reward patience.
As with 2005 red Burgundy, I am in a holding pattern with anything of consequence.
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I have had some bad 2005 right bank wines, but Conseillante is fantastic and has been for a while.
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I’ve had very good 2005 right bank wines, but limited to Vieux Chateau Certan and L’evangile.
This was my experience too. I like Cantemerle so I’ll wait a few more years before trying another, because the difference is so striking compared to what it normally tastes like, and also to the reviews when it was released - for example: “an ethereal seriousness, purity, and overall harmony that are striking for its delicacy and finesse”.
Anyway, thanks again to all for the input - I was going to open a few 05s for Xmas, but I’ll hold off now.
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I was tracking a 2004 and 2007 Lenoir on WineBid. They started at $35 and $30. I figured they’d hedge up to around $40. Already bid up to $90. Insane. These are very good wines but not $90, IMHO. I’ve had both the 04 and 05, and would have liked more.
$90 is crazy, I just paid less for 1989 l’Echo.
A 2005 Pichon Comtesse from last July still needs time:
"2005 Chateau Pichon-Comtesse
This was the only one of a mini-vertical that I got to. This did have Comtesse’s signature elegance of frame to it, and some herbs and brambles and nip of pipe tobacco are interesting accents to red and blackcurrant main themes, but this is one that does need more time to fully come into its own and transfer that frame elegance onto the whole. I’d leave mine another 8 years at least if I were you."
Fieuzal from October 2018, though my tasting note is a day after opening:
"2005 Chateau de Fieuzal
Whiffs of tabac, raspberry and sweet rhubarb play up here. A rare approachable 05, not super but composed with some nice replays."
From the same weekend, a Talbot:
"2005 Chateau Talbot
Tons of structure and redcurrant and blackcurrant galore in bouquet and on palate. Absolutely still closed tight. Try again in 12 years."
And finally, from a month ago, the LLC
"2005 Chateau Leoville Las Cases
Statuesque for sure—lots of mineral and even a kind of ash to the dark berry and currant fruit in the bouquet. Palate finds this still in its infancy, relatively hard to assess where it will end up—there are signs of class and greatness, but it is also tending to a burliness and muscularity right now that might see its way right through the life of the wine. Handle with care and patience, I’d say."
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I’ve had 2005 Rauzan Segla, Grand Puy Lacoste, and Haut Bailly in the past year and I thought all three were drinking well. Young and on the upswing but I didn’t regret opening them and found a lot of pleasure in all three.
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