2005 Château Cantemerle- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc (6/9/2009)
Opened and decanted for about 90 minutes and then enjoyed half the bottle the first night and finished the bottle on night two. Given the experience I had with this wine six months ago, it appears that perhaps the 05s are starting to shut down a bit. Very closed on the first night, not giving up much and came across very dry and tannic, but not too harsh. The second night a little more fruit poked through but this time around it wasn’t as good as it was 6 months ago. I’ll reserve final judgment for now and try another bottle again some time down the road.
I got a chance to try this before any closing down and it’s no exaggeration to say it’s been one of my favorite '05s to date. It tastes like pre-Rolland Bordeaux.
Drank my last one of these 8 years ago and time has done it good. Cedar, tobacco and dark earth on a somewhat restrained nose. Nice smoky black fruit on a very balanced palate - nice acidity and still some tannic backbone, but tannins have softened considerably. Really punches above its price point. Drinking well now and has some good years ahead of it.
Really in a good spot Mike. I have 4 more, but I could see drinking them in the next 5 years. Not sure if this is going to be a super complex older wine.