I thought I remember 2005 Bordeaux being touted as an excellent vintage 20 years ago. I went quite heavy on the 2005 vintage but haven’t open any of them up yet.
Great tasting and great notes, thanks Andy.
I have bought (en Primeur) many 2005’s from the low and middle end (Chasse Spleen, Malartic, Branaire, Potensac, Charmail, Retout and the likes), but opened only very few since I am drinking through my 2000’s and 2001’s that still need some time (Pontet Canet, Calon Segur, Clos du Marquis…). The very few 2005’s I opened were fine, including Rol Valentin and Monbousquet.
One thing that surprised me:
I have a rather cold cellar, and the wines mentioned above all had lots of sediment, so I invariably decant from sediment and immediately put the wine back into the (cleaned) bottle. My experience would be that the sediment has quite some influence on the taste, making the aromatics more “dusty”, less transparent.
Anyway, I will taste one of my Pavie Macquin’s soon, very contradicting notes on CT, and will report back.
Thanks for the insights, andy!
I’m quite big on left bank as well. I agree with you, right bank is a terrible minefield. I purged my entire cellar of most of my 2005 right banks quite a few years ago. It was pretty obvious the trajectory they were on. Many of them were confected highly manufactured wines meant to show well to critics, who applauded them so highly, but their ability to age gracefully was compromised. I did a retrospective tasting when they were 10 years old, and that sealed the deal for me. I think the only right bank 2005 that I currently own, and I have a lot of of it, is the 2005 Magdelaine. It is excellent. And still needs time.
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The article seems to place emphasis on too-little sulfur being added for the oxidation and VA, which at some point demands cold shipping from the winery to the states to the buyer. If it is shipped at room-temperature with no sulfur they can be messed up before you receive them. That sucks.
The '05 Pape Clement has been particularly, and consistently, good.
I opened a fombrauge last week. its kinda a poster child for the big extraction side. but I have to say I was very happily surprised by how good it was. very balanced and not over done at all. all my napa loving friends thought it was slightly thin (not sure how to translate that statement from them) , which I took as a good thing. I have had other vintages of it and it has been over done in my mind, but the 05 was really singing, at least for me, last week. considering i paid about $20 on futures, I always wondered why CA cant make a merlot of its quality at a price below $75. but thats just me
Truly appreciate the data points, especially on the RBs.
Bought at release and currently storing:
2005 L’Evangile - not thrilled after a wine showing in 2024
2005 Ch. Clinet (note: not the Eglise Clinet by OP) but have been pleased with re-taste a few years ago
2005 Vieux Chateau Certan: Fckn awesome when tasted from barrel at winery. Purchased some stateside upon return from trip. Fingers crossed.
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Given the amount of extract(ion) & density of the vintage, I’m decanting everything at least for sediment, but I think the wines can also stand up to aeration. I used to not be in that camp but experiencing how sediment can make Barolo & Burgundy taste tired or lacking in fruit w/o it makes me err on the side of having a cleaner sample.
A 2005 louviere this past Saturday was delicious and very graves (unlike a disappointing 2000 a few years ago)
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Andy_Sc thanks for sharing your observations and updating this thread. I was not inclined to agree, but pulled a smaller Pomerol (to calibrate) while perusing your notes.
It pains me to say it, but the 2005 Bonalgue [Pomerol] for my tastes is starting to fade, which is surprising for a solid property in a super vintage. I bought a DI case EP from MacArthurs, so I don’t think it’s a case of low sulfur and poor travails, as it’s been properly stored for two decades now. And other bottles - when younger - were better. At age twenty, it’s still fleshy, 14% abv with a plummy merlot character … but also sweat, forest, sauvage as it sheds its youthful vibrancy. If one looks closely, the garnet color is starting to brick at the edges, and is in sync with the flavor profile. (Close inspection can also see the vineyard location, near the juncture of N39 and N89, which I had not known). Texturally, the tannin is fully resolved, acid is in harmony with the fruit, but the bouquet has tertiary aromas, earlier than I would expect. If you have this 2005, consider prioritizing it. On my card, this bottle is a B+, yet I enjoyed it greatly – midweek Pomerol is not the typical fuel at Casita Arv.
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Thanks, Andy. I however believe that bottle variation might have more to do with some of these 2005 ratings than with the intrinsic characteristics of the vintage.
I know how aware of the bottle variation factor you are because I follow closely your reviews and one of the features i admire and respect the most is that you never feel compelled to “marry” a previously issued review. You may rate a wine 98 one day and go for 89 the following month if that’s how the wine comes up to be. Kudos to you for that: very few people do the same. And most do not even realise their own bias…
I have had three bottles of Ausone 2005 over the past 18 months. The first was good. But good as in one of your 93 scores. The second (6 months ago) was out of this world. Of the 5 people tasting three said it was the best wine they had even drank (and it was competing against a Latour 2003 amongst others); 98-99. The third one was three weeks ago. Superb but “just” a 95-96 or so.
I can’t possibly believe that those variations derive from the nature and conditions of the 2005 vintage. Neither can i believe that the difference between your 95 rating (and highly laudable comment) in 2021 and your recent 88 rating are due to the flaws of the vintage materializing over these four years.
You are a much more accomplished wine taster than i am, by miles and miles. But i wouldn’t be suprised if some time from now you came across another bottle of 2005 that you thought was great.
Actually i still have two bottles left. If we ever coincide (unlikely, but you never know) i will be glad to share one with you. Or the two of them! That way we may assess haw much bottle variation there is! 
Hey Juan. Totally agree, bottle variation is real, and everything from stemware to weather can play a role. I genuinely believe that a well-decanted 2005 Ausone can be fantastic today (and CT seems to agree). With the right air, even that 88pt bottle might’ve climbed to 95+.
But I’ve tasted enough Right Bank wines with hard, drying wood tannins and early oxidation (which I’m hypersensitive to) to recognize a pattern. This bottle had those tannins, and so did the 2003 (twice), 2010, and 2014 Ausone I’ve tried recently. You can’t fix those tannins. You can mask them if there’s enough stuffing, and 2005 certainly has it, but eventually they reassert themselves.
That said, I’d happily share a bottle soon. The 2005 can absolutely deliver joy. DM me 
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Brought to dinner at Narrows Steakhouse in McCall. Needs 2 hours to open up, but once it does loads of black fruit, a coffee note, leather, and spice. Probably won’t hit peak for me for another 10 years. Have a 2005 Leoville Barton I may open too, and will post if so.
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Branaire-Ducru last night, and as noted above, it really benefited from a lot of air. I’d say this is just now slipping into its prime drinking window with a long, long life ahead of it. Just beginning to develop tertiary characteristics, but just lovely to drink.
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Drank the 2005 Leoville Barton last night at Narrows Steakhouse and its an interesting wine after having the Pichon earlier in week. While the Pichon was dark fruited with good balancing tannin and acids the LB was dark fruited, no coffee notes, and somewhat dull and flat, akin to leaving a soda on counter overnight…still tastes like soda but flat. Cork was perfect with no soaking and while it was good, it was just that, good. Drink up and buy more 2004 or 2008.
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'05 GPL last night was terrific. One of the few '05s I drank on release, the fine high quality tannin and crystalline red fruits always stood out to me. Present day there’s supple red fruits gaining tertiary complexity and the tannins are starting to fade. This isn’t anywhere near falling off a cliff but no harm in opening now.
Ans apparently I opened one last year for “science” and forgot. Similar experience. Much better than a recent '10 that was hot and extracted
- 2005 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (8/9/2025)
Another fantastic bottle. Fantastic nose of dried back cherry, cassis, tobacco leaf, mint and cedar. Palate is fine, fresh, with minimal tannin influence and a nice core of dark red fruits. Fantastic balance and poise. Starting to have some mature elements but this will age a long time. No harm in drinking now but will continue to age--more assessable than expected for a classified growth in '05. (94 points) - 2005 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (6/2/2024)
More mature and integrated than expected. Showed well. Refined nose, tobacco and leather notes another with a hint a herbal cab notes that only bdx can deliver. Stately, very Pauillac palate, but the previously massive tannins are rather integrated at this stage. Lengthy finish. This is why you age bdx. Early drinking window--not going anywhere for a long time. (94 points)
Posted from CellarTracker
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Yeah, I like this wine very much right now and for the future promise.
Thanks for the assessment. Happily I have only 26 bottles of right bankers from 03 to 10 - about a third is 06 Pavie Macquin which I have found is drinking decently albeit not a great wine but not a terrible QPR either.
BWE had a 25th anniversary celebration in Maine a couple of weeks ago. It was a terrific event amongst old friends, but way too much wine to try everything. These 2005 Bordeaux (maybe more?) were in attendance:
Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac
Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac
Pichon-Longueville Baron Pauillac
Pavie St. Emilion
La Fleur-Pétrus Pomerol
La Conseillante Pomerol
Figeac St. Emilion
Montrose St. Estèphe (magnum)
I wasn’t taking notes, not that kind of a night. No idea how long these were open, my guess is a few hours for most of them. I missed the GPL and Figeac. A few impressions of the ones I did try:
2005 Pichon Comtesse - typical Comtesse with a hint of green, very Pauillac, drinking beautifully, probably still on the upswing.
2005 Pichon Baron - big, powerful, lush, very ripe, a pleasure to drink now but not showing any classic aged Bordeaux complexity
2005 Pavie - I brought this in honor of Gerard Perse’s passing and served it blind. Guesses were all over the place from 61 Bordeaux to SQN. I did take notes on this one: Dark red/purple. Intense nose of very ripe dark red fruits, coffee, plums, hint of VA. Full body, very ripe fruit with hints of raisins, this is hugely extracted. Balance on the low acid side but remains reasonable. No alcoholic heat. Palate is fully coated, finish is long and lush.
2005 La Fleur Petrus - ripe, plummy, nice balance, open for business, a little aged complexity beginning to show.
2005 Conseillante - a great showing for a personal favorite, Complex nose and palate, great power and balance, totally ready to go, wouldn’t be surprised if it gets even better.
2005 Montrose - dark fruits, earth, cigar box, big, tannic, young, lots of potential but needs another 5+ years
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I always have a bit of trepidation opening a 2005 St Emilion. These were produced during the period of peak Parkerization, and St Emilion seemed to be highly susceptible. This one was excellent though, if not classic or typical.
2005 Larcis Ducasse (St Emilion): Still dark red to rim. Forward nose of ripe blackberries, dark cherries, cigar wrapper, earth, and violets. Full bodied, very ripe lush fruit, enough balancing acidity but if you like your wines crisp and fresh this is better at cellar temperature than room temperature, fine tannins, does a decent job of covering its 14.5% ABV. A little aged complexity but it hasn’t progressed much since the last bottle two and a half years ago. Very modern, this won’t appeal to a classic palate and I question whether it will ever develop much true aged complexity. But it avoids the excessive extraction, raisiny ripeness, and alcoholic heat that ruined a lot of 2005 St Emilions. I had no problem pouring and drinking a second glass. Excellent.
Looking back, I no doubt bought this based on Parker’s 98 point in-bottle review from 2008:
This great terroir on the Cote Pavie has long been recognized as one of the most privileged spots in St.-Emilion, but it was not until the wunderkind duo of Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt took over in 2002 that the wine finally began to live up to its potential. Old timers who remember the 1945 Larcis Ducasse will attest to how great this cuvee can be. Sadly, fewer than 3,000 cases were produced of the 2005, a blend of 78% Merlot and the rest primarily Cabernet Franc with a small dollop of Cabernet Sauvignon. Yields were a modest 27 hectoliters per hectare. This stunning effort reveals one of the most extraordinary aromatic displays of the vintage, offering up notes of sweet roasted herbs, jus du viande, black olives, espresso roast, creme de cassis, and kirsch liqueur. Extremely full-bodied, opulent, and lavishly textured with plush tannin as well as an ethereal elegance, a sublime personality, glorious sweet purity, and a layered texture, this amazing St.-Emilion is destined to become a legend. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2028.
He bestowed a maybe not-so-magical-by-then 100 points on it in 2015:
With an unbelievable nose of licorice, tapenade, black cherry and blackcurrant liqueur, as well as full body, super-sweet tannin, and astonishing richness and length, this prodigious effort in 2005 announced the resurrection of this great terroir on the slopes near Château Pavie. Dark garnet/plum/purple, this is compelling stuff and drinkable already, but capable of lasting another 25-30 years. This beauty is not to be missed! Only 3,000 cases were produced, from a blend of 78% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon.
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