Wine Ratings

wines

A gorgeously scented nose offers up layered aromas of spice, earth, tea, sandalwood, wild flowers and black currant. There is an unusually refined mouth feel to the focused, intense and sleekly muscular flavors that possess equally good depth while delivering flat out superb length on the impeccably well-balanced finale. This is still very much on the way up but it is so harmonious and pretty that it could be enjoyed for its nose alone. That said, this is a very serious effort that should peak in the range of 7 to 10 years from now and then be capable of holding for 3 to 4 decades thereafter. In a word, wonderful.Burghound | 96 BHDeep red-ruby. Powerful, bracing, medicinal aromas of blueberry, blackberry pastille, mocha, licorice and mint. Almost shockingly precise and penetrating but painfully tight today. This is broad and large-scaled yet the overwhelming impression is of juicy cut and sharp focus. An utterly palate-staining, austere young wine that should be great well into its third decade of life in bottle.Vinous Media | 95+ VMThere is a bit more Bonnes-Mares in the cellars this year, as the domaine has purchased just under 15 ares more of the vineyard as a result of the Thomas-Moillard purchase. Happily, this section of vines is planted primarily on terres blanches soils, so that now about one-third of the cuvée hails from terres blanches. Previously all of the Dujac Bonnes-Mares was planted on terres rouges soils, and the new blend represents a step up from the already stellar level of Bonnes-Mares that the domaine produced. The bouquet on the 2005 is brilliant, youthfully reserved and very, very deep, as it offers up a mélange of red and black cherries, bitter chocolate, herbs, game, a huge base of soil, a touch of new oak and a pungent, floral topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and laser-like in its focus, with a rock solid core of fruit, flawless balance, snappy acidity, ripe, substantial tannins, and an endless and utterly pure finish. Just superb. (Drink between 2017 - 2050)John Gilman | 95 JGDujac’s 2005 Bonnes Mares smells of black raspberry, wood smoke, sage and horehound. Intense, tart but ripe black raspberry fills the mouth with vivid juiciness, backed by persistently pungent herbal concentrates, bitter chocolate, and saline minerality. Abundant but refined tannins allied to energetic fruit of untamed intensity combine in a long finish and seem to assure that this is another Dujac cru with superb aging potential.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RP

The 2005 vintage is a monumental wine with an impressive, tannic structure. The nose is slightly closed, even at 15 years of age, and Rossignol likens it to ’a block of granite – often polished, but still massive’. Continue to hold if you can wait – patience will have its reward. The Rossignol side of the family owns an impressive 1.6ha of Chambertin in two large parcels. This site was among the first that brothers Nicolas and David converted to biodynamics in the 1990s, and their efforts are paying off.Decanter Magazine | 97 DECThe 2005 Chambertin was raised in fifty percent new oak this year, and the wine’s depth and intensity have no difficulty in completely devouring the wood. The very pure and primary bouquet is deep and profound, as it offers up notes of blood orange, red plum, black cherry, graphite, coffee bean, raw cocoa and a great base of soil. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, young and ripely tannic, with a great core of fruit, bright acids, stunning intensity, and plenty of ripe, fine-grained tannins on the long, aristocratic finish. Just a brilliant bottle of Chambertin in the making. (Drink between 2020 - 2070)John Gilman | 95 JGThis is the most backward wine in the group with ripe and densely fruited but cool aromas of game, smoke, spice, underbrush and somber red and dark berry fruit aromas dissolving into powerful, serious and brooding flavors that completely drench the palate in sap on the stunningly long finish. This is built for the long haul and I doubt that it will exit from this taciturn stage for some years to come. Classic old style Cham that is presently a block of stone so be prepared to wait.Burghound | 94 BHGood deep red. Wild red fruits, musky game, roast coffee, black licorice and a peppery nuance on the highly complex, soil-inflected nose. Dense, fresh and concentrated; sappy and juicy for all its power. There’s a captivating chewiness to the spicy red fruit and mineral flavors. Very slow to unfold on the back end, finishing with substantial dusty tannins and lovely lingering perfume. The family’s holding is in the middle of Chambertin, stretching from the bottom to the top of this grand cru. As this is Chambertin and not Clos de Beze, the style is more massive and profound, notes David. My score may turn out to be conservative.Vinous Media | 93+ VM

Rich and stately reddish purple. A wine that starts to welcome with open arms, then slowly but surely the tannins tighten their grip. This is an exotic, well structured and well balanced wine that steals up on you. It clearly has a long life ahead of it. Subtle, with notes of black cherry, cedar, grilled rosemary and cigar smoke. Very beautiful, with a caressing structure that promises another good few decades to enjoy.Decanter | 94 DECDark ruby in color, showing aromas of currant, new oak and fresh herbs, with hints of spices. Full-bodied, with very chewy tannins and an outstanding concentration of fruit. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Needs plenty of bottle age. Best after 2012. 20,000 cases made, 3,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe 2005 Bolgheri Sassicaia is more of an extrovert and a fast-burner. It is a reflection of a warm vintage and a more pronounced stylistic signature in terms of its winemaking approach. The effect is very beautiful, indeed, with dried cherry, plum, spice, tobacco and grilled herb. Yet, the overall messaging is focused on power and volume. The background music is hard to hear. Despite its opulence, there's less dimension to behold. Brawn trumps finesse and dark fruit covers the ethereal aromas. It is well built, however, and should hold steady for the next ten years, if not more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2005 Sassicaia is in a gorgeous spot right now. A super-classic Cabernet Sauvignon bouquet reveals striking nuance as layers of dark fruit begin to unfold on the palate. Smoke, game, licorice, tobacco and menthol add the final shades of nuance. The 2005 doesn't appear to be built for the long haul, but it is very beautiful, complete and rewarding today.Vinous Media | 93 VMThe cabernet franc (15 percent) here seems to wrap the cassis and black cherry richness of cabernet sauvignon with the spiciness of fresh red peppercorns. Savory and bound for several hours, this becomes silky and elegant with air, the rich fruit supported by firm, earthy tannins. Deep and impressively structured, this is suited for a decade or more in the cellar. Kobrand, Purchase, NYWine and Spirits | 92 W&S

One of the top vintages of Haut-Bailly out there, the 2005 is a quintessential example of this terroir, showing incredible finesse and elegance paired with ample concentration and depth of fruit. Complex notes of black cherries, darker currants, gravelly earth, graphite, smoke tobacco, and cedar notes all emerge from the glass, and it’s full-bodied, flawlessly balanced, and pure class on the palate. I’ve always thought the 2009 was the greatest vintage from this estate that I’ve tasted, yet this is certainly knocking on the doorstep, although in a more classic, structured style. I find this insanely good today, but it’s still youthful and is set for another 30+ years of truly spectacular drinking! Hats off to Veronique Sanders and the team at Haut-Bailly for another magical wine.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDA near perfect growing season resulted in alcohols of 14% for the Merlots and 13% for the Cabernet Sauvignons, unheard of at Haut-Bailly. This is starting to show tertiary aromatics and yet holding on to its youthful character, absolutely teetering on the edge between youth and age. The tension of this moment is something to savour, and I want to both suggest that you drink it now, and that you put it away for another decade. Hints of leather, cold ash, cassis, pepper, saffron, all with confident tannins that embrace the fruit without making a big deal of it. The definition of elegant Pessac, as with 2001 vintage, but here with another level of concentration. Just so drinkable while complex and effortless. Long harvest from September 14 through to October 11. A yield of 41hl/ha. Drinking Window 2020 - 2040.Decanter | 97 DECThe 2005 Haut-Bailly, is dense purple with loads of graphite, earth, spice, blackberry and blueberry fruit, beautiful balance, medium to full body, and stunning purity, texture and length. Still incredibly young at age 10, this wine is set for 30 or more years of longevity. This is a great, great Haut-Bailly that will one day probably rival 2009 and 2010.Robert Parker | 96+ RPThe 2005 Haut-Bailly is unbelievably finessed from start to finish. A wine of unreal class, the 2005 impresses with its silky, mid-weight personality and fantastic balance. The aromatics aren’t fully expressive today, but everything else about the 2005 is absolutely irresistible. Despite its considerable charm, Haut-Bailly comes across as still needing time in bottle to be at its best! In a vintage in which so many wines are extroverted, Haut-Bailly retains an air of elegance and understatement. The best is clearly yet to come.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGDark purple in color. Offers pure fruit, with crushed raspberry, blackberry and dried flowers on the nose. Full-bodied, with supersilky tannins that touch every inch of the palate. Long and racy, with elegance and beauty harking back to bygone days. Best after 2015. 6,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThis shows a great purity of fruit; firm and direct notes of raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries that open to intense notes of fresh flowers. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins. This wine is tight and long -- you know this is good immediately. Pull the cork after 2016.James Suckling | 95 JS(Château Haut-Bailly) Along with 2008 and 2001, 2005 is my favorite vintage in this decade on the Gironde. I find the wines in Bordeaux quite similar structurally to those of Burgundy in this vintage, with a rare combination of ripe, pure and rock solid fruit components, coupled to fairly high acids and firm tannins. The combination seems likely to make for very, very long-lived wines, but patience is still required for those with bottles in the cellar, as this vintage is most emphatically not yet ready for primetime drinking. The 2005 Haut-Bailly shows enormous potential on both the nose and palate, with the bouquet offering up a pure and precise blend of plums, red and black cherries, tobacco leaf, a marvelous base of gravelly soil tones, cigar smoke and a lovely framing of nutty and cedary new oak. On the palate the wine is pure and full-bodied and shows of stunning mid-palate depth, with great energy and grip, firm, buried tannins, tangy acids and laser-like focus on the very long, nascently complex and vibrant finish. To my palate, this is the finest vintage of Haut-Bailly since the stellar 1986 and the (quite underrated elsewhere) 1982, but it is still emphatically a young wine and needs at least another fifteen years in the cellar to really start drinking with generosity. Be patient, as once this wine blossoms, it is going to be dazzling and virtually timeless! (Drink between 2035-2125).John Gilman | 94 JGAn impressively structured wine from an estate that is at the forefront of quality in Pessac-Léognan. It is balanced, a rich rounded wine, with considerable depths of black fruits, dark tannins and power.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WENo written review provided. | 91 W&S

Power and elegance merge effortlessly in this superb wine. Its pure black currant fruit is tightly coiled, supported by just the right amount of firm tannins. Great aging potential. A triumph.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2005 Léoville-Barton is clearly one of the wines of the vintage. Powerful and strapping in the glass, the 2005 is a big, big wine. Huge swaths of tannin wrap around a core of inky black fruit, new leather, spice, gravel, mocha and licorice. The wine’s sheer density is impressive, but its balance is even more compelling. I might be temped to give this another few years in the cellar. Readers lucky enough to own it will find a thrilling, potent Saint-Julien that overdelivers big time. I loved it.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGDelivers breathtaking aromas of blackberry, currant, licorice and flowers. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and supersilky tannins. Dark chocolate, currant, berry and licorice follow through. This is racy and beautiful. Best after 2015. 20,375 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThis offers aromas of spices, dried dark fruits, meat and berries. Full and muscular on the palate, with strong tannins and a long, long finish. This is very powerful and chewy, but a little bit tight. This is a wine for the cellar. Don’t touch this until 2018.James Suckling | 96 JSPowerful and compelling, this blend of nearly 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot with a suggestion of Cabernet Franc was slow to open but with time produced polished aromas of red and blackberry fruit with hints of graphite, leather, and smoke. The texture is firm and tannic, but there is enough density to make it all work exceedingly well—one of the pleasant surprises of the tasting. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040.Decanter | 93 DECLéoville Barton’s 2005 has an inky ruby/purple color and shows fairly high tannin levels, but the balance is slightly better that the Langoa Barton, which is very hard. This is probably a 30-year wine and needs at least another 20 years of cellaring, and while the tannins are high, they are balanced more thoroughly and competently. With deep cassis and red currant fruit, the wine is earthy, spicy, medium to full-bodied, and needs at least another decade. Drink it between 2025 and 2050.Robert Parker | 92 RP

A fabulous GPL. Perhaps better than the legendary 1982? It shows laser-guide precision on the palate with aromas of currants, cedar, mint, flowers and chocolate. Full-bodied and extremely finely textured on the palate, lasting for minutes. A joy to drink now. Get some.James Suckling | 97 JSMedium red. Very ripe aromas of plum and musky brown spices; redder in character and less precise than the 2006. Then big, sweet and plump on the palate, with full, mellow flavors of red berries, tobacco and mocha, plus a light smoked meat note. Finishes with sweet tannins and lingering, fully ripe fruit. This is showing its lush side today and is hiding its underlying structure.Vinous Media | 93 VMHas subtle blackberry, licorice and currant on the nose, with hints of mint. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a very pretty texture. Caresses everything. Refined and balanced. A beautiful wine that’s hard to keep your hands off now. Best after 2012. 14,165 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSPure crème de cassis, licorice and spice are all present in this wine from Xavier Borie. Medium to full-bodied and ripe, with sweet tannin and a nicely textured mouthfeel, this is a beauty that should continue to drink well for another 15 or so years.Robert Parker | 92 RPNo written review provided. | 90 W&S

Of the recent, highly-praised vintages in Bordeaux- 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010, only the 2005 vintage stands out for me as a truly great vintage on the Gironde, with the others masquerading power and overripe fruit as if it were true greatness in the making. However, 2005 is a completely different animal and this is really and truly a great year, but one that is built for the very long haul. It is very rare for a Bordeaux vintage to offer outstanding acidity and excellent ripeness in the same vintage (unless it is a pruney drought year like 2010, which is okay if one wants Amarone, rather than claret). The 2005 Figeac is a perfect example of just how great this vintage is on both sides of the Gironde, as it offers up a deep and stunning bouquet of black cherries, plums, dark chocolate, tobacco leaf, dark soil tones, woodsmoke and toasty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with lovely nascent complexity peeking out from behind its closed structure. The finish is very, very long, tangy and ripely tannic, with impeccable balance and enormous potential. A great Figeac and a great homage to the superb job that Éric d’Aramon did during his days at the helm here. (Drink between 2025-2100)John Gilman | 97 JGThis is plush and warm in feel, with lots of currant and fig preserve flavors rolling through, inlaid with tobacco, warm stone and bittersweet cocoa notes. Shows a hefty dose of roasted alder on the finish, but in general this has been absorbed, making this a step ahead in terms of evolution, but there’s no rush, as a racy iron streak is just starting to show up.—Blind ’01/’03/’05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Drink now through 2035. 8,333 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThe tightrope stage of a wine as it shifts from young to mature, the tertiary notes coming to the fore are very welcome in its second decade, although it is perhaps just a little more evolved than I would expect. But this is stunning, there is so much hidden power, with layers of complex cedar, rose petal and soft woodsmoke. As it opens in the glass, the slight dryness on the finish becomes more apparent, but so does the sweet gentleness of this vintage. It can clearly still age for a good few decades, but would also be ready to drink with some decanting first. The 36hl/ha yield in this vintage is due mainly to the extremely dry summer.Drinking Window 2017 - 2038Decanter | 95 DECInteresting aromas of cedar, tobacco, dark fruits, cinnamon, and cigar box. Full and solid, with chewy tannins. A very direct, straight, and pure wine with lovely freshness. This is starting to close, give this some time.James Suckling | 95 JSThe predominance of Cabernet Sauvignon in Figeac has won out in 2005. It shows in the delicious black currant fruits and very fresh, vibrant acidity. The tannins, curiously, are less apparent—maybe all that fruit overwhelms them. Only on the finish is there some austerity and firmness. Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEA silken, elegant Merlot, this has a youthful blue tinge to its color and luscious energy to its plummy fruit. It’s bold and powerful, but it doesn’t feel pushed. The pinpoint detail of the tannins provides a beautiful richness that expands with air. A touch exotic, that richness brings Kobe beef to mind, a match for this wine when it’s had some time to mature.Wine & Spirits | 93 W&SThe finest Figeac since the 1990 and 1982, the restrained, but complex 2005 exhibits notes of black olives, new saddle leather, tobacco leaf, and sweet cherry and black currant fruit. The wine is medium-bodied with racy tannins as well as a streamlined style built on finesse and delicacy rather than on power and concentration. Consume it over the next 15-20 years.Robert Parker | 90 RP

A gorgeously silky, juicy and balanced glass of wine, this combines elegant richness of sweet cocoa and blackberry, with tons of power and a feeling of holding itself in check. This is signature St Julien, concentrated yet delicate, just an utterly lovely wine that has good acidity, with tannins that have melted into the rest of the structure and fruit that is still absolutely in control, followed by a saline edge to the finish. There’s a long road ahead still, but this is a standout Ducru. Drinking Window 2019 - 2040Decanter | 98 DECThe 2005 Ducru Beaucaillou is a 10,000-case blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Merlot (they used to produce 18,000-20,000 cases). It is an exceptionally powerful wine with a dense purple color, superb intensity, and a beautiful, sweet nose of spring flowers, raspberries, blueberries, graphite, and creme de cassis. Full-bodied with fabulous concentration, exceptionally high tannin, good acidity, and massive layers of richness that build incrementally on the palate, this monumental effort is more structured than their outstanding 2003. It may be the finest wine produced at this estate since the 1982 and 1961 Ducrus. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2050.Robert Parker | 97 RPThis offers dreamy aromas of singed mesquite and warm fruitcake that meld into a lush swath of mulled currant, fig and boysenberry fruit flavors. Black tea and incense notes skitter throughout, with a mouthwatering iron edge buried deeply.—Blind ’01/’03/’05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040. 10,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSA nice, complex wine with notes of flowers, berries and leather in the nose. Full-bodied, with pure fruit that turns from light raspberry to cherry jam. This is balanced and silky, a beautiful harmony. Give this some time if you can.James Suckling | 95 JS94-96 Barrel sample. Huge blackcurrant fruits dominate a wine that is powerful and showing very ripe. There are flavors of smoky, balanced tannins, bitter cherries, black figs. As all the great wines in 2005, it finishes with a delicious lift of acidity.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE(contains a relatively high percentage of merlot, in the range of 30%) Good deep ruby-red. Wonderfully sweet, aromatic nose combines currant, chocolate and cedary oak. Fat, lush and silky, with atypical volume to the flavors of plum, tobacco and chocolate. Wonderfully supple, plump wine with layers of flavor, thoroughly sweet tannins and compelling aromatic persistence. Today the wine’s substantial baby fat is masking its impressive underlying power. According to Borie, this 2005 combines the best traits of the chateau’s 2003 and 2000.Vinous Media | 94 VMDucru delivers absolute deliciousness in 2005, a refined and elegant pleasure that just feels right in the end. It could be that after all the sleek, floral beauty, the polished chocolate-truffle tannin, there’s a formidable grip that tightens around the finish. Suddenly it feels as hard as iron. If the aromatic beauty of the fruit can survive while the tannin matures, this could well be a wine to covet in 20 years.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&S(Château Ducru-Beaucaillou) The 2005 Ducru-Beaucaillou, which was also raised in one hundred percent new wood, will have no difficulty carrying its new oak to the finish line and is a superb young vintage of this fabled estate. The nose is deep, pure and shows off a lovely tang to its aromatic mélange of black cherries, cassis, a touch of blood orange, tobacco leaf, soil and cedar. On the palate the wine is fullish, deep and rock solid at the core, with a nice girdle of tangy acidity, excellent focus and grip and a very long, ripely tannic finish. Today there is just a touch of oak spice that sticks out on the backend, but this should be absorbed with no difficulty over the next couple of years and the 2005 Ducru-Beaucaillou should prove to be one of the reference point vintages for this property. (Drink between 2020-2070)John Gilman | 93 JG

Straight from the nose this makes you smile. It feels effortless and balanced, not breaking a sweat. The tannins are imperceptible but doing their job, and this is a great example of what you want a Margaux wine to do - it has incredible aromatics, tons of persistency, just keeps on going without losing power but also without trying too hard to impress. A smoky edge to the finish, this is intense with tons of cassis and blackberry, just a great wine with plenty of future ahead. A yield of 42hl/ha. Drinking Window 2020 - 2044Decanter | 97 DECThe more serious grand vin twin, the 2005 d’Issan, has a stunning nose of spring flowers, blackcurrant and blue/black fruits galore, and an impressively opaque dark plum/purple color. With a rich, concentrated and pure mouthfeel, wonderfully sweet tannin, full-bodied density and richness, but elegance in abundance, this is a stunner, and one of the great Margaux of the vintage. Drink it now and over the next 20 years.Robert Parker | 96 RPLots of sweet tea leaf with mineral and currant character. Stone undertones, too. Full body, firm tannins and a tight finish. One of the best ever from here with beautifully polished tannins. This needs at least three hours of decanting now. A wine for the future. Better in 2019.James Suckling | 95 JS(Château d’Issan) The 2005 vintage at d’Issan is very strong indeed and this is likely to be viewed as one of the classic, great years at this property in the decades to come. Like the 2009 vintage, the blend here in ’05 was sixty percent cabernet sauvignon and forty percent merlot, and the wine offers up a deep and very promising bouquet of cassis, dark berries, espresso, cigar smoke, tobacco leaf, a vibrant base of gravelly, dark soil tones and a bit of spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and also quite reserved at the present time, with a rock solid core, ripe tannins, outstanding, tangy acids and great focus and grip on the very long, youthful and outstanding finish. Because of the higher acidity of the 2005 vintage, this will need a bit longer in the cellar to blossom that vintages like 2006, 2008 and 2009, but it will also be longer-lived and truly exceptional at its apogee. Fine juice. (Drink between 2025-2075)John Gilman | 93+ JGThe 2005 Château d’Issan is one that Emmanuel Cruse describes as “the first great wine of the modern era”. It has more Merlot than previous vintages as some plots were replanted. It also displays more fruit intensity on the nose compared to the 2000. Blackberry and briary, wilted rose petals and violets are nicely focused, though you could argue not as complex as more recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, a fine bead of acidity and gentle grip. It has a lively finish with a subtle marine influence on the aftertaste. This 2005 is drinking beautifully now and will continue to give pleasure for another 15-20 years. 92/Drink 2021-2032.Vinous Media | 92 VMDisplays blackberry and black licorice aromas, with some tar. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a long finish. Tight and structured. Needs time. Best after 2013. 8,580 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

This blockbuster 2005 is dense ruby/purple, with sweet black cherries, cassis, earth and white chocolate in both aromas and flavors. A strong, mineral-dominated, powerful wine (90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc), it is extremely backward, super-concentrated, and tasting more like blood of Merlot than any other Pomerol. Dense purple, super-rich, and stunning, this wine has at least a 20- to 30-year upside to it. An absolutely spectacular effort from this great terroir, it can be drunk now, but patience will be rewarded. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2040.Robert Parker | 98+ RPThis is from the first great vintage of the new era. By this point in time there were smaller tanks that allowed more accuracy between the vineyard and cellar, and more precision in harvesting with small baskets and fine-tuning of sorting (separating out parts of plots that they weren’t happy with, hence the arrival of L’Espérance a few years later). The 2005 is just right on the cusp between tight young fruit and a more complex array of ageing characteristics and it’s gorgeous. It has rich, sweet fruit, wonderful balance, clear liquorice alongside olive paste, chocolate and cassis puree, all still embraced by firm but flexible tannins. You’re going to want to get hold of this wine if you’re a fan of classic Pomerol seduction. Drinking Window 2019 - 2040Decanter | 98 DECThe 2005 Trotanoy is still a very young wine. Even so, it has aged exquisitely, with all of the elements very nicely balanced. There is plenty of the tannic heft that is typical of this site, but the tannins are very well integrated into the wine’s fabric. Cedar, dried flowers, iron red berry fruit, mocha and dark reddish-leaning fruit all open with time in the glass. The stress of the warm, dry vintage is felt in the wine’s searing tannins. I would cellar the 2005 for at least a few years, and then give it a good decanting to help those tannins soften a bit. Tasted two times.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGGorgeous, with fig bread, licorice root, ganache and loam notes, this sports a hefty profile, with dark, earthy components matched to a well of mulled black currant and blackberry fruit. Shows a strong spine through the finish, revealing a tug of graphite that won’t quit. Needs to wait.—Blind ’01/’03/’05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040. 2,750 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThis has a captivating nose of blueberries, spices, and fresh lilacs. On the palate this offers a full body, serious intensity, and great acidity and richness. This is a wonderful wine that shows great contrast and wildness.James Suckling | 96 JS(Château Trotanoy) Ironically, as Trotanoy is one of my personal favorites in all of Bordeaux, I had never had the opportunity to cross paths with the 2005 Château Trotanoy prior to the Wine Workshop tasting. This is destined to be a great vintage of Trot, which I have little doubt will end up superior to the more muscular 2010 that seems to have caught the imagination of so many commentators. The combination of ripeness and outstanding acidity that is found in the very best 2005s is very rare, and these qualities are certainly on display in this very young and potentially profound Trotanoy. The very young bouquet offers up a primary blend of black plums, black cherries, dark chocolate, woodsmoke, a touch of the gamebird to come, a lovely base of soil, incipient notes of nutskin and a lovely base of smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, young and rock solid at the core, with stunning focus and balance, ripe tannins, lovely, tangy acids and superb length and grip on the glorious finish. This will be a legendary Trotanoy, but it is going to take a long time to climb to cruising altitude. It should be almost timeless. (Drink between 2030-2100)John Gilman | 96 JGCertainly it is firm, with impressive power. But the smoothness of the ripe black fruits as they combine with the beautifully judged wood show a contrast of tension with the dense, chewy core. At its heart, this wine is dark and solid and concentrated, promising long aging.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE

All the superb and dramatic complexity that this displayed from barrel has made it into bottle as an extremely ripe and fantastically broad nose soars from the glass, merging seamlessly into dense, pure rich and powerful flavors that are opulent, sweet and dripping with so much extract and sap that the combination stains and saturates the palate on the hugely proportioned yet impeccably balanced finish that is so long that it doesn’t seem possible. Given how many reference standard vintages Domaine Ponsot has produced of the Clos de la Roche over the years, it would be presumptuous to anoint this as the best ever but if it isn’t, it will certainly take its rightful place among the very greatest. In sum, a ’wow’ wine that makes you shake your head in sheer amazement. However be aware that this is a buy and forget wine as it will require at least 15 years to shed its considerable tannins and it will see 50 years without difficulty.Burghound | 99 BH(racked three days before my visit) Full ruby-red. Knockout nose melds black cherry, violet, licorice and brown spices; this is wild yet aristocratic in a Chambertin way. Densely packed, silky and incredibly intense, with palate-saturating flavors of black cherry, spices, minerals and bitter chocolate. As remarkably rich as this is (it’s carrying 15% alcohol, according to Ponsot), there’s no impression of undue weight. This is old-vines Clos de la Roche in all its savage splendor. Endless finish. Should make a cellar treasure.Vinous Media | 95-99 VMThe estate’s flagship 2005 Clos de la Roche Cuvee Vieilles Vignes surges from the glass in an aromatic tidal wave of liqueur-like black raspberry essence, cinnamon spice, praline, chocolate and heady floral sweetness. Incontrovertibly fat and full, not about clarity or discretion but rather about thick, sumptuous layers of flavor that blanket the palate, this will not be every taster’s idea of a great Burgundy – or perhaps even a good time. Still, there is lift, bright juiciness and a sense of emerging elegance in a finish where sheer intensity and unabashed richness rule but neither the fruit nor tannins are the least bit coarse, and stony, chalky underpinnings break the surface with their own sort of austere beauty. (Thankfully, there is roughly ten times the amount of this wine as of Clos St.-Denis.)Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RP(Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche “Vieilles Vignes”) The 2005 Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes looks like a second coming of the 1980 vintage of this wine, as it seems quite certain to mirror that former wine’s syrupy opulence and bottomless depth. Laurent feels that this will ultimately be proven to be the wine of the vintage. The bouquet now is very, very deep, very, very powerful and quite primary, as it offers up notes of red plums, black cherries, blood orange, vinesmoke, mustard seed, gamebirds, earth and espresso. On the palate the wine is monumentally scaled, with wave after wave of fruit on the attack, substantial, but very ripe tannins, and great length and grip on the remarkably soil-driven finish, given the onslaught of fruit on the attack. Larger than life. (Drink between 2017-2060)John Gilman | 95 JG

(Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles-Vignes Grand Cru Red) All the superb and dramatic complexity that this displayed from barrel has made it into bottle as an extremely ripe and fantastically broad nose soars from the glass, merging seamlessly into dense, pure rich and powerful flavors that are opulent, sweet and dripping with so much extract and sap that the combination stains and saturates the palate on the hugely proportioned yet impeccably balanced finish that is so long that it doesn't seem possible. Given how many reference standard vintages Domaine Ponsot has produced of the Clos de la Roche over the years, it would be presumptuous to anoint this as the best ever but if it isn't, it will certainly take its rightful place among the very greatest. In sum, a 'wow' wine that makes you shake your head in sheer amazement. However be aware that this is a buy and forget wine as it will require at least 15 years to shed its considerable tannins and it will see 50 years without difficulty. (Drink starting 2020)Burghound | 99 BHThe estate’s flagship 2005 Clos de la Roche Cuvee Vieilles Vignes surges from the glass in an aromatic tidal wave of liqueur-like black raspberry essence, cinnamon spice, praline, chocolate and heady floral sweetness. Incontrovertibly fat and full, not about clarity or discretion but rather about thick, sumptuous layers of flavor that blanket the palate, this will not be every taster’s idea of a great Burgundy – or perhaps even a good time. Still, there is lift, bright juiciness and a sense of emerging elegance in a finish where sheer intensity and unabashed richness rule but neither the fruit nor tannins are the least bit coarse, and stony, chalky underpinnings break the surface with their own sort of austere beauty. (Thankfully, there is roughly ten times the amount of this wine as of Clos St.-Denis.)Laurent Ponsot (like his father) vinifies to the beat of a different drummer, whether it is in his employment of a basket press from 1945, his reliance on exclusively (truly) old barrels, his aggressive pigeage, or his virtual refusal (since 1988) to sulfur the wines (nitrogen and CO2 are administered at bottling). The results are as distinctive as the methods, but also profoundly impressive and proven to age magnificently. Certainly one has to adjust to a background level of chocolate and that lack of a certain “pep” that is otherwise conveyed, MSG-wise, to wines given a normal quota of sulfur during their elevage. But after a few samples – and especially when I re-tasted these wines “cold” at 7:00 A.M. – I was fully attuned to their virtues. The alcohols in 2005 are as high as 15%, but you do not notice it, even when told. Asked when he intends to bottle, Ponsot replies “I don’t know. Maybe one or two in the Spring, maybe before the harvest, maybe afterward.”Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RP(Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche “Vieilles Vignes”) The 2005 Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes looks like a second coming of the 1980 vintage of this wine, as it seems quite certain to mirror that former wine’s syrupy opulence and bottomless depth. Laurent feels that this will ultimately be proven to be the wine of the vintage. The bouquet now is very, very deep, very, very powerful and quite primary, as it offers up notes of red plums, black cherries, blood orange, vinesmoke, mustard seed, gamebirds, earth and espresso. On the palate the wine is monumentally scaled, with wave after wave of fruit on the attack, substantial, but very ripe tannins, and great length and grip on the remarkably soil-driven finish, given the onslaught of fruit on the attack. Larger than life. (Drink between 2017-2060)John Gilman | 95 JG(racked three days before my visit) Full ruby-red. Knockout nose melds black cherry, violet, licorice and brown spices; this is wild yet aristocratic in a Chambertin way. Densely packed, silky and incredibly intense, with palate-saturating flavors of black cherry, spices, minerals and bitter chocolate. As remarkably rich as this is (it's carrying 15% alcohol, according to Ponsot), there's no impression of undue weight. This is old-vines Clos de la Roche in all its savage splendor. Endless finish. Should make a cellar treasure.Vinous Media | 95-99 VM