2005 Red Wine

Wine Spectator, 91 points: Aromas of mineral blackberry and licorice lead to a full body with lots of racy tannins and a long flavorful finish. There's plenty of character with a polished refined style yet tannic. Best after 2011. 9830 cases made...

Wine Spectator, 93 points: Lithe and focused, layering its black cherry, plum and dark spice flavors on a polished frame, the tannins beautifully submerged to let the fruit and savory notes sail through the finish and keep singing. Best from 2009...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: Deep garnet colored, the 2005 Hillside Shiraz reveals a wonderfully expressive, spicy nose with some notes of game, potpourri, dried cranberries and kirsch. It is a glorious, full-bodied wine packed with complex flavor...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: The 2005 Grenache Romas Vineyard delivers more complexity than the Onkaparinga both aromatically and on the palate. An enticing perfume of damp earth truffle clove black cherry and blackberry is followed by a full-bodied...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: One of the most age-worthy cuvees in the appellation, Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe’s 2005 Châteauneuf du Pape was gorgeous on this occasion, showing classic iodine, seaweed and peppery herbs intermixed with layers of sweet...

jebdunnuck.com, 92 points: The 2005 Coteaux d'Aix en Provence Alpilles is a beauty that shows the tighter, firmer, more focused style of the vintage. Offering a Burgundian bouquet of ripe black cherries, cedary herbs, graphite, and toasted spice...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: The 2005 Gregor Shiraz was made from grapes dried on racks prior to crushing and fermentation in the style of Amarone. More deeply colored than its siblings, it has a liqueur, port-like character to its aromas and...

Wine Enthusiast, 90 points: A full, firm, ripe wine that shows considerable style and richness. There are fine, dusty tannins, masking the full-bodied black fruits, licorice flavors, and a firm, smooth aftertaste.

Vinous, 92 points: (92+ points) The 2005 Talbot was picked from 22 September until 10 October. Having tasted this several times, this might be the best bottle. Deeper in colour than other vintages, it offers much more fruit: blackberry...

Vinous, 97 points: (fermented in large oak tanks and aged for six years in new French and American oak barriques) Saturated ruby. Explosively perfumed aromas of fresh ripe red fruits, floral oils, pipe tobacco and incense take on sexy...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 97 points: 97+ With a gorgeous nose of super-concentrated black cherry/kirsch liqueur, this wine offers notes of licorice, crushed rock and flowers followed by a full-bodied, powerful, rich finish with a boatload of tannin. This...

Decanter, 94 points: I'm not sure you need me to recap the weather conditions in 2005 as it's such a famous, and relatively recent, year. Suffice to say, it was pretty close to a perfect year, with spots of heat but generally cool evenings...

Wine Spectator, 90 points: Gorgeous aromas of crushed blackberry, Indian spices and cherry follow through to a full body, with firm, round tannins, sweet fruit and a pretty, caressing finish. Juicy and delicious. Best after 2011. 12,500 cases made.–JS