2005 Wine

janeanson.com, 98 points: Needs coaxing out of the glass, as is true with so many 2005s even at 16 years old, but straight off the first nose you get the most beautiful nuance and turmeric-strewn spice. It's exotic if subtle, with a creamy...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: Tasted from an ex-château bottle at BI Wine & Spirits Calon-Segur dinner in London, the 2005 Calon Segur is on par with the wonderful 2000. The only real difference is that this needs more time in bottle. It has a...

Wine Spectator, 96 points: Textbook, with mouthfilling and slightly gutsy black currant, fig and blackberry fruit flavors bound together by singed cedar, iron and tobacco notes. Features a tug of loam followed by a second wave of fruit through the...

jebdunnuck.com, 100 points: The 2005 Haut Brion is out of this world and certainly one of the finest wines I’ve ever tasted. Deeper, richer, and more concentrated than the 2000, it offers as pure an expression of this terroir as I could image with...

Decanter, 98 points: The 2005 vintage was surprisingly strong for Léoville-Poyferré, which I had tied with Mouton-Rothschild for second place just after Haut-Brion. The blend was 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc...

jamessuckling.com, 95 points: This is a beautiful Giscours with tension and finesse. It's full-bodied and shows plenty of berry and spice character, not to mention a long, silky-textured finish. It seduces you with each sip. Why wait?

jamessuckling.com, 96 points: Stunning now. A fabulous nose of currants, crushed raspberry and blackberry. Full- bodied, with perfectly integrated tannins and a long, caressing finish. Drink or hold.

Wine Enthusiast, 94 points: (92-94 points) Very opulent, generous and rich. It shows all the glories of the vintage, with huge but sufficiently restrained fruit, and exuberant tannins. ROGER VOSS

janeanson.com, 98 points: Needs coaxing out of the glass, as is true with so many 2005s even at 16 years old, but straight off the first nose you get the most beautiful nuance and turmeric-strewn spice. It's exotic if subtle, with a creamy...

jebdunnuck.com, 100 points: The 2005 Haut Brion is out of this world and certainly one of the finest wines I’ve ever tasted. Deeper, richer, and more concentrated than the 2000, it offers as pure an expression of this terroir as I could image with...

Wine Enthusiast, 95 points: This is opulent, but with restraint. The fruit is rich, black and delicious. Touches of spice and wood are present, lending complexity to the ripe fruits and balanced tannins. Impressive. ROGER VOSS

jebdunnuck.com, 98 points: Always showing well, this bottle of 2005 Château Pontet Canet was just about pure perfection in a glass. Still youthful ruby/purple-hued, with a gorgeous core of pure cassis and darker currant fruits, it's full-bodied and...

jamessuckling.com, 99 points: A stunningly complex and complete nose of flowers, dark fruits, and minerals. Very perfumed and subtle at the same time. The palate is full, yet tight and powerful with perfect tannins and a long, long finish. The quality...

Neal Martin's Wine Journal, 91 points: 91+ Tasted single blind at Southwold. This is a little simplistic on the nose with a touch of the old blackcurrant wine gums but fresh and lively. The palate has some dryness: austere and backward with compressed dusty...

Wine Enthusiast, 94 points: (92-94 points) Very opulent, generous and rich. It shows all the glories of the vintage, with huge but sufficiently restrained fruit, and exuberant tannins. ROGER VOSS

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 90 points: A sleeper of the vintage as well as the finest wine I have yet tasted from this estate, Lalande-Borie is made by Ducru Beaucaillou’s proprietor, Bruno Borie. He has turned out a graceful, charming, seductive St.-Julien...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 90 points: The 2005 La Bienfaisance is a rich, concentrated wine with loads of blackcurrant and black cherry fruit along with some earthiness and subtle background oak. It is medium to full-bodied, ripe, and extremely well-made in a...

jebdunnuck.com, 95 points: The 2005 Château Canon is beautiful, although I think it checks in behind vintages such as 2009, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Revealing a deep ruby/purple hue as well as mineral-laced notes of black raspberries, black cherries...

Burghound, 93 points: A subtly toasty yet elegant nose featuring a pretty mélange of earthy red cherry and blackberry fruit aromas lead to sweet, serious and concentrated full-bodied flavors that are underpinned by ripe tannins and a...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 90 points: Thank goodness this estate's new consultant Stephane Derenoncourt has toned down what was often too much new oak. He also appears to have built in more density. The 2005 is a beautifully exuberant sexy wine displaying...

jamessuckling.com, 96 points: Stunning now. A fabulous nose of currants, crushed raspberry and blackberry. Full- bodied, with perfectly integrated tannins and a long, caressing finish. Drink or hold.

TheWineCellarInsider.com, 97 points: The old saying, "Slow but steady wins the race" is clearly applicable here as this gem keeps getting better and better with age. Full-bodied, concentrated, tannic, and young, yet it has slipped into adolescence as you...

Neal Martin's Wine Journal, 93 points: Tasted at Chateau Phelan-Segur. The Phelan-Segur 2005 still has that lovely, very pure red-berried fruit on the nose with beautifully integrated creamy oak that still allows the terroir to express itself. The palate is...

TheWineCellarInsider.com, 100 points: Intoxicating scents of caramel, violets, smoke, licorice, plum and maraschino cherries take almost no time to find. Pure silk and velvet on the palate, the wine is seriously concentrated with an elegant, refined, fresh...

jamessuckling.com, 96 points: Stunning now. A fabulous nose of currants, crushed raspberry and blackberry. Full- bodied, with perfectly integrated tannins and a long, caressing finish. Drink or hold.

Wine Enthusiast, 94 points: (92-94 points) Very opulent, generous and rich. It shows all the glories of the vintage, with huge but sufficiently restrained fruit, and exuberant tannins. ROGER VOSS