2005 Bordeaux Blend 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 & Spirits, 100 points: How rare to confront a wine of this inner strength and perfect form. Grown at a 116-acre vineyard at the southern border of Pauillac, some of the vines now reaching 100 years of age on a gravel bar overlooking the...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: 95+ This great terroir sandwiched between Vieux Château Certan, Petrus and La Fleur Petrus, on the high plateau of Pomerol, has been owned for many years by the Barrau-Badar family. Beautiful coffee, cedar wood...

jamessuckling.com, 95 points: Concentrated and elegant with a great harmony of dry tannins and ripeness (but no hint of overripeness), this has a long finish with a lot of drive and enormous freshness. You could drink this now with red meat, but it’s...

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...

TheWineCellarInsider.com, 100 points: Poke your head into a flower shop filled with roses, walk into the restaurant next door when they are serving their winter, truffle menu, end the meal with the perfect clafoutis with some licorice on the side, and light...

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

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 97 points: Tasted at the Pontet-Canet vertical in London, the 2005 Château Pontet-Canet has long been one of the stars of the vintage and this might well be the best of over a dozen showings of this wine. However, do not expect...

Decanter, 99 points: Deep bright ruby, superconcentrated and extremely vertical, this Mouton is only starting to open up after which it will plateau for another fifty years or so of outstanding drinking. Cassis, cedar, graphite aromas and...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 100 points: A sensational effort from proprietor Denis Durantou this 2005 is a compelling wine but purchasers should wait at least a decade to begin the magical liquid tour. One of the monumental wines of the vintage it boasts a...