2005 Wine

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: The 2005 Lealtanza Club Reserva was sourced from vines over 75 years of age and aged for 18 months in French oak. Deep purple in color, it sports an already complex nose of cinnamon, clove, incense, lavender, black...

View From The Cellar, 97 points: The 2005 Cristal is a legend in the making, but this wine is still very young and closed and some extended bottle age will be necessary to really allow all of the multi-faceted elements here to blossom and come to the...

Wine Enthusiast, 96 points: A beautifully balanced wine that exudes elegance as well as richness. It is drier than previous vintages of Cristal Rosé, yielding a bright, crisp and layered wine. Red fruits are married with orange zest and tight...

Wine Spectator, 97 points: Displays lemon honey mineral fennel seed and lime aromas. Full-bodied this fills the mouth with lime apple tart and vanilla character. Very very intense. Fantastic. Needs time to come together. The best white from this...

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...

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.

View From The Cellar, 95 points: The 2005 Comtes de Champagne Brut Rosé from Champagne Taittinger is a blend of seventy percent pinot noir and thirty percent chardonnay, with fifteen percent of the pinot being red still wine from Bouzy fruit. All of the...

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...

Wine Spectator, 94 points: There's pure crushed fruit on the nose, with raspberry, dark chocolate and berry. Full-bodied, with supervelvety tannins and a long, long finish. Has wonderful balance and richness. The best young red ever from this...

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

Wine Enthusiast, 93 points: Barrel sample. A big firm and hard wine with solid fruits layers of dry tannin and great power. There's an intensity to this wine with acidity adding to the complexity and structure. - R.V.

TheWineCellarInsider.com, 92 points: Licorice, cocoa, black raspberry, espresso bean and earthy notes open to a round, supple, wine that is already fun to drink. However, it will probably be better after another year or two of bottle age where it should give...

Wine Spectator, 96 points: There's fabulous fruit on the nose which is very pure with crushed blackberry and blueberry. Full-bodied with superrefined tannins and a long caressing finish. A very classy wine. This is so long and beautiful. Lasts for...