2005 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...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: This beautiful wine from Fleur Cardinale performed great in its youth, both from barrel as well as post-bottling. A gorgeous blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon made by the Decoster family...

Wine Spectator, 91 points: Has an impressive nose with wonderful aromas of currant toasty oak and flowers. Full-bodied with velvety tannins and a long caressing finish. There's lots of new wood in the aftertaste but also juicy fruit. The second...

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.

jamessuckling.com, 97 points: This appears to be the synthesis of the fabulous 2001 and 2003. It shows wonderful aromas of botrytis spice, honey and citrus rind. Lots of fruit with a tropical fruit undertone of mango and papaya on the palate. Intense...

Antonio Galloni's Vinous, 92 points: Inky ruby. Powerful raspberry and blackberry aromas are complicated by Asian spices and fresh flowers, with a suave overlay of sexy oak. Creamy dark fruit flavors display a brooding quality; this took on blueberry and...

Wineanorak, 94 points: Ripe, aromatic dark fruits nose. The palate is dense with lovely sweetness to the fruit. Very approachable, but structured with it. Nice.

Wine Spectator, 93 points: Dark in color with an impressive nose of licorice toasty oak chocolate and blackberry. Full-bodied with silky tannins and a long caressing finish. Very pretty and structured. Best after 2012. 25000 cases made. –JS

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...

Wine Spectator, 92 points: Very beautiful aromas of crushed flowers--like roses--follow through to plum berry and Indian spices. Full-bodied refined and silky with lovely ripe fruit and a delicate aftertaste of raisin and flowers. The second wine...

Wine Enthusiast, 93 points: This deep amber 6 Puttonyos Tokaji Aszu has delightful aromas of grapefruit pith, canned peaches, freesia, honeycomb and apricots. It is elegant and balanced with just the right amount of acidity. It has luscious flavors...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 points: In this vintage, this estate (one of the leading properties in Fronsac) produced an opaque/purple blend of 75% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon from vines averaging 25 years of age. Offering beautiful...

Wine Spectator, 95 points: This delivers mouthfilling mocha, blackberry confiture, fig paste and licorice flavors, along with loamy tannins and lots of bittersweet cocoa and coffee on the finish. Despite its heft, it is polished and driven, showing...

Wine Spectator, 96 points: Shows the great embedded structure of the vintage, with a strong graphite undertow pushing the layers of blackberry, boysenberry and plum fruit, while additional sweet spice, mocha and bittersweet cocoa notes fill in the...