Straight from the nose this makes you smile. It feels effortless and balanced, not breaking a sweat. The tannins are imperceptible but doing their job, and this is a great example of what you want a Margaux wine to do - it has incredible aromatics, tons of persistency, just keeps on going without losing power but also without trying too hard to impress. A smoky edge to the finish, this is intense with tons of cassis and blackberry, just a great wine with plenty of future ahead. A yield of 42hl/ha.

Good depth of ruby red colour, and every time I drink this wine it blows me away with how good it is. Extremely controlled, savoury, soy, tobacco, saline crackers, smoked earth, blackberry and loganberry fruit, so much texure, and a tickle of eucaplyptus on the finish. Classy and balanced, with juicy signoff that stretches out through the palate. Bloody great wine, one to celebrate. Has tertiary aromas coming in, but you welcome them for the added complexity that they bring. 42hl/h yield.

The more serious grand vin twin, the 2005 d’Issan, has a stunning nose of spring flowers, blackcurrant and blue/black fruits galore, and an impressively opaque dark plum/purple color. With a rich, concentrated and pure mouthfeel, wonderfully sweet tannin, full-bodied density and richness, but elegance in abundance, this is a stunner, and one of the great Margaux of the vintage. Drink it now and over the next 20 years. - Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Lots of sweet tea leaf with mineral and currant character. Stone undertones, too. Full body, firm tannins and a tight finish. One of the best ever from here with beautifully polished tannins. This needs at least three hours of decanting now. A wine for the future. Better in 2019.

Starting to show secondary notes of tobacco, thyme, plum, cedar and earth on the nose. This has really filled out and improved over the past decade. There is a beautiful purity to the fruit, silky, soft tannins and a fresh, fruit filled finish that tastes as good as it feels. The wine was made from a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2005&wine=Chateau%20d%27Issan

The 2005 vintage at d’Issan is very strong indeed and this is likely to be viewed as one of the classic, great years at this property in the decades to come. Like the 2009 vintage, the blend here in ’05 was sixty percent cabernet sauvignon and forty percent merlot, and the wine offers up a deep and very promising bouquet of cassis, dark berries, espresso, cigar smoke, tobacco leaf, a vibrant base of gravelly, dark soil tones and a bit of spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and also quite reserved at the present time, with a rock solid core, ripe tannins, outstanding, tangy acids and great focus and grip on the very long, youthful and outstanding finish. Because of the higher acidity of the 2005 vintage, this will need a bit longer in the cellar to blossom that vintages like 2006, 2008 and 2009, but it will also be longer-lived and truly exceptional at its apogee. Fine juice. 2025-2075+. 93+