2005 Gruaud Larose

[Bacchus]

Popped and poured. This is really nice, but also obviously young. Initially I wondered where the nose was, but with a little air it arrived, and it's beautiful: black tea, smoke, black raspberry. Tannic, but nice ones. Nice acidity, but not tart. Good grip. Nicely focused. Good balance too. Red and black berries. Some of that tea on the palette too, it might even be Tazo. Oak's there, so is the cedar, but nothing overbearing. If you've been worrying that the 05s are too fat then this is the wine for you. It still needs time, but you won't hate drinking it (at least I don't). If I recall, I think the MAN gave this an 88 or 89. I think it's better. 92. And I think it will get even better, so 92+

[Claudius2]

Bacchus
I've got a case of this hidden in the cellar somewhere.
Surprised it is drinking well now - the few 05s I have tried are as tight as a drum.
The MAN did give it 89 but it is not normally a wine that shows charm when young.
The fat is a good thing in 05s as some are so tannic at the moment they would strip the enamel off your teeth.

[Bacchus]

I know what you mean about the tannin levels of the 05s, Claudius. A short time ago a friend decided he wanted to try the Lafon Rochet. Holy moly was it tough going. I lost more than just the enamel off my teeth! Undrinkable right now. The GL doesn't have that level of tannin, although I'm sure everyone would find it to be young and would probably still prefer to wait. We also tried the 05 d'Issan that evening and it too was approachable if not truly ready (it was a nice wine too, but worlds apart from the GL). If you've got a case of the GL kicking around, I'd love to hear what you've got to say about it. It's clear you've got a lot more experience with older bdx than I have and I'd like to hear where you think it is.

[Bacchus]

A day later and this continues to improve. It's bulked up a bit, and has something a little organic on the palette I didn't pick up yesterday. There's some vanilla and mocha in there, but thankfully not too much of either. Nice red berries -- rasp and cran! It's got an attractive silkiness that turns into a mild grip at the back end. Perhaps I should've decanted it yesterday. If, as Claudius states, this only improves in time, it should be a real beauty.

[Claudius2]

Bacchus
I've tried some GLs at 30+ years of age and they were in fine shape.
Expect this wine to last decades.

[Bacchus]

Thanks Claudius. In this entire province there remain 5 bottles of the '05 GL. I wanted to taste one before deciding whether to pick up the remaining 5.

[robertgoulet]

I have a mag tucked away, went for it even though the man wasn't so high on it, had a feeling. Great to hear it's coming along nicely. I'll wait another 10-15.