2005 Bordeaux revisited.

[greatbxfreak]

Rober Parker discovered Tertre Roteboeuf and Le Pin.

I think Bordeaux should thank him for all his efforts.

He didn't make the wine; the chateau owners did to get his applause.

You guys are too hard on him. I have an utter respect for him, and for me, there is no equal wine critic to him nowadays!

[marcs]

I’m sitting on some 2005 Conseillante, Figeac, Pichon Baron, and Montrose. The Conseillante was absolutely tremendous at about 10-12 years old but has since closed up a bit. I haven’t tried the Figeac yet. The Montrose is too young but enormously powerful and well structured and I think will turn out very well. The Pichon Baron is just emerging and is very good but has not yet developed complexity.

[jckba]

I’ve drank a bunch of 05 Bdx over the years and for the most part, I think they will need another 5 years or so to reach their peak prime time drinking form.

[DavidG]

2005 Angelus: I approached my first bottle of this with some trepidation after a few other 2005 St. Emilions disappointed due to heavy over-extraction and overripe fruit.

Immediately on opening the nose and palate hit me with raisiny sweetness, glossy ripe fruit, good acidity and tannins. I leave it alone in the glass for a couple of hours and the nose is much improved. Shy, backward, but at least not offputting. Very modern on the palate. I really don’t want this to be another boring overdone right bank 05, so I give it a continuance and stick it in the fridge for the next day.

Not expecting much today, the wine has really come around. Nose has dark fruits, cassis, cigar wrapper, a hint of moist earth. Medium-full body, with plenty of acid and tannin to balance the abundant fruit. No overripe or raisiny notes remain, no alcoholic heat. No complexity at this stage. That and the overnight improvement tell me this has potential to blossom. Excellent now with upside potential.

[marcs]

I wouldn’t call a wine excellent if you had to stick it in the fridge for a day to be palatable!

I wonder if some oxidation just took the edge off negative qualities…I don’t think oxidation and aging are the same thing

[greatbxfreak]

marcs,

I disagree with your assumption. Oxidation is a fault with wine. It's not the same as aeration.

In fact, in my experience, letting a wine stand for 1-3 hours after opening can actually improve its taste.

This is particularly true for bottles sent to me from Bordeaux during COVID-19. Additionally, the wine can continue to improve in taste over the following days. If the ambient temperature is around 20 degrees, there is no need to refrigerate the bottle.

[DavidG]

I’ve had plenty of bottles show better on day 2. The 2005 Angelus was poor on opening, fair a couple of hours later, and excellent the following day.

I don’t think that a young wine oxidizes that fast. Not much oxygen gets into it just sitting there in the bottle. Nor do I think that improvement on day 2 tells me whether the wine will age well.

I was happy that the wine did show well on day 2. But how can I use this information? It’s a dilemma. I could open a bottle a day ahead of time, but it still wasn’t showing any of the aged complexity I’m hoping for. I can wait and see what happens after another 5 years. That’s a gamble. If it falls apart I may have missed the opportunity to drink the remaining bottles when they were showing well.

[stefan]

>>
If it falls apart I may have missed the opportunity to drink the remaining bottles when they were showing well.
>>

In the olden days, when I was young, if a good Bordeaux tasted fresh you could be sure that it would last for another ten years at least. No more. For example, some 2003 Bordeaux fell apart within five years of the time that they drank well. perhaps modern winemaking techniques can hide flaws, but not for a long time?

[JimHow]

I came across this video interview of Jean-Michel Cazes, at the 8:00 minute mark he says: "The 1989 (Lynch Bages) for me was perfection, it was truly incredible."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn0567JzW5E&t=516s

To this day 1989 Lynch Bages benefits from 24 hours of air before drinking. It is easily a 100 year, perhaps even a 200 year wine.

[DavidG]

Thanks for posting that video. My favorite part of the interview: His response when asked to name the best one or two bottles he’d experienced, where he explained that a great bottle of wine only exists in the enjoyment of two or more people who are prepared for it and can understand it. Not one, but two or more. The true spirit of BWE!

[JimHow]

He seemed like a sweet man, I regret not ever having met him.
We did meet his daughter in Montreal last month, she was very nice.