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Lot # <strong>Wine</strong> Year M D Comment<br />
Cellar Offering 181<br />
the “Stellar” vintage of Bordeaux, 2005 By Kenneth Christie, M.W.<br />
A large number of the wines in this offering came from the wonderful vintage of 2005. As I have a home in southern Europe, I was able<br />
to visit Bordeaux on many occasions throughout the whole of the early growing season, the flowering, the development of the fruit and the<br />
period of the eventual harvest. Day after day, and week after week, the weather was close to perfect for the vines and grapes. Sometimes<br />
temperatures reached high levels that tended to over-ripen and partially dehydrate the fruit. This was balanced by some welcome showers in<br />
September that allowed the fruit to recover and for all of its components – sugar, acidity, solids and tannins – to reach perfect maturity at the<br />
same moment.<br />
One morning in late September, I stood overlooking the grape crusher at Château Léoville Barton in Saint Julien, Médoc. The team members<br />
designated to take out any rotten or imperfectly ripened bunches stood idly by, as practically all of the fruit was perfect and needed none of<br />
their attention.<br />
Four and a half years after that warm early Autumnal moment when the wines were born, (they have now been in bottle for more than two<br />
years) their components have settled down and joined in harmony and they have emerged from the post bottling period of “bottle sickness”,<br />
a time when aroma and flavour retreats and the wines appear dumb. Now we can see how good they are.<br />
First, they are not truly typical of Bordeaux from an average vintage. The tangible, testable extracted fruit characters are higher than normal<br />
and they have plenty of ripe berry notes that seem closer to Sonoma than Saint-Émilion. Tannins are ripe, the balance is assured, and these<br />
are wines that quite clearly come from a very “senior” vintage.<br />
As is normal with such wines, from the most expensive to the more modestly priced, they are very easy to enjoy as their fruit is so accessible.<br />
They are also wines with plenty of weight and concentration that will allow them to be put away, lying on their sides, if possible within their<br />
original cases or cartons as the packaging provides good insulation against rapid temperature changes. They can then be stored until you<br />
decide they are perfect for you. That is, of course, the moment when you will decide that you should have purchased more of this delicious vintage.<br />
4483 Château Saint-Christoly, Cru Bourgeois, 2005 7 7 Drink through to 2015.<br />
AC Médoc<br />
4484 Château Haut Bergeron, AC Sauternes 2005 6 8 Great pleasure, will last forever.<br />
4485 Château Les Dames de la Renardière, 2006 8 9 Good wine, well made.<br />
AC Entre-Deux-Mers<br />
4486 Château les Bois Noirs, AC Bordeaux 2007 8 9 Progressing towards softness. Not very intense.<br />
4487 Château Les Dames de la Renardière 2005 7 7 Leave awhile for it to develop and broaden its flavours.<br />
4488 Château le Pré de la Lande, Cuvée Diane 2005 7 7 Very nice, small wine. Perfectly harmonious.<br />
4489 Château Lavergne, AC Côtes de Castillon 2005 8 8<br />
4490 Château Le Breuil, AC Côtes de Bourg 2005 7 7 Good wine. Well balanced.<br />
4491 Château Viramon, 2006 6 7 Showing well and will continue for a good number of years.<br />
Saint-Émilion Grand Cru<br />
4492 Château Ferrand, AC Pomerol 2006 6 7 Will last well into the late teens of this decade.<br />
4493 Château du Vallier, AC Premières Côtes 2005 8 8 Very fine wine. Good extract. Balanced and harmonious.<br />
de Bordeaux, Founders’ Choice<br />
4494 Château Pique-Sègue Blanc, 2007 9 10 Ready now.<br />
AC Montravel<br />
4495 Château Pique-Sègue Blanc 2007 7 7<br />
4496 Château Pique-Sègue Rosé, AC Bergerac 2007 10 10 Drink very soon.<br />
4497 Château Pique-Sègue Rouge, 2006 7 8 Very good. One of the best wines from one of Bergerac’s<br />
AC Bergerac finest properties.<br />
4498 Château Dauzan la Vergne, 2005 6 7 Much better than it appears at earlier tastings. Drink between<br />
AC Côtes de Bergerac 2012 and 2016.<br />
4499 Terre de Pique-Sègue, « Anima Vitis », 2004 7 8 Now very fine and ready.<br />
AC Montravel<br />
4500 Château Dauzan la Vergne 1996 10 10<br />
(2 bottles each vintage) 1999 9 10 Mixed case. All three vintages are mature.<br />
2000 8 9<br />
4501 Château Richemont Blanc, AC Bordeaux 2006 8 8 Drink through <strong>2010</strong> and 2011.<br />
4502 Château de Sours Blanc, AC Bordeaux 2006 8 8<br />
<strong>Wine</strong> <strong>Review</strong> <strong>2010</strong>