Bordeaux 2005 at Ten Years: St Emilion
St Emilion is the largest of all the major appellations in Bordeaux, and as a consequence it is impossible to be comprehensive in any one tasting. Even when we focus purely on the very top châteaux, those that boast premier grand cru classé and grand cru classé status, we still usually only end up looking at a small selection from the commune. Bearing this difficulty in mind, and the fact that this look at St Emilion was merely one aspect of an across-the-board tasting of 2005 Bordeaux, the small selection of wines on show was actually a pretty good overview of the appellation. We have here long-established premier grand cru classé level ‘A’ châteaux and those that have since been elevated to this position (in the 2012 reclassification, long after the vintage under the microscope here had passed). Then we have a selection of properties ranked at the grand cru classé and straight grand cru levels. We have wines from the plateau, from the côtes, from the gravel and from the sandy terroirs of the appellation. It was a very nicely put together selection of wines.
Looking at the very top châteaux first, for me Château Ausone (the ancient cellars pictured) completely walks away with the title in this fight. Alright, I have a softness for Cabernet Franc, which features heavily in this vineyard and wine, but this can also be said of Château Cheval Blanc of course, and although less widely publicised this is also very true of Château Angélus and Château Pavie. The 2005 Château Ausone possesses a wonderfully dark yet floral perfume, of violets and pencil lead rubbed together, followed up by a great structure on the palate, the overall effect being entirely captivating. The 2005 Château Cheval Blanc was also very striking though, with a fine, savoury character to the fruit, yet it remains very youthful and primary.
