Bordeaux 2005 at Ten Years: St Julien
To my palate, St Julien epitomises the ideal of left bank claret. The appellation might not be blessed with a trio of first growths like those that can be found a short distance to the north (although there are certainly one or two, maybe three or four pretenders), but the style is classically defined by its structure, the tannins melting away with time to leave wines with a savoury, cerebral style that is unparalleled on the left bank (a couple of Haut-Médoc properties do come rather close though). In a vintage such as 2005 this savoury texture comes wrapped up in a sweetness of fruit that is also unparalleled, in recent vintages at least. The 2009 has something of the fruit, but not the certainty of the structure, and 2010 has the structure, but not the generosity on the palate. This really is a very special vintage.
With no wine from Château Ducru-Beaucaillou in the line up this really left the three Léoville châteaux in the ring to slug it out for top spot on the day. Unfortunately my ability as referee proved inadequate; this was a very close contest, and too close for me to call. All three wines were of a superlative quality, and rather like the Pauillac first growths anyone with these tucked away should take a self-congratulatory moment (make it brief please!) to feel smug about that fact. None, however, really deserved elevation alongside the very top firsts, but neither did any one deserve a score demotion just for the purposes of separating out the three. They are what they are; a trio of very exciting wines, brimming with potential. The 2005 Château Léoville-Poyferré has all the tannin, while 2005 Château Léoville-Las-Cases has all the exotic black cherry fruit, while 2005 Château Léoville-Barton impresses with its very typical purity and elegance. Leave all these well alone in the cellar for a very long time if you have any.
