Bordeaux 2005 at Two Years: The Médoc Communes
The statement that I made in my vintage review, that it is difficult to go wrong when buying 2005 Bordeaux, holds true in the Médoc just as it does elsewhere. Nevertheless, there are one or two wines that are worthy of specific mention, some of which have missed their target of perfection, simply falling short. In contrast, however, some are quite stunning.
As usual the sample size from St Estèphe presented at the UGC tasting is too small to make any significant comment, although this shouldn’t prevent me from drawing your attention to the success of Phélan-Ségur when lined up against more illustrious peers. In Pauillac, we have truly delicious wines, in particular those from Pichon-Lalande, Pichon-Baron and Pontet-Canet are all excellent, with the first of this trio being my favourite Pauillac in this tasting. There are also, however, a few casualties of the vintage in this commune, wines that show a soft composition, being rich in tannin but with rather low acidity. The quality is still good even here, but they are not for the truly discerning buyer looking for best quality, or I suspect even best value.
