Tasting Notes
Antonio Galloni 99
In two recent tastings the 2005 Chateau Margaux has been nothing less than magnificent. A wine of stunning perfume and inner sweetness, the 2005 gradually opens to reveal layers of red-toned fruit intermingled with floral accents. It’s as if all the classic Margaux signatures have been amped up in a huge way. Dehydration on the vine concentrated the fruit, but also the impression of tannin and acid, such that the 2005 retains huge fruit density along with plenty of brightness as well. Vibrant and beautifully layered, the 2005 Grand Vin is off the charts and easily one of the wines of the vintage. Readers who own it or can find it are in for a real treat. Tasted two times.
Anticipated maturity: 2021-2055
Neal Martin 98
The 2005 Chateau Margaux is a stupendous wine. It has a multi-faceted bouquet with a melange of black and red fruit, pressed flowers, cedar and graphite. A blue fruit hint emerges with time. It is still backward at the moment. The palate is intense for this First Growth with vivid flavors: blackberry, cedar, damson and a touch of cassis borrowed from up in Pauillac. It fans out remarkably on the mineral-driven finish, and despite its attractiveness, I reckon this is still a few years away from its drinking window. Patience is required. Tasted at the chateau.
Anticipated maturity: 2030-2070
Stephen Tanzer 98+
(bottled late, in November of 2007) Saturated red-ruby. Explosive aromas of plum, raspberry, bitter chocolate, coffee, almond paste and smoke; this smells voluptuous. Then extraordinarily opulent on the palate, with an almost marzipan-like ripeness. Coats every square millimeter of the mouth with a texture of liquid silk. The baby fat here is incredible, but there’s a structure of steel and powerful minerality underneath. One of the longest samples I tasted in Bordeaux this spring, and a wine with uncanny finishing sweetness. This fabulous vintage of Margaux should evolve positively in bottle for three or four decades in a cold cellar.
Wine Advocate 98
The first-growth 2005 Chateau Margaux (85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot), a lavish fragrance of blackcurrants, velvety new saddle leather, spring flowers and spice soars from the glass. The wood is already totally concealed beneath the cascade of fruit in this medium to full-bodied, pure and majestic wine. This concentrated, dense, but nevertheless strikingly elegant, multi-layered wine has a finish of 45+ seconds. It builds incrementally to a crescendo and finale. This is a stunner that can be approached already, but promises to be better in another 5-10 years and last at least 25 or more years.
Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050
JancisRobinson.com 19
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc. Following a cold winter, a hot sunny spring led to quick flowering in early June with hot and dry weather during July/August. This led to the development of small, concentrated grapes and a much lower yield than in the cool, damp 2004. Margaux was undoubtedly one of the stars of the tasting, displaying massive, monumental structure suggesting this will be a wine to cellar for several decades to come. Lovely purity and concentration on the palate with black fruit surrounding a core of graphite. Although there were delicate floral notes this seemed more Pauillac than Margaux with a cool character on the palate, fine acidity and polished tannins. A very long future ahead. I scored this very highly in 2009 (18.5/20) and felt it was a standout here. (AWH)
Anticipated maturity: 2023-2045
