The hype for Bordeaux 2005 had been building from the moment the grapes were safely in. I travelled to Bordeaux for the en primeur tastings in April 2006 with high expectations. The results were conclusive and extremely exciting. No need for a master detective when it comes to unravelling the story of 2005 … which is
truly a great vintage.
Mother Nature was seriously onside throughout 2005. Paul Pontallier at Château Margaux told me of “un embarrass de richesses”. Sustained generally dry weather ensured slow physical growth but steady ripening. Sunshine was abundant whilst temperatures were not extreme. Rain was at a premium and forced the vines to dig deep and concentrate on ripening what fruit they had rather than producing an excess. Just as all seemed too dry … the rain arrived …short, sharp and plentiful … and then it was back to ripening. This was a deck chair vintage and one in which the growers had very little to do in the vineyard.
The result in the barrel is a balance not seen for more than 20 years. Fruit is rich, tannins are strong BUT supple and acidity is high enough and supportive, ensuring that the flavours are fresh now and will be in the future. This is the rarity and the wow factor of 2005.
What makes Bordeaux 2005 all the more exciting is that the above conclusions applied to wines from every appellation and up and down the quality ladder. They were not, however, unanimous. Not everyone managed to resist the temptation to try to improve what nature delivered and the results of those who tinkered were distressingly over-extracted.
At the start of the 2005 en primeur campaign I warned that prices would be up and allocations down. I was correct but no where near accurate in predicting by how much! Château Troplong Mondot with 210% increase to £837 was top of the pile for price rises and 98 of the 200 odd châteaux I follow were sold out before July.
Are the prices representative of good value, is the question that I keep on hearing? Well, yes and no. Some are and some are not. Some of the highest prices are more justified than others. 2005 is without doubt a superlative vintage. It is very very good indeed. As such one would expect it to command high prices. If you enjoy drinking the best of Bordeaux, and you have to remember that we are talking about the top 10% of the top 2% of one of the world’s great wine producing areas, then in the great years that is going to cost. By no means have all chateaux at all levels doubled their prices. At the same time some of the percentage increases that have occurred take the prices for particular properties into realms that seem ridiculous given their previous standing.
The most important consideration for me is the quality of the wines produced. I go back to my initial report and to every other report I have read about Bordeaux 2005. Brilliant wines were made at every level and in every appellation. Yes there have been some staggering price rises BUT and it is a big BUT there are wines out there sub £300, sub £200 and sub £100 which are wonderful and which will represent serious quality drinking and enjoyment in years to come.
