Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend

Opened and poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service. The 2005 pours a deep ruby/purple color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart black and red fruits: black and red brambles, cassis, tobacco, green pepper, graphite, espresso, earth and soft baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and the texture is silky. For what it’s worth, there were a number of nice wines at the table and I kept coming back to this which, now that I think about it, also Léoville-Poyferré seems to always deliver more than expected. The 2005 is in the zone and I don’t expect it fall off anytime soon. Drink through 2045.

Ripest red cherry and red rose aromatic hybrid. Cherry and strawberry blossoms. Herbaceous basil and tarragon sweetness awash in warm plum and baked currants. Flowering elms with wet black bark. Finally, oak and smoke. Perfect integration on the palate. Ready now but also for the foreseeable. Sweet raspberry and blackberry flash and recede to an obverse tart cherry with incredible indelible, satisfying depth. Sweet tobacco is outlined by Saigon cinnamon, clove, allspice and a strangely sweet pepper dichotomy. Really a perfect wine in every way. Smoke and graphite find a way to bow into the shimmery finish with finesse.



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The 2005 Léoville-Poyferré is drop-dead gorgeous on the nose with pure red cherries, raspberry preserve, rose petal and potpourri scents, gaining intensity with every swirl. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, silky smooth with a delineated, classic tobacco and smoked tinged finish that lingers in the mouth. One of the highlights of the decade and with much more to give. Superb. Tasted at the Léoville-Poyferré vertical at the château with Sara Lecompte Cuvelier. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)

Smoky espresso and chocolate, oregano, black pepper and mint, graphite glittered wave of grill and cast iron, bacon residue, cassis nose. Palate of black pepper and kalamata olives, eucalyptus and bittering currant reduction.

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Says a lot about the night when this is mid-bottom of pack. Young, hauntingly fresh. Cassis and toasted brioche. Feminine. Should improve.

Classic wine, classic vintage. Ripe black fruit- blackberry and prune integrated with structure and a touch of spice. Polished, powerful and balanced.

Perhaps going through a bit of a tight phase, yet this wine was incredibly attractive with dark fruits and tobacco in spades. What a treat to try this wine from 2005, my all time favorite Bordeaux vintage.

Ch. Leoville-Poyferre Dinner; 16 May 2017 at Chez Nous Bistro, Lee, MA

Perfect example of a young, ready-to-enjoy-now, Second Growth Bordeaux, very supple and approachable.

Very soft and silky red fruit profile, w some tobacco notes. Not as powerful as I'd have expected, but quite long...

That photo was for you Julian