Ah, the fabled 2005 Bordeaux vintage – one a smidge harder for me to track down, having only two years into this hobby, but whenever I see a 2000/2005/2009/2010 of a producer I recognize at my price point, I pounce immediately! At $36 from one of the brokers I work with frequently – instant buy. Chateau Haut-Bergey, unfortunately abandoned for a big part of the 19th-20th centuries, started to be rebuilt after WW2 – and armed with stronger ownership and technology (see snippet from my Bordeaux & its Wines book), is now making amazing wines organically and biodynamically. This particular vintage is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, aged around a year and a half in 50% new oak. Paired with a freshly grilled steak, stored at 55 – popped and poured to taste a bit, then decanted and drank over a period of 4 hours.
Visually, a deep garnet, already showing faint bricking at the rim.
On the nose, we started with plenty of blueberry & black cherry upon opening. The next note to emerge as the wine decanted was cigar tobacco & smoke, with just a hint of spice & grilled jalapeno. By hour one, stronger sweeter red fruit comes out, with these wonderful anise/licorice notes that reminded me of some GD Vajra Barolos I've had recently. By my last glass around hour 3-4, this spectacular chocolate-covered raspberry note emerged that hung around until the wine ran out. Goodness. To note, by the end the stronger black/blue fruit had completely disappeared.
On the palate, medium+ bodied with an unnoticeable 13% alcohol – and instantly striking was just how velvety fine, super tiny-grained the tannins were, a perfectly integrated component of the wine. Just what I was hoping for – balanced components. I would've wished for a little more acidity to cut through my steak and for a longer finish. Flavors of raspberry/cocoa/anise throughout. Given the slight bricking at the edges and the very fine tannins, this is still in a wonderful window, but I didn't pick up that favorite tertiary note of mine, the dirty forest floor/sous bois. Perhaps in another 5-10 years, so I'm definitely tracking another one down! I still have a 2008 bottling to get through, but this vintage seems readily available online for now at ~$50.
My familiarity with Pessac-Leognan is their whites (Carbonnieux and Latour Martillac in particular), but onto their reds for me! Plenty of wonderful producers in this appellation, and this was a fantastic first taste.
(Interesting note – at first Google search, there are multiple search results from stores/distributors about the blend used in this vintage – 65/35 blend of Cab Franc/Merlot or Cab Sauv/Merlot, and in my uncertainty, reached out to Haut-Bergey directly for confirmation – and it's 60/40 Cab Sauv/Merlot! See email screenshot.)
by JJxiv15
1 Comment
outstanding write-up. After a 7 yr stint of largely drinking French & Italian wines, I’ve recently moved away from drinking Bordeaux and more towards Napa. Chateau Haut-Bergey is a fav. Congrats on a great vintage and wine!