Medoc/Graves - 2005

Outstanding year when perfect conditions produced wines with richness, depth and freshness. Best should last extremely well.

2005 was a brilliant and exciting vintage for Bordeaux. The secret of its success is that all the elements which make good wine are present in abundance and, crucially, also in balance. The fruit was completely ripe, healthy and high in natural sugar. This natural sweetness was balanced by vibrant fruit which gives the wines lovely perfume, freshness and lift. Then, because it was one of the driest growing seasons ever, grapes were small with a high ratio of skin to pulp. This imbues the grapes with a bright vivid colour and ripe tannins that will help preserve the wines well over a long period and allow them the slow evolution which shows Claret at its best. This combination of events reminded some older members of the trade of the fabled 1961 vintage.

2005 was a year of drought, about half the average amount of rain fell during the growing period with a particularly dry August. Very good for vines. Bad for parasites. Though the summer was hot, heat was never excessive and nights, unlike in 2003, were cool, so the maturation period was long and the fruit kept its freshness. When the vines were gasping for water, a little rain fell, but not too much. Harvesting took place in excellent conditions, with the merlot, which was threatening over-ripeness by mid September, picked well before the cabernet which achieved ripeness perfectly but more slowly. Christian Moueix said that in his 35 vintages, 2005 and 1982 were the two easiest years to manage because everything went smoothly all year. The only tough decision was when to pick. A few owners in their search for super- ripeness may have left this too late.

2005 is a democratic vintage in that growers in all appellations were able to make lovely wine. Margaux wines were hugely successful, though yields here and in the southern Haut-Médoc are well down, because of their shallow soils when water was short. Pauillac and St Julien are often great. Graves and Pessac-Léognan are well balanced.