Château Cantemerle 2005

A young, slightly tannic, somewhat austere but well-made, finesse style of Médoc, the 2005 Cantemerle displays a dark ruby/purple color followed by notes of forest floor, underbrush, cedar wood, and raspberry and blackcurrant fruit. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2030.

Shows blackberry and plum skin aromas, with hints of vanilla. Medium- to full-bodied, with soft, velvety tannins and a pretty, fruity aftertaste. An elegant, balanced style. Lingers on the palate. Best after 2012. 33,330 cases made.

87-89 Barrel sample. With its rather earthy, rustic aromas, this wine is old-fashioned, showing hard tannins and not much else at this stage. In time, if the fruit appears, this may be a nice wine.

Wow. This really shows wonderful depth and complexity on the nose with blueberries, fresh flowers and hints of stones. It’s full-bodied, with ultra-refined tannins and a long, long finish. Gets better and better with age: gorgeous now but will improve for many years to come. Excellent.

Full, intense nose with a slightly raw note. Fine tannins and lots of ‘em. Masses of acidity. Needs to soften. Not much fun at the moment but everything is in the right place. (JR)

With a delicate aroma of flowers, black raspberries, spice and earth, this medium bodied wine is pure elegance. Soft, refined and not for tasters that seek out ripe, powerful wines. This is my favorite vintage of Cantemerle since 1989. This is not a wine that needs a lot of cellaring time. Give it another 2-3 years and drink it up before it hits 20, to enjoy its delicate charms.

Dark, deep garnet with clearly violet highlights. Spicy bouquet, also slightly sweaty, with raisin notes, hints of geraniol and inky touches. On the palate, cherry tones in a sweetish extract, followed by cooler, slightly austere notes; muscular yet somehow unripe tannins and a lack of harmony. A disappointing Cantemerle, with the vintage’s potential far from realized.

Dark, deep garnet with pronounced violet highlights. Spicy bouquet, yet also slightly sweaty, with raisin notes, hints of geraniol, and inky touches. On the palate, cherry notes in a somewhat sweet extract; behind that, though, there’s also a certain coolness and unfortunately some hard, pithy tones, with muscular yet somehow not fully ripe tannins. The wine simply lacks harmony. A disappointing Cantemerle that has by no means made use of its vintage potential. 07: unfortunately hasn’t been able to improve on its en primeur quality. Open, slightly sweet, little drive. On the palate, easy and straightforward, and far behind the class it could have shown.

This 2005 is really coming into its own, with soft, welcoming rose bud, chalk, bilberry, cocoa bean and tobacco. The tannins remain well structured, and you can see the muscles that kept this pretty closed for the first decade. Ready to drink, but it will continue to soften further over the next few years before fully reaching its drinking window. Philippe Dambrine estate director (arrived 1993). Eric Boissenot's first vintage as consultant, replacing Georges Pauli. 50% new oak for ageing, light fining but no filtration before bottling. Suggest a good three hours in a carafe before drinking.

The estate returns to a level befitting its status. A fine classic Haut-Médoc.

Dark color, medium intensity and slightly evolved. Fruity nose with a hint of vegetal notes. The palate is surprisingly full-bodied for the vintage. Even though the finish feels rich, touches of greenness come through.