2005 - Monbousquet, Saint-Emilion

A beautiful effort from Monbousquet, this 2005 comes across to me as one of their strongest efforts, with notes of toasty oak, black cherry and blackcurrant fruit as well as some licorice, incense and flowers. Full-bodied and opulent, this is an amazing wine from a terroir on the so-called “wrong side” of St.-Emilion. Drink it over the next 15 or more years. It is an amazing performance.

The 2005 Monbousquet is a blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-brick in color, it offers an array of earthy/savory notes - charcuterie, truffles, new leather, bouquet garni, and cigar box, over a core of blackberry preserves and redcurrant jelly. Medium-bodied, rich, and spicy in the mouth, it has a solid backbone of plush tannins, delivering a pepper and spice lift on the finish. Drink it now and over the next 10-12 years+. Purchased in 1993 by Gerard Perse, Monbousquet was his first Bordeaux acquisition before going on to purchase Chateau Pavie in 1998. The soils are a mix of sand, gravel, and clay.

Full ruby-red. Captivating aromas of black raspberry, smoked meat, mocha and licorice. Wonderfully sweet, dense and fat but with excellent vinosity and inner-mouth perfume to the flavors of berries, mocha and licorice. A compellingly tactile vintage for Monbousquet, with the substantial but sweet tannins buffered by the wine's chewy mid-palate material. This was aged in 80% new oak, compared to 60% to 65% in 2006 and 2007. Really transcends its less-than-ideal terroir in Saint Sulpice de Faleyrens.