Today, 2005 Le Bon Pasteur. Clearly young and has gone thru shock of being transported from CH to Norfolk, where i'm staying at andy and susan's lake house while trying to finish a draft of my scandal book. the bottle was in 70 degrees+ in kitchen here for over a day, then I refrigerated it, so it's far from perfect timing. plus it's barely 3 months since i received it from Leon's in miami. As I recall the price was very good, $60--it's now $90 at Apex Beverage and that's one of the best prices on winesearch pro.
Nose is restrained (glass i'm using isn't top notch). color is deep purple like grape juice. initial taste is black cherry, some spice, and blackberry. on the finish there's chocolate or cocoa. midpalate has substantial acid and smooth tannins. there's certainly plenty of tannin. mouth feel generally silky. there's some other unusual component of taste, esp finish, beyond the chocolate, licorice perhaps. not sure what spice is there but it's strong esp on nose. the finish is very long. I would say given the tannin and acid with ripe fruit this will be drinking nicely 2012-2020.
Now here's what Parker says (read after I wrote the above). 94 points. Pretty good, RME:
A superb effort from proprietors Dany and Michel Rolland, the 2005 Bon Pasteur is the antithesis of the kind of wine Rolland’s critics claim he makes (which they ignorantly suggest are over-oaked, over-extracted, and over-the-top). Nothing could be further from the truth. Rolland, a brilliant oenologist, has done more than any other person alive today for the quality of Bordeaux. His 2005 Bon Pasteur is an elegant, subtle, deep ruby/purple-colored wine offering hints of graphite, sweet mocha, black cherries, and berries that build incrementally in the mouth, ending in a cascade of full-bodied, concentrated fruit with good acidity, beautiful tannin, and stunning precision as well as length. The tannin structure suggests 3-5 years of cellaring is warranted, but based on past examples (even the opulent 1982, which is still going strong), the 2005 should age for 25-30 years.
RME: On second night, after using air pump vacuvin and refrigerating overnight, so it's june 22, 24 hours after first opening:
Nose is restrained (glass i'm using isn't top notch). color is deep purple like grape juice. initial taste is black cherry, some spice, and blackberry. on the finish there's chocolate or cocoa. midpalate has substantial acid and smooth tannins. there's certainly plenty of tannin. mouth feel generally silky. there's some other unusual component of taste, esp finish, beyond the chocolate, licorice perhaps. not sure what spice is there but it's strong esp on nose. the finish is very long. I would say given the tannin and acid with ripe fruit this will be drinking nicely 2012-2020.
Now here's what Parker says (read after I wrote the above). 94 points. Pretty good, RME:
A superb effort from proprietors Dany and Michel Rolland, the 2005 Bon Pasteur is the antithesis of the kind of wine Rolland’s critics claim he makes (which they ignorantly suggest are over-oaked, over-extracted, and over-the-top). Nothing could be further from the truth. Rolland, a brilliant oenologist, has done more than any other person alive today for the quality of Bordeaux. His 2005 Bon Pasteur is an elegant, subtle, deep ruby/purple-colored wine offering hints of graphite, sweet mocha, black cherries, and berries that build incrementally in the mouth, ending in a cascade of full-bodied, concentrated fruit with good acidity, beautiful tannin, and stunning precision as well as length. The tannin structure suggests 3-5 years of cellaring is warranted, but based on past examples (even the opulent 1982, which is still going strong), the 2005 should age for 25-30 years.
RME: On second night, after using air pump vacuvin and refrigerating overnight, so it's june 22, 24 hours after first opening:
in about 15 min the wine really started giving off flowery perfume, a preview of what it'll be like in 5 years. it's sweet berry, cherry and dark chocolate. silkier than first night. I think what Parker calls precision is what I'd call symmetry or balance among the fruit, acid, and tannin components. it's the essence of merlot. it's why pomerol is magic.
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