2005 Bordeaux Vintage

2005 was exceptionally dry for Bordeaux from winter through autumn, with a hot, sunny late spring and summer but no heatwave. Winter was dry and rather cold, with rainfall 30 to 50% below normal depending on the zone. Cold February weather held bud break back to a normal date in early April. April was wet except in the Medoc, and May was dry and very sunny. Flowering began in the last week of May and was quick and even, with mid-flowering on 30 May, only 3 days ahead of the ten-year average. Water stress set in from early June and stopped vine growth a few days before veraison on most terroirs. July and August rainfall was only 45% and 30% of normal, and August was the peak of the drought, with some defoliation and temporary ripening stalls on gravel soils, especially in young vines. The heat was far more moderate than in 2003: July and August were windy, with hot days and cool nights, and August had only two days at 35 degrees C, against six reaching 40 degrees C in 2003. Hail struck parts of Entre-Deux-Mers and a few vineyards on 27 July, and the dry weather kept grey rot off the damaged berries. The stretch from budding to harvest was the driest since 1949. Mid-veraison came around 2 August for Merlot and 5 August for Cabernet Sauvignon, 9 days ahead of the ten-year average. 30mm of rain fell in the first ten days of September, then dry, sunny weather from September to mid-October kept grey rot at bay and let growers pick without haste. In Pessac-Leognan the first Sauvignon Blanc came in from 25 August on the earliest plots, while Merlot across the region was picked from mid-September to mid-October and Cabernet from late September to late October. After the exceptionally abundant 2004, yields were much more moderate, since the berries were very small, especially Cabernet Sauvignon on gravel soils.

Picking dates within the same appellation had never varied so much, with more than two weeks between the earliest and latest picks of one variety in a given zone, depending on the estate and its style. In Pessac-Leognan the Sauvignon Blanc came in mainly in the first week of September, and dry white picking ended around 20 September. On the right bank, Christian Moueix started picking on 7 September and spread his harvest to 27 September, and the Guinaudeaus at Chateau Lafleur followed on 9 September. In the Medoc, Chateau Latour picked its Merlot between 16 and 21 September, almost a week earlier than most of its peers, and then picked Cabernet Sauvignon from 26 September. It was more common in the Medoc to keep Merlot on the vine until around 22 September, and some of those Merlots got too ripe and went into second wines.

• Pessac-Leognan Sauvignon Blanc: mainly the first week of September; dry white picking ended around 20 September
• Right bank: Christian Moueix began on 7 September and spread the harvest to 27 September; Chateau Lafleur began on 9 September
• Chateau Latour: Merlot picked 16 to 21 September, Cabernet Sauvignon from 26 September
• Medoc: Merlot more commonly left until around 22 September, and some got too ripe for the grand vin

Decanter's vintage guide called 2005 definitely a Pauillac year, found Margaux producing splendid wines for the most part, and quoted Bruno Borie of Ducru-Beaucaillou on Saint-Julien: "There are very few holes here." In Saint-Estephe, clay soils held more water than further south in the Medoc, giving the vines respite from the drought. James Lawther MW called it "Undeniably a very good year for Pomerol," where the vintage reminded Christian Moueix of 1982. The red Graves were rich in alcohol, with Haut-Brion at 14 degrees. In Saint-Emilion, small berries with deep skins gave very high tannin, often the highest ever, and the only real difficulty was extracting noble tannins from the skins rather than heavy ones from the pips, "and quite a lot failed," Decanter's guide noted.

• Pauillac: "The 2005 vintage is definitely a Pauillac year."
• Saint-Estephe: clay soils held more water, giving freshness as well as depth
• Pomerol: "Undeniably a very good year," with abundant fruit, impressive tannin and good acidity
• Saint-Emilion: very high tannin, often the highest ever, with acidity higher than in 2003

100-berry weights were 124g for Merlot and 112g for Cabernet Sauvignon, against 173g and 147g in 2000, with sugar close to 2000 levels. Malic acid was very low, sometimes under 1 g/l in Merlot, and must acidity was sometimes low, so acidification was exceptionally authorised for all Gironde AOCs. Wide swings between day and night temperatures favored color, and the reds came out very colored, with bright fruit, much fresher than 2003, and powerful tannin without astringency. The very sugary grapes made some fermentations hard to finish, and some malolactic fermentations were slow to start. Jancis Robinson, tasting over 700 samples in spring 2006, found the flavors delightfully refreshing and precise, and wrote that the wines "have power but they also have refreshment value."

• Berries: 100-berry weights of 124g for Merlot and 112g for Cabernet Sauvignon
• Acidity: malic acid sometimes under 1 g/l in Merlot; acidification exceptionally authorised across the Gironde
• Reds: very colored, bright fruit, much fresher than 2003, with powerful tannin and no astringency
• Cellar: very high sugars made some fermentations hard to finish

Succeeding with dry whites, reds and great sweet wines in the same year is fairly rare in Bordeaux, the ISVV noted, and 2005 did it. Sauvignon Blanc gave small yields, well below average. Semillon was far less limited by the weather than other varieties, giving Sauternes and Barsac, for once, an abundant crop. Botrytis set in at the start of September, and about 30mm of rain fell between 8 and 12 September, followed by morning fogs and afternoon sunshine. Noble rot then spread massively, and the second and third tries formed the core of the harvest. The ISVV found the dry whites very concentrated and powerful, with citrus and tropical fruit, and the Sauternes and Barsac wines very pure and very rich.

• Dry whites: very concentrated and powerful, with citrus and tropical fruit
• Sauvignon Blanc yields well below average; Semillon far less limited
• Sauternes: botrytis set in at the start of September, and the second and third tries formed the core of the crop
• Sauternes: Peppercorn placed 2005 closer to 2001 than to 2003 in power and elegance

June to October 2005 ranked as the fifth hottest in 110 years, after 2003, 1949, 1921 and 1899, yet leaf loss and ripening stalls were far rarer than in the sudden water stress of 2003. Jancis Robinson found more very good to great wines than she could remember in any other vintage. Jacques Thienpont of Le Pin called it "the deckchair vintage," and Frederic Engerer of Chateau Latour said, "I think now we should retire; we can't do anything better than this."

• June to October 2005 was the fifth hottest in 110 years, behind 2003
• Leaf loss and ripening stalls far rarer than in 2003
• Jacques Thienpont of Le Pin: "the deckchair vintage"
• Jean-Luc Thunevin: "in Bordeaux we say, 'this year it's true'"