A majestic wine exuding refreshing cedar, cool blueberry and white flower aromas that lead seamlessly to a palate of impressive density, grip and length. Closing in on its 20-year mark, the wine has a palate that retains youthful, bright fruit, but shows subtle tertiary aspects of truffle and forest floor. Serve with a main gourmet course for a special occasion or just drink it whenever you can.

Deep garnet in color, the 2005 Rauzan-Ségla sings of plum preserves, redcurrant jelly, raspberry pie, kirsch and blackcurrant cordial with nuances of dried lavender, rose hip tea, hoisin and incense. The medium to full-bodied palate is densely packed with rich, expansive black fruits with loads of incense and exotic spice sparks, finishing long and layered. Still quite youthful, I anticipate a long life ahead for this perfumed beauty! The blend this year is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, harvested between September 28 and October 28 at an average yield of 39 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 70% new. The alcohol is 13.5%.

The 2005 Rauzan-Ségla has a perfumed and intense bouquet, although it is not as complex as the Château Margaux tasted a couple of hours earlier. Black cherries, iodine, crushed violet, hints of cumin and fennel emerge with time as the 2005 gains complexity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, quite ferrous in style, with a touch of menthol (like the ’05 Pavillon Rouge). I have encountered better bottles in the past, and I speculate whether this is stumbling along at 20 years of age. Nicolas Audebert remarked that, in his opinion, the '05 was picked too late. Tasted at the château.