Let’s take a little trip to Saint Julien, on the Left Bank of Bordeaux, to see how the 2005 Chateau Gloria is holding up. Saint Julien is home to many a top notch Chateau, including names like Ducru Beaucaillou, Gruaud Larose, Leoville Barton, Leoville Poyferre and Leoville Las Cases. This is Cabernet Sauvignon country, and the wines tend to be big and tannic, especially in good years. With Margaux directly to the south and Pauillac to the north Saint Julien is really in the middle of the best of Bordeaux.
We have a few cases of assorted 2005 still waiting for the corkscrew, and the ones opened recently have shown the proclaimed greatness of the vintage. We don’t have the high profile, super expensive wines in our cellar, but we’ll say again that the lower classified Chateaux and many unclassified estates are the best values in a great Bordeaux vintage. Chateau Gloria is an unclassified estate, but one which is highly regarded. Here are the notes:
Wine: 2005 Chateau Gloria Winery Location: Saint Julien, Bordeaux
Tasted By: Neil & Cheri Date: November 2014
Tasting Notes: the wine is a dark ruby red color with huge legs running down the glass. The nose brings Cabernet fruit flavors of currant and blackberry, with some oak noticeable. On the palate the oak is a little more pronounced but not overdone at all. This is still quite tannic and needs more time to peak. We’ll wait at least another 2-3 years before opening another bottle. It has all the right stuff and is really an excellent bottle of Left Bank Bordeaux. There is a reward here for those who can wait a bit longer.
Price Point – still available, this will run you about $70 now. We paid around half that on futures years ago. It’s pretty stellar, and the market price is not totally out of whack.
Would We Buy It? – Since we still have some we won’t be buying more. It’s on the edge of good value with its current price though, and not something that is at its peak yet. If you do buy and open a bottle decant it for a half hour.
Another outstanding 2005 Bordeaux, which truly was a great vintage based on the 10-15 different wines we have opened. We wish we had bought more futures back then, as the prices continue to creep up.
A votre santé!
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