Lately I've been obsessed with buying 2005 Bordeaux. I went to Bevmo! after a particularly successful afternoon of recruiting corporate partners for American Cancer Society and perused their reds finding 4 kinds of 2005 Bordeaux that were under $20 a bottle!
Josh and I had spent most of the day focused on a house we were going to put an offer in on. By the time the evening rolled around we found out that someone had bit over our offer and the ask price and were going to put 60% down. That beats our 20% and we were bummed.
Despite the somber occasion, we decided we would bring out the cheapest of the newly purchased Bourdeaux.
2005 Chateau de la Meuliere Premieres Cotes de Bourdeaux.
Here are the tasting notes:
Color: Deep purple, nice legs, consistent coloring.
Nose: Chocolatey, cherries, cinnamon spice, metered alcohol, pepper.
Taste: Charcoal, dirt, subtle finish, dry, very drinkable, low alcohol flavor, coffee.
Paired:
I usually have a plethora of cheese in my fridge so I thought I'd try each kind out paired with the bottle.
Irish blarney: Creamy, oily, almost waxy. Not a good combination.
Goat cheese: Creamy, tangy, starchy. Citrusy. Very delicious combination.
Port Salut: Creamy, heightens the acidity of the wine; that's new. Very good balance of creaminess and acidity. Mellows an already mellow finish.
Irish Shannon: Fruity, oily, salty, delicious with the bourdeux. Makes the Bordeaux more floral and the cheese creamier.
Sage Cheese: Sage almost onioney and garlicky, sharp finish. Aromatic, but the wine kills the flavor of the cheese. Heightens the acidity of the wine. Not a good combination.
Buttermilk Blue: Makes the wine smell sweeter. Tangy, sharp, creamy, pungent. Mellow and creamier than other blues. Makes wine smell like caramel.
Overall, the bottle began easy to drink, over time it became less pleasant. The Bordeaux lacked complexity and character. We will be keeping the second bottle we bought for another 5-14 years in hopes that it will age well. It seems that the maturity range for this particular vintage is 2012-2035
