Beychevelle St-Julien 2005

95 points Jeb Dunnuck: "I love the 2005 Château Beychevelle, a beautifully complex, nuanced, medium-bodied Saint- Julien that has pure crème de cassis and darker fruits as well as smoked tobacco, truffly earth, and graphite nuances. It’s not a blockbuster yet exudes elegance and class, with fine tannins, a layered mouthfeel, and a great finish. It should evolve nicely over the coming 15+ years. Drink: 2024-2040. (4/6/24)"

94+ points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "Like many of the top 2005s today, this wine has really closed down, but its quality is still very evident on both the nose and palate. The wine offers up a very black fruity young aromatic mélange of cassis, dark berries, a nice touch of Beychevelle meatiness, a great base of gravelly soil tones and just a touch of its new wood still in evidence. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nascently complex, with a great core of black fruit, striking soil signature, very tangy acids, ripe, substantial tannins and outstanding length and grip on the beautifully focused finish. This will be a serious long distance runner, but eventually, the 2005 should take its place as one of the greatest vintages ever produced at the estate. (Drink between 2025-2100. (May/Jun 2011)"

94 points Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux): "(47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc). Still vibrant and young at 19 years old, full of charm, silky textured tannins that are well integrated but still very much cradling the fruit, with waves of cigar box, crushed rocks, earth, saffron and tobacco. Great moment to drink, 60% new oak for ageing. Alcohol 13%. Drink: 2024-2044. (5/28/24)"

94 points Chris Kissack (The Wine Independent): "This attempts to seduce with its aromatics, and being honest, it succeeds. It opens with a full-blown assault of black fruits, liquorice and smoke, seemingly offering up sweet, smoky and savoury suggestions all at the same time. It certainly makes a good first impression. The palate is dry and firm, largely thanks to a firm tannic grip which still makes its presence known on the palate, supporting layers of tobacco-washed black fruits and black tea leaf, with the same sweet and smoky-savoury paradox as seen on the nose. It finishes firm, with good grip, and while the aromatics are evolving nicely, the structure says to me there are many years of potential in this yet. Hold for now to see this at its best. Alcohol 13%. Drink: 2022-2037. (5/28/25)"

93 points Robert Parker: "The Grand Vin, the 2005 Beychevelle is a gorgeous wine, with plenty of crème de cassis, floral notes, underbrush and forest floor. It is sweet and medium to full-bodied, with ripe tannin and beautiful texture and purity. Drink it over the next 20 years. (Jun 2015)"

93 points Neal Martin (Vinous): "The 2005 Beychevelle is improving in bottle. Quite intense on the nose, it offers slightly darker fruit than previous bottles, with cedar and a touch of espresso, though there is still a little rusticity. The palate is medium-bodied with quite a rich, slightly muscular entry, a smear of dark chocolate and a structured, grippy finish. It needs time, but this is beginning to coalesce nicely and should drink well for longer than I previously envisaged. Drink: 2025-2045. (Jan 2025)"

93 points Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider): "Medium-bodied, crisp, and crunchy with accents of tobacco leaf, cedar, cigar box, and flowers, the wine is fresh, as well as firm on the currant-filled palate. Drink from 2022-2037. (Sep 2022)"

93 points Wine Enthusiast: "Very much in an elegant style, this wine shows soft, almost velvet tannins supporting the ripe fruit. It has richness, a round character masking the dense texture, and setting off the clean red berry fruits and fresh acidity. (Jun 2008)"

92 points Charles Curtis, MW (Decanter): "The 2005 vintage produced a seductive effort from Beychevelle, with lush plum and mulberry fruit accented with pepper and anise on the nose. The dense, silky texture hints at the relatively large proportion of Merlot in the blend (46%), which was picked beginning 21 September. The supple, velvety feel on the palate continues straight through the luxuriant finish. Drinking Window: 2021-2040. (6/26/21)"

92 points Wine & Spirits: "We hit Beychevelle at a fragrant, gentle moment in its evolution. With a few hours of air, the wine was a lithe beauty, its cool red fruit giving a soft, sculpted feel. My notes are all about elegance, finesse and restraint-similar to the harmony this showed en primeur. With another day of air, the power of the tannins shows more directly, tarry and strong enough to sustain this wine for a decade or more. (Oct 2008)"