| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
A Bordeaux that seems to have a Burgundian personality, L’Arrosée’s 2005 displays elegance and finesse, with sweet black cherry and blackcurrant fruit, hints of minerality and earth, but soft tannin, a lush, medium-bodied style, and impressive concentration, purity and overall texture. By no means a blockbuster (in a vintage that produced almost endless numbers of them), this wine can be drunk now or cellared for another 15-20 years. Drink 2015-2035.
Dark crimson. Well integrated ripe fruit. Sweet start and the acid and tannin are in balance - nice velvety texture and a good drink with a future
Medium red. Sexy aromas of redcurrant, graphite and smoky, nutty oak. Supple, lush and soft but with harmonious acidity giving shape to the currant and smoke flavors. One senses some thoroughly ripe cabernet here. Finishes with sweet tannins, lingering red fruits and good cut. The best vintage in a long time for this chateau.
Wonderful refinement of texture, stunning balance of fresh fruit, pure, vibrant and great depth. Great style. Drink from 2015.
This estate’s new proprietor has hit a home run, producing l’Arrosee’s finest wine since the early eighties, when a bevy of top clarets (1982, 1985, 1986) were produced. Somewhat reminiscent of a Burgundy, the deep ruby/purple-tinged 2005 offers up sweet raspberry and forest floor characteristics along with a hint of toasty oak. It hits the palate with beautiful finesse, elegance, and sweetness. Medium to full-bodied with loads of black currant and raspberry fruit, substantial but sweet tannin, zesty acidity, and a long finish, this beauty is filled with purity, symmetry, and balance. It should hit its plateau of maturity in 7-8 years, and last for three decades
Thanks to this estate’s new proprietor, 2005 is the finest vintage for l’Arrosee since 1982. A mineral-dominated effort, it reveals a Burgundian-like nose of black raspberries, forest floor, flowers, and even blacker fruits. As the wine sits in the glass, a notion of spring lilacs also emerges. This full-bodied, dense, rich St.-Emilion possesses an ethereal lightness/elegance that can not be dismissed. The tannins are substantial, but sweet and soft, suggesting this wine will be approachable in its youth yet age easily for 25 or more years. It is worth noting that the inestimable Michel Bettane, France’s most competent wine writer/critic, named the 2005 l’Arrosee the “wine of the year” on his website ... no small distinction.
The finest l’Arrosee since 1990 and 1982, this estate’s new owner is clearly on the right path to restoring this impeccable terroir to its former glory. Top-flight oenologist Gilles Pouquet is overseeing the vinification, and the result is a wine that combines the best of Burgundy and Bordeaux. Elegant, fragrant, complex aromas of sweet cherries, spice box, loamy soil, earth, and flowers soar from the glass of this deep ruby/purple-tinged St.-Emilion. There is not a hard edge to be found in this quintessentially elegant yet densely concentrated, savory wine. With sweet tannin, a layered texture, and wonderful freshness as well as vivacity, it should be at its peak between 2010-2025.
Very dark crimson. Sweet, spicy, neat. Really quite sophisticated and lively. A delicate St-Émilion and therefore unusual but a pretty wine, though there's a bit of sweet oak in evidence. Drink 2015-25
