2005 Château La Tour de Bessan Margaux

Ahh...it's been a stressful week, and today I am just in a foul mood, but it's 4 o'clock and time to relax with a glass of wine.  To treat myself today, I decided to take myself back to France, and enjoy "Printemps à Paris," imagining myself back in the warm breeze enjoying a glass of fine bordeaux at a sidewalk cafe overlooking the Eiffel Tower.  And to do that without dealing with the morons from the TSA, I have to just open a nice bottle of Margaux, this one from the exceptional 2005 vintage from Château La Tour de Bessan.  Arguably, Margaux is the king of bordeaux, and it is really the most elegant and complex wine of the Médoc (and when I was first introduced to fine red wines on my first visit to France, the Haut Médoc was a personal favorite). 

This wine certainly does not disappoint!  It's still quite young (6 years old is merely a babe when it comes to Margaux, and this one will age nicely for the next 20 years), and aleady it's very dry.  In the nose it has a wondeful hint of leather and earth with the faintest hint of cassis.  It has a lightness, yet a rich, velvelty mouthfeel, with a taste of spice that really lets the gravelly terroir of margaux shine through.  With every sip, the wine exhibits more complexity, with a long, smooth finish.  In my mind, this wine would complement almost any meal, as it does not over power, but simply expresses itself in an understated way as only a fine bordeaux can.  Even more importantly, this wine is great all by itself, as I relax and enjoy it, bringing back memories of Paris.  It's really almost impossible to describe how different a fine French bordeax can feel and taste, particularly if you are used to the big bold cabs of Napa Valley, or even the more fruit forward bordeaux blends of the Columbia Valley in Washington.  A fine bordeaux is in a class by itself, and thankfully, a benefit of the great recession is that many of these great wines are even more affordable than ever, with this wine recently coming down in price from $44 to only $34, and well worth every penny!  Now I just need to grab a bit of nicely aged cheese and finish enjoying my afternoon with this wine.  Oh, and as for a rating, I would give this one a solid 9, and I'm sure that rating will only expand if I taste it again in 2015 or 2020!  À votre santé!