Château Haut Marbuzet - Saint-Estèphe 2005

Wine Advocate

89 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe6/30/2015

Proprietor Henri Duboscq made a delicious, sexy style of St.-Estèphe in 2005. Dark plum/ruby/purple, with notes of smoky oak, espresso, medium body and lots of fruit, it is a relatively lush, heady style of St.-Estèphe that is far more seductive and accessible than most wines of this appellation in 2005. Drink it over the next decade.

La Revue du Vin de France

16 / 20

the10/20/2014

Une décennie est un bel âge pour ce cru qui arrive à son apogée, avec un nez fin et séduisant. La bouche fruitée se livre tout en rondeur.

Wine Advocate

92 / 100

byNeal Martinthe6/11/2009

Tasted single blind at Southwold. I always thought this would turn out good when in bottle (honest, read my original note!) It has a ripe, more feminine, Merlot-driven nose with nice purity: red-berried rather than black fruit with less tertiary elements. Nice definition. The palate is medium-bodied, fine tannins, very well balanced, more approachable than other Saint Estèphe 2005s with a graceful, elegant finish. Perhaps lacks a little depth and muscle, but the finish gains complexity with time, gaining more earthy elements from the air! Mercurial and engaging. Excellent. Drink 2010-2025. Tasted January 2009.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

92 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe6/30/2008

Good saturated red-ruby. Deep, ripe, expressive aromas of black raspberry, coffee, mocha, menthol, black olive and chocolate truffle. Sweet, seamless and lush, offering excellent volume in the mouth and considerable early sex appeal. This boasts the exotic character of Haut-Marbuzet in spades. Sweet, long, large-scaled wine with fine-grained tannins arriving very late.

Wine Advocate

85 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe5/7/2008

Far inferior from bottle than the barrel samples revealed (a rare exception to the rule of the bottled 2005s being even better than they were from barrel), Haut-Marbuzet’s dark ruby/plum-tinged 2005 offers up somewhat washed out scents of cedar, incense, spice box, herbs, and jammy black currants and cherries. Medium to full-bodied with velvety tannin and moderate length and ripeness, it will provide pleasurable drinking over the next 3-5 years. It is a disappointing effort. Tasted three times.

Wine Spectator

91 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/22/2008

Wine Advocate

89-91 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe5/4/2007

The exciting, oaky, in-your-face 2005 Haut-Marbuzet possesses a deep ruby/plum color, a sweet perfume of coffee, roasted herbs, black cherries, currants, and spice, a fleshy, medium to full-bodied style, sweet tannin, and good length. It should drink beautifully for 10-12+ years.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

89-92 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe6/30/2006

(50% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot and 10% cabernet franc; 13.5% alcohol) Good deep ruby-red color. High-pitched aromas of blackberry, blueberry, violet, mint and leather. Juicy and bright, with complex flavors of black fruits, violet and rose petal nicely framed by lively acidity. This boasts lovely finesse and floral character, and a freshening note of menthol. Youthfully tight on the back end, finishing with firm but very fine-grained tannins and excellent grip. The yield here was about 52 hectoliters per hectare, compared to 58 in 2004 and just 38 in 2003.

Wine Advocate

90-92 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/27/2006

Proprietor Duboscq has achieved better integration of new oak over recent vintages, resulting in the most interesting Haut-Marbuzet since the 1990. The dark plum/purple-tinged 2005 exhibits a big, sweet, flamboyant bouquet of spice box, vanillin, black cherries, and currants. Medium to full-bodied and broad, with more acidity than usual as well as ripe tannin and impressive density, it should be at its peak between 2009-2017.

Jean-Marc QUARIN

15.75-16 / 20

the4/13/2006

La couleur est sombre sans être noire. Le nez est aromatique. La bouche est tendre, fruitée, élégante. La densité moyenne et le vin garde une finale un peu discrète. Le vinificateur a évité le piège des tanins durs de Saint-Estèphe cette année. Toutefois, un peu plus de soutien en finale lui conviendrait mieux, me semble-t-il. L'élevage dira la suite.

Wine Spectator

89-91 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe3/28/2006

Lovely berry and chocolate fruit, with just a hint of spice. Medium-bodied, with fine tannins and a fresh finish. Layered and rich. —J.S.