Value: $2,500-3,000

A selection of three very highly rated 2005 French Bordeaux wines including Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, and Pavie. 2005 is an outstanding vintage and its top wines are difficult to find.

2005 Lafite Rothschild

"Parallel to some of its fellow 2005 's, it is developing a little more spices, namely sage and thyme. It delivers that graphite, pencil box bouquet the unfurls gradually in the glass, biding its time, graceful but not intense. The palate is medium bodied and beautifully balanced, to wit, a sophisticated pauillac that priorities elegance and poise over intensity of fruit."

Robert Parker Rating 96

2005 Mouton Rothschild

"Evolves into unabashed, flamboyant notes of Christmas cake, plum preserves, chocolate-covered cherries, eucalyptus and crème de cassis with beautifully fragrant wafts of potpourri, incense, Indian spices and cigar box. Full bodied, the palate performs vinous pirouettes with dazzling exotic spice, floral and earthy nuances, framed by firm, grainy tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing very long and mineral laced."

Robert Parker Rating 98

2005 Pavie

"Dense, opaque, with a gorgeously promising nose of blackberries, cassis, graphite and cedar wood just beginning to emerge. This beauty is intense and full bodied, with magnificent concentration, a majestic mouthfeel and a total seamless integration of tannin, wood, alcohol, etc. Beautifully rich, full and multidimensional, this is a tour de force in wine-making and certainly one of the top dozen or so 2005 Bordeaux."

Robert Parker Rating 100

Donor: Anonymous