Bad Karma on 2005 Bordeaux

Posted 05/05/2008 at 01:40 PM by Ben

It's official.  Robert Parker has just declared 2005 to be "the greatest [Bordeaux] vintage produced during my 30-year career." That, however, is not what's causing most of the buzz on his website's bulletin board [eRobertParker.com; free registration required] and undoubtedly among Bordeaux aficionados around the world.

No, the buzz is about the fact that only two chateaux were awarded the coveted 100 point rating, indicating that they are "perfect" wines. [Ausone and L'Eglise Clinet -- I thought you'd never ask.]  That compares unfavorably with the most recent "vintage of the century," 2003, which produced 3 perfect scores, and 2000, which weighed in with a whopping 9.perfect wines.

It's not entirely clear why anyone should care about this. In reality, the difference between a 98 or 99 point wine and a 100 point wine on a 100 point is obviously pretty small. Moreover, like any responsible wine critic, Parker explicitly reserves the right to raise, or if need be, to lower his initial scores depending on how the wines perform through the years as they age. So "perfection" is at best an ephemeral concept, subject to rewrite and revision.

Aside from the fact that a lot of speculators probably lost a lot of money, which is all to the good as far as I'm concerned, the major question being debated on the Parker board seems to be is how can the greatest vintage in 30 years can have fewer perfect wines than several apparently lesser vintages. This does seem all that anomalous to me, when one considers the large number of wines that Parker scored 95 or above in 2005.

What does strike me as odd, however, is the almost palpable sense of betrayal oozing from posters on the board. My guess is that it's because these folks paid dearly for the right to own a piece of the greatest vintage "ever," and are feeling a bit sheepish about their apparent extravagance.

Not to worry. Quite apart from the number of "perfect" wines, there's no doubt in my mind that 2005 is the greatest vintage I've ever experienced in its youth, and my point of reference goes back to 1982. No one who owns one of the better 2005 will ever regret this purchase -- -- provided he or she made an investment for pleasure rather than for speculation.

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