Earlier in the week, on Wednesday 12th March, I was in Paris to attend a tasting of 51 chateaux of what is now universally regarded as one of the greatest wines Bordeaux has ever produced, namely the 2005 vintage.

The event was organized by Lavinia, a huge wine shop in the heart of the city, situated between the Paris Opera and the Madeleine.

Lavinia, which stocks accessories and wines and spirits from around the world is celebrating their 5th Anniversary. Apart from being able to taste and buy wines, you can also have lunch at the restaurant from noon to 3 PM, after which it converts into a wine bar till closing time. Lavinia is open Monday to Saturday from 10 AM to 8 PM.

The 2005 tasting of 51 chateaux was divided into four flights, two in the morning and two after lunch. It was not a blind tasting because the order and identity of the wines were projected onto a screen in front of the tasting room. However, I chose to taste blind by not looking at the screen.

I first tasted the 2005 vintage in April 2006 in Bordeaux. The latest tasting on 12 March 2008 was a great opportunity to track the progress of the wines.

Overview of 2005 at this moment:
- Many of the wines are very closed - both on the nose and the palate.
- What is mainly dominant at the moment is the structure of the wines, namely their tannins and acidity. The fruit is more in the background.
- In spite of their closed up nature, it is still possible to determine the quality of most of the wines through the sensation of the rich and ripe fruit and equally rich and ripe tannins. And their incredible, sustained, hallmark freshness
- The most impressive wines tend to be from the the Medoc.

Important advice:
- If you have any of these 2005 wines, whatever you do, DO NOT OPEN THEM NOW! Given the fact that 2005 is one of the most expensive vintages in the history of Bordeaux, It will be a complete waste of money. Not to mention that the world will have lost several bottles of this great, precious vintage.

Complete ratings:
These will appear in Asian Sommelier Guide 2008 (in English) and the Ninth Edition Chinese Bordeaux Guide 2008/2009 (in Chinese), both of which will be launched at Vinexpo Hong Kong, 27 to 29 May 2008. It will appear in Chinese and English in www.chinesebordeauxguide.com which will be launched at Vinexpo Hong Kong on 28 May 2008.

Here are the notes of the two top wines:

Chateau Cheval Blanc Saint-Emilion
Floral and alcohol on the nose. Chocolatey/dark cherry/smoky rich fruit on the palate. Ripe, rich tannins. Masculine. Deserving of all six stars.

Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Pauillac
A bit dumb on the nose but the palate is majestic. Intensely rich, ripe, sweetish fruit with equally impressive and very long tannins. Incredibly fresh. Deserving also of every one of the six stars.