The 2005 Haut-Brion was the last wine tasted of the weekend, yet it transcended the potential for palate fatigue to impress me immensely. I ranked this as the best wine in a powerful flight, and like the Lafite on the first day, I felt it was near perfection. The aromas ranged from ripe blackcurrant and plum to pepper, cedar, leather, and earth. Although it was youthful and still very primary, it was accessible and engaging at this early stage. It is a wine of massive concentration with a robust structure, boasting firm but fine-grained tannins, lots of extract, and a pleasant freshness that gave the finish extraordinary persistence. A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040
Blind tasted by Charles Curtis MW (at Atlanta, 26 Jun 2021)
Part of Bordeaux 2005 retrospective: 36 wines tasted

The Château Haut-Brion 2005, which unlike the rest of the First Growth was tasted from magnum, has a more audacious and sensual bouquet compared to the La Mission Haut-Brion with copious black cherries, cooked meat, mint and wild heather scents. You could sit and nose this all day. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannins. The harmony will leave you breathless. It is underpinned by nigh perfect acidity and astounding weight. Yet it does not overwhelm and remains faithfully classic in style. It is difficult to fault this Haut Brion and do not be surprised if it one day ends up joining the ranks of the 1961, 1989 or 2000.

– eRobertParker.com, Feb 2015

Leather, smoke, tobacco, cigar box and an array of red and black fruits create the complex nose that pops with little effort. The wine is silky, smooth, ripe, concentrated and opulent, displaying a youthful, pure essence of fruit. Tasted June 2015

Dark, brick tinged ruby red; still very restrained on the nose, gentle brick dust, gravel aromas still dominating the fruit for the moment; beautifully balanced, full, fresh, concentrated and very finely tannic; crisp, intense, long, close knit and graceful across the palate, gently mouthfilling, full of classy ripe fruit, long and even and very fruit fragrant to finish. A gloriously full yet discreet Haut Brion. 2020 – 50+

The mineral-laced 2005 Haut Brion (56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc) is exquisite. With its elegance and finesse, it is not as powerful as La Mission, but the nobility and complexity of the aromatics, incredible fragrance (subtle smoke and blue, red, and black fruits) that persists in the glass, full-bodied mouthfeel (though very light and delicate on its feet), and incredible length characterize this great Haut-Brion. It is just starting to drink well, and should continue to do so for at least another three decades. It is a tour de force in winemaking, but only 9,000 cases were produced.

Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #219, Jun 2015)

This is a wine that makes you dream. The nose is packed with flowers, sweet tobacco, iodine, spices, raspberries, blackberries, and great freshness. The texture is perfection, pure silk and the fruit is wonderfully complex and subtle. Currants, fresh mushrooms, flowers, and stones fill the mouth and make way to a delightful finish. Please leave this alone until 2020.

The 2005 Haut Brion is out of this world and certainly one of the finest wines I’ve ever tasted. Deeper, richer, and more concentrated than the 2000, it offers as pure an expression of this terroir as I could image with huge notes of blackcurrants, roasted herbs, scorched earth, tobacco, and earth all literally soaring from the glass. Full-bodied, powerful, concentrated, and layered, it still holds onto the hallmark elegance and purity of the estate. Wine doesn’t get any better and this tour de force can be drunk anytime over the coming three decades or more.