I have never seen this during the 14 vintages that I spent as winemaker of the properties of the De Schepper-De Mour family.
Never before, the technological maturity of the grapes was so homogeneous and so high, for the merlot, the cabernet franc, the cabernet-sauvignon as well as for the petit verdot, and this regardless of the production area (left or right bank). Such gorgeous, sound grapes, that didn't show stress at any moment of the harvest ... everything allowed us to think that in this year 2005 we would come close to perfection. All those who participated to the culture of the vineyard during its lifecycle had reasons to be proud of their work.
The favourable weather conditions, warm and dry, just interrupted by a few welcome summer showers, have naturally contibuted to optimize the quality of the grapes. We harvested during 4 weeks, without hurry and with continuous attention to obtain the perfect phenolic ripeness, sometimes waiting for the ideal moment.
Then the extraction of the polyphenols took place without any incident. The alcoholic fermentation was slow and regular, with a rapid colour extraction. During the whole maceration period there was a gradual extraction of the ripe tannins of the skins and especially the seeds.
The malolactic fermentation started in general on the lees, and at the end of October - beginning of November we transferred the wines to the oak barrels.
During the last months, at the occasion of the presentation of the primeur wines and after almost 6 months of ageing, we made intense tastings of the wines, and our initial impression about the quality of the grapes was confirmed in our glass.
The wines have deep colour, nearly like ink, the fruit is overwhelming at this stade, in the mouth they are broad and very tasty, with strong tannins that however are not aggressive. To put it briefly, it is superb quality now, an unforgettable vintage that will enter into history.

Château Haut Breton Larigaudière