1133 1st Street South, Winter Haven, FL. 33880

863.299.8140

Alamo Shopping Center • 4525 S. Florida Ave. Suite 1 • Lakeland • 863.644.8181

2005 CHATEAU ROQUEFORT Blanc ($13)
Ok, one quick white wine because this is also an exceptional vintage for the fairer grapes. This wine is Sauvignon Blanc with 10% Semillon, fermented really cold. Aromas of white flowers and peaches; palate is minerally at first then rounds out. Lively, the way this grape should be for this price.

2005 CHATEAU ROUSTAING Bordeaux ($12)
Very old estate from the middle ages, the blend is 80% Cab and 20% Merlot. The nose is lavender and blueberry with some dried cherry. The palate is full and dense with long, faintly earthy notes.

2005 CHATEAU PEYRAUD Premier Cotes de Blaye ($12)
This cuvee is 100% Merlot and fermented and aged in tank. There is a spicy, earthy side of this wine, not unlike peppercorns, with a black currant and raw sourdough note. This wine is plump and friendly, with superb length for this price.

2005 CHATEAU THEBOT Bordeaux ($15)
One of my favorites in the 03, this vintage is 85% Merlot, 15% Cab, aged in 1/3rd new oak. This is a shockingly dense, structured wine with dried sour cherry, vanilla and slightly buttery notes. This one may age for as long as a decade.

2005 CHATEAU ROQUEFORT Bordeaux ($15)
Same property as the white above but in really good vintages they make smoking red wines. This bottling is 100% Merlot that sits in American oak for three months. This wine has great color and aromas of caramel, plum jam and black cherries. The feel is big (see the recurring theme?) with powerful, firm tannins and a finish of sweet oak.

2005 CHATEAU LES TOURS DE PEYRAT Premier Cotes de Blaye ($17)
The Tanel family has owned this property for four generations but a few years ago daughter Christelle Saboua walked away from her business career and moved to the country to make wine. Her blend is 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec, aged in French oak for 10 months. This wine is warm and cozy, with notes of clove, cinnamon, plums, black raspberries and a lingering note of soy sauce. As you might expect, this wine is densely packed but with firm, muscular tannins that carry to the finish.

2005 CHATEAU ROLAND LA GARDE Premier Cotes de Blaye ($17)
This is a perennial favorite but the 2005 is a legend in the making. Imagine pulling this out of your cellar in ten years and amazing your friends when you show them the price. The blend for this wine is 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in French oak, half new, for ten months. The color of this wine clings to the glass and the nose is pure black berry jam, bay leaf, sage and cocoa powder. In the mouth this is long and complex with a softer edge than above, a great drinker now but built for aging too.