Saint-Émilion AOC · Grand Cru Classé de Saint-Émilion

Château Larmande 2005

Château Larmande · 2005 · Right Bank Bordeaux blend (Merlot-dominant)

mature · computed from type + maturity — banded, not measured
St-Emilion — revealedSt-Emilion · revealed

$59.99 · K&L Wines · ordered 2025-05-17 · sku 1036395

mixedcrowd-pleaser, not a personal favorite

Very meh for own palate. Great party bottle — impresses guests ('Wow!') more than it satisfies the owner.

entries reconstructed retroactively, 2026-07-19

critics/consensus

A mature Grand Cru Classé Saint-Émilion at its peak: plush Merlot fruit gone to espresso, sweet tobacco, mushroom and leather, with velvety tannins and the earthy sous-bois complexity of two decades in bottle.

critics/consensus

Descriptors

click a term to see why it attaches to this wine

fruit
black cherrypresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Saint-Émilion AOCclassic for Merlotclassic for Cabernet Sauvignon
plumpresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Saint-Émilion AOCclassic for Merlot
blackberrypresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Merlotclassic for Cabernet Sauvignon
floral & herbal
dried herbspresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Saint-Émilion AOCclassic for Merlot
earth & mineral
ironpresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Saint-Émilion AOCclassic for Merlot
oak & spice
mochapresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Saint-Émilion AOCclassic for Cabernet Sauvignon
vanillapresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Saint-Émilion AOCclassic for Merlotclassic for Cabernet Sauvignon
dark chocolatepresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Saint-Émilion AOCclassic for Merlotclassic for Cabernet Sauvignon
tertiary — with age
tobaccopresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Saint-Émilion AOCclassic for Merlotclassic for Cabernet Francclassic for Cabernet Sauvignon
leatherpresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Saint-Émilion AOCclassic for Cabernet Sauvignon
mushroompresent in this bottle’s notes
forest floorpresent in this bottle’s notes

The vintage

2005 was a hot, dry, near-ideal Bordeaux growing season, with warm days, cool nights and no damaging heat spikes across the Right Bank, yielding small, concentrated, healthy berries.

A benchmark classic vintage: powerful, deeply structured wines with ripe tannins, excellent acidity and exceptional ageing potential. In Larmande it gave a full, complex Saint-Émilion built to reward two decades in the cellar.

Vineyard

Clay-limestone, siliceous clay and ancient sand.

Home to some of the oldest, deepest-rooted vines on the Right Bank, a number over 100 years old.

The estate's ~20 ha vineyard on the northern slopes near the town of Saint-Émilion.

In the cellar & winery

Malolactic conversion split between barrel and tank.

Aged in French oak, about 65% new for the 2005.

A gently modern-leaning style that nonetheless kept a clear sense of terroir and structural integrity.

Composition

typical blend — vintage-specific proportions not published · abv not published

window 2013–2035 · mature, as of mid-2026Fully mature and at its plateau (as of mid-2026) — at 21 years the fruit has turned savoury and tertiary, tannins are round and resolved, ready to drink.
sources
  • shop.klwines.com
  • Gemini grounded search (ownership, classification history, 2005 blend, vintage weather), 2026-07-18

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