I decided to make a special feature out of the fact that somehow I had bottles of the exact same Bordeaux laying around - the Château Bois Redon Bordeaux Supérieur - but one was from 2005 and the other from 2006.  Both of these vintages have received a great deal of attention (one of the top selling Bordeaux in the US?) and I thought this would be a perfect chance to put them head to head to see what differences I could uncover.

(I want to preface by saying that this is a comparison of only one vineyard.  I'm doing the comparison for fun, not as the end all be all of Bordeaux vintage shootouts, from which all conclusions should be drawn.  I'm sure the results could be entirely different across different regions with different wines.)

This comparison is made with a very comparable Bordeaux year to year.  It has the same alcohol content and both vintages were produced from 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet.

Color:
Both wines were very dark with purple edges.  The 2005 was slightly softer around the edges.

Nose:
There was a distinct difference here.  While both wines were dense with fruit, the 2005 smelled much more refined.  It was more earthy and carried the characteristics you would expect with a little age.

Taste:
The conclusions from the nose were confirmed on the taste.  The 2005 was a very good wine.  It was balanced throughout, tasted like a more expensive wine than it actually is, and clearly had the taste of age on it, even though it's only a year older. 

The 2006 was definitely fruitier as you would expect from a younger wine, but it fell apart halfway through.  My notes during tasting include the phrase "a bit of funk on the finish."  It's the funk you get from a rather cheap wine.  Or perhaps a rather cheap US wine since we tend to drink them earlier.

So there were really no major discoveries, year to year. Many of the characteristics I favored on the 2005 vintage are those that are expected to be brought through age.  And the 2006 is a young wine, there's no doubt.  Will it turn into a stronger wine after another year or so of age?  It's quite possible.   

I think the lesson I'm taking away from this is pretty clear.   Set your expectations appropriately for each vintage, make sure you think about what you're buying and realize that the bottle you thought was ok today, could very well be a winner just a year later.

And now for the ratings:

2005 Château Bois Redon Bordeaux Supérieur
BlogRoom.com Rating: 12 out of 20

2006 Château Bois Redon Bordeaux Supérieur
BlogRoom.com Rating: 8 out of 20