TN: Comprehensive 2000 St Emilion Blind Tasting

COMPREHENSIVE 2000 ST EMILION BLIND TASTING - The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC (4/19/2017)

A few months back, Panos and I discussed about organizing a 2000 St Emilion retrospective tasting. We were able to get most of the marquee wines from our cellars except the Ausone and Tertre Roteboeuf which we sourced recently through on line. Panos contacted a few St Emilion properties and they generously contributed the wines. Eight of us got together at the grill room of the Rosewood Hotel. Due to the logistics, i.e. only five stems and not enough space, we had three or four wines per flight. Most of the wines were served before the meal.

Most of us agreed that the wines showed well. The fruit was certainly ripe but none were overripe. I personally thought that most wines have not reached the initial youthful peak. For my palate, most of the wines have excellent concentration and structure to age gracefully for at least another decade or two. The top wines will easily develop like the 61s.

Blind tasting is always a humbling experience and this was no different. I have always been a big fan of the 00 Cheval Blanc and hope to correctly guess. Unfortunately I had no clue. In addition, we ended up having two bottles of the Clos Fourtet and my impressions were quite different.

The results were really interesting but not unexpected. Blind tasting is a great equalizer. Considering the maturity and the horizontal format, it is hard to completely discredit the results. The Pavie was the favorite, the Valandraud taking the second place was somewhat of a surprise, and the third place was the Angelus which was my wine of the night. The final results closely resemble the Grand Jury Europeen tastings’ results from the past.

Starter
The 96 Salon showed beautifully as usual. The 15 Sandlands Chenin was very fresh, really interesting wine.

• 1996 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut - France, Champagne
  Decadent yet incredibly focused and precise nose displaying lemon curd, granny smith, honey, white pepper, wet stone and anise. Beautifully integrated youthful palate, exceptional precision and balance, beautiful interplay of decadent citrus and fresh/precise granny smith, fine mousse, perfectly amount of acidity, strong presence of mineral and a long energetic finish. It is drinking perfectly in very youthful and energetic way but will improve for a few more decades, gaining additional sweetness and complexity. At the age of twenty, it remains incredibly young, brilliant showing. (98 pts.)
• 2009 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  Strong mineral note hits you first, followed by decadent pineapple and coconut, butter scotch, also smoke, pepper and honey. Excellent concentration, intense pineapple and smoke driven palate impression, bright acidity, strong presence of mineral and a long sweet finish with a hint of heat at the end. The overall expression is quite harmonious. Drinking beautifully. (96 pts.)
• 2002 Pol Roger Champagne Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne
  Medium expressive deeply toned nose displaying apple, tart tatin, ginger and brioche. Very good concentration, rich and sweet, good acidity and mineral presence and a long sweet finish. Not the most refine but totally solid Champagne that is drinking beautifully. It has reached the peak but no need to hurry. (94 pts.)
• 2015 Sandlands Chenin Blanc Amador County - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
  Beautifully balanced nose displaying lemon curd, apple sour, beeswax, steel, honey and smoke. Very good concentration, precise and steely, bright acidity and a medium to long finish. This shows beautiful balance and freshness. (92 pts.)

Bordeaux - Flight 1

• 2000 Château Figeac - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 1 - Fully mature nose displaying milk chocolate, plum, mint, cedar, lead pencil, noticeable green, unripe Cabernet and leather. Medium concentration, bitter, iron, austere and a medium long slightly bitter finish. It is the least concentration and most ready wine of the night. My guess is that it is one of the lesser chateau. A couple tasters really like it. For me a disappointment considering the pedigree and vintage. (91 pts.)
• 2000 Château Valandraud - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 2 - Exquisite nose displaying intense blackberry, cassis, milk chocolate, lactic, floral dust, lavender and exotic incense. Excellent concentration, beautifully layered, cassis and milk chocolate driven palate impression, nicely integrated fine tannins, perfect amount of acidity and a long intense cassis driven finish with a beautiful floral note as the end. My guess is Cheval Blanc. Still very youthful but immensely enjoyable, a long life ahead. Everyone seems to like it. (97 pts.)
• 2000 Château Cheval Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 3- Intense nose displaying cassis, ink, mint chocolate and earth. Excellent concentration, noted A+ concentration, youthful cassis driven palate impression, noticeable but none obtrusive tannins, bright acidity and a medium to long finish. Very youthful and concentrated but a bit straightforward. Panos and a couple others love it. Re-tasted a few times with the similar impression. (93 pts.)

Bordeaux - Flight 2

• 2000 Château Laroque St. Émilion Grand Cru - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 4 - Jammy and overripe. Good concentration, silky but a bit simple and uninteresting. (89 pts.)
• 2000 Château Canon-la-Gaffelière - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 5 - Youthful and Intense but a bit straightforward nose displaying chocolate dipped cherry, red fruit and milk chocolate. Excellent concentration, unctuous yet silky, noticeable tannins towards to the end and a long cherry and milk chocolate driven finish. Really powerful and youthful wine but still need some time to gain complexity. (92 pts.)
• 2000 Château La Clusière - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 6 - A big scale nose displaying bitter chocolate, blackberry liqueur, licorice, ink, ash and lavender. Excellent concentration, nicely layered, quite chewy and oily, noticeable tannins, bright acidity and an intense ink and ash driven finish. The fruit is very ripe. Will this be like the 47 Cheval Blanc? Only the time will tell. Impressive but not showing much nuance at the moment. (95 pts.)

Bordeaux - Flight 3

• 2000 Château Franc-Mayne - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 7 - Medium expressive nose displaying very ripe black fruit, fruitcake, chocolate and earth. Medium concentration, fruitcake driven palate impression, medium acidity, nicely integrated tannins and a medium finish. A bit too ripe for my palate. (90 pts.)
• 2000 Château Ausone - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 8 - Medium expressive nose displaying ripe red fruit, plum, milk chocolate, cedar and earth. Excellent concentration, silky and polished, bright acidity, a lot of tannins and a long sweet finish with a hint of dry tannins at the end. This particular bottle needs time to resolve tannins. (94 pts.)
• 2000 Château Angélus - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 9 - Youthful yet sensual nose displaying cassis, milk chocolate, cedar, leather, truffle and lead pencil. Perfectly harmonious sensual palate, nothing out of place, beautifully layered, silky and polished and a seamless finish that lasts. This is a big scale wine that has reached the first stage of youthful peak. It is drinking incredibly well. My guess is Angelus. (98 pts.)

Bordeaux - Flight 4

• 2000 Château Dassault - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 10 - Very ripe black fruit driven nose, lactic and fine dust. Excellent concentration, silky, bright acidity, dry tannins and a medium to long finish with dry tannins that ringers. Impressive showing but need time to resolve the tannins. (93 pts.)
• 2000 Château Corbin Michotte - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 11 - Nicely integrated polished nose displaying a hint of blackberry jam, coffee, milk chocolate, vanilla and iron. Medium concentration, polished and silky, blackberry and coffee driven palate impression, a hint of dry tannins and a medium to long finish. It has reached the youthful peak. Drinking deliciously but not terribly complex. (92 pts.)
• 2000 Château Destieux - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 12 - Fully matured nose displaying sweet soft black fruit, espresso and a hint of stem/green. Medium concentration, silky, nicely integrated tannins and a medium finish. (92 pts.)

Bordeaux - Flight 5

• 2000 Château Troplong Mondot - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 13 - Big scale very ripe nose, blackberry jam and licorice. Excellent concentration, silky, dry tannins and the finish clips due to the dry tannins. (94 pts.)
• 2000 Château Pavie - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 14 - Complex hedonistic nose displaying chocolate dipped cherry, milk chocolate, coffee, spicy spices, cedar and mineral. Exceptional concentration, beautifully layered, silky and polished, nicely integrated tannins and a lovely long dark fruit driven finish that resonates. (97 pts.)
• 2000 Château Rochebelle - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion
  Wine 15 - Expressive nose displaying blackberry, bitter chocolate and earth. Excellent concentration, strong structure and a long finish. Quite hedonistic with the opulent ripe fruit but not terribly complex. (94 pts.)
• 2000 Clos Fourtet - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 16 - Ripe black fruit, chocolate and a hint of tobacco. Good concentration and a medium finish with a hint of alcohol at the end. A bit simple. (90 pts.)

Bordeaux - Flight 6

• 2000 Tertre Rôteboeuf - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 17 - Corked. Sensual texture. NR (flawed)
• 2000 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 18 - Expressive nose displaying intense jammy black fruit, dark chocolate, ink and lead pencil. Excellent concentration, nicely layered, unctuous yet silky, intense black fruit driven palate impression, nicely integrated tannins and a long sweet black fruit driven finish. My guess is La Clusiere. Perhaps the wine to seek if you enjoy the opulent modern fruit expression. (94 pts.)
• 2000 Château de Pressac - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 19 - Very ripe black fruit, mineral and fruitcake. Good concentration. A bit simple. (89 pts.)

Bordeaux - Flight 7

• 2000 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 20 - Expressive nose displaying blackberry jam, bitter chocolate, a hint of tobacco and earth. Very good concentration, nicely integrated tannins and a long dark fruit driven finish. Still needs another decade to gain complexity. (91 pts.)
• 2000 Clos Fourtet - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 21 - Intense black fruit, ink, dark milk chocolate and earth. Very good concentration, nicely layered and a long dark fruit driven finish. (95 pts.)
• 2000 Château Pavie Macquin - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Wine 22 - Expressive nose displaying black cherry, milk chocolate, mocha and cedar. Excellent concentration, nicely layered, silky and polished, nicely integrated tannins and a long sweet black fruit driven finish. This big scale wine has reached the youthful peak but will improve for another decade or two. (97 pts.)

It was an enjoyable and educational evening. A great time was had by all!
Posted from CellarTracker

Love that table, although I think you need to run some good statistics, maybe an analysis of variance is even insufficient, to get to the bottom of all this

Very cool tasting! Thanks for the notes.

Was the Clos Fourtet slipped in twice? Looks like it was tasted twice with two very different impressions.

Jim,
We used to do blind tasting in an ideal setting, i.e. all wines tasted at once in riedel vinnum. We no longer have the space available to us. I used to run various statistics, e.g. the top place 5 points, the second 3 and etc.

Adam,
That was a coordination error as we had two bottles of the CF.

LOL at two bottles of the same wine from the same year getting totally different scores, mediocre (90 points is good but mediocre in this company) and excellent (95 points tied for fifth highest out of 22 St Emilion’s tasted). Tells you something about bottle variation driving scores, or how much to count on a single impression!

I agree. However, it shows a glimpse of how the wines are at the moment. I have been saying this a lot but I am a big fan of the 100 point scale but saying that a wine is a 100 pointer is pretty oxymoron. Except the 90 Margaux which I think is perfect!

Kevin, I believe that you do a great job of describing these wines (a lot of jam, chocolate and coffee), and your favorites here are consistent with your other notes over the years. Pavie was your favorite, being “hedonistic … chocolate dipped cherry, milk chocolate, coffee …” I tasted that wine a couple of years back and agree with your notes, but it not something I care to taste again, much less put on a dinner table. To my palate, it is more like a cocktail than wine. As I read your notes, it helped me better understand your criticism of the moderately ripe, low alcohol 2011 red Burgundies, which, for my palate, are superb at the dinner table by reason of those two very attributes. IMO, your notes reflect the state of Bordeaux that disappoints many - a lot of power, jam, chocolate, coffee, liqueur, vanilla and the like and not enough finesse, earth, tobacco and maybe even a hint of green (I know, I know, heaven forbid). To each their own, but these wines sound undrinkable to me, other than perhaps the Figeac.

Edited for typo.

Not surprised Pavie won. Had it with Philippe Develay a month or so ago and it’s stunning in every way without being too big, ripe, or over extracted. I’m not against putting a triple digit score on it… I’m pretty sure I downed at least one bottle that night… and there were another 7 Perse wines on the table I tried…

Thanks for those awesome notes and a meaningful chart. I think it’s also telling that it won with the second lowest st dev… not as polarizing as many would have you believe, and I agree with that wholeheartedly… at least in its present form. Even 3 years ago it was in a more divisive mood.

Perhaps it is best to focus on the tasting. At least half of the tasters were Bordeaux classist. It is what it is. In 2000, the style if more to do with the vintage than the wine making, IMO. I think the 05 is when the right bank wines really dialed up.

To clarify, the issue with the 11s is that they resemble the 04s, though not as severely tainted. Most people who took my advice did well as more folks are reporting the 04 like taints. If you are not sensitive to the 04 taint, you are blessed. The only two Burgundy vintages that I don’t care for is the 04 and 11 since the 90. I love the 08 reds at the top for the record.

Wow! Great experience with fantastic notes! Thanks for sharing!!

FWIW, I don’t expect anyone to change their opinions. Posting tns is my hobby and I gladly do it but would love a bit more decorum. I like the freshness and balance as well.

Wow, awesome tasting and killer notes!

Biggest surprise for me? That it actually took 6 replies before someone started hating on Pavie.

#hatersgonnahate
#blindtastingsdontlie

Post away, Kevin, but one does not lack decorum by reason of a different opinion of the wines about which you have posted. As I said, I believe/expect that your notes describe the wines very well. At the same time, IMO, they reflect the sad state of Bordeaux.

However, on looking at your spreadsheet (very well done – thanks for including!), I see that the two bottles of Clos Fourtet scored very close to each other on average – 92.0 vs 92.4. That’s a difference well within statistical variation. You were an outlier, with the low score on the first bottle and the high score on the second. So instead of scoring one for bottle variation here, maybe we need to score one for population sampling!

Pardon my ignorance, but how does a tasting like this work? Does one sip and spit, or did each taster actually drink 3+ bottles at one sitting?

Ted, that’s how you separate the men from the boys

or the excessibe ballers from the RPP’s

I spit mostly, especially in a blind tasting like this. A couple others spit as well. The others will drink a sip or two if they like the wines. We had a small pour and we had the bottles were 1/2 to 1/3 full. The remaining wines were enjoy with the meal.

I am not going to stir the 2004 red Burgundy hornet’s nest, but I find your broad-brush description of 2011 red Burgundies as “tainted” to be reckless. They are moderately ripe and low in alcohol, making for moderately concentrated, lean wines, both of which I like. You clearly don’t, but that does not make them flawed as you suggest. All or nearly all of your notes above indicate that the wines showed loads of torrefaction (i.e., roasted, chocolate, coffee) which for me and many others renders them undrinkable. However, I would not taste a handful of them and then describe the 2000 Bordeaux vintage as “tainted.”

Kevin- great tasting.Surprised the Ausone didn’t score higher,but as we all know ,bottle variation ( or should I say cork ) is massive the older a bottle gets.I’ll have to pull a Valandraud and an Angelus for scientific purposes.Was served the 00 Pavie 5 years ago blind and found it to be delicious and not outside the norm for Bordeaux, so I’m not that surprised on that one.Thanks for the notes.E