Yesterday , our wine club tasted 12 red Bordeaux wines blind from 2000 . Overall , it was a success although a lot of the wines are not ready at all . I would compare this vintage with red Burgundy 2005 . Great potential but leave them alone for another decade .
There were 4 trio’s .
A. The first 3 wines were correctly identified as St. Julien . The first wine was superb , the second one in the same style with more tannins and somewhat more tight . The third wine was a powerhouse , revealing not much at all . Everybody preferred the first wine . They turned out to be Leoville Poyferre , Leoville Barton and Ducru Beaucaillou . This Poyferre is the wine to look out for .
B. Also identified correctly as Pauillac . The first wine was ready , beautiful creamy blue fruit , lovely but not super complex . The second one was more elegant , less creamy and a big boy . The third wine was completely closed ( it should have been decanted for hours , unfortunately , that had not happened). Consensus vote for wine nr 2 , followed by 1 and then 3 . It was :1. d’Armailhac ,2. Pichon Baron and … 3. Mouton Rothschild . The Mouton bottle is beautiful though . The wine probably also but should be kept in a deep hidden spot in your cellar .
C. The next 3 wines were deliciously sweet and tasty . The first wine was really good ( 93/100 ) , the second one even better ( 95/100 ) but the third one was out of this world ( 98+/100 ) . Merlot wines was the opinion . Turned out to be Lafleur Petrus , Trotanoy and Lafleur .
D. Last but not least , 3 wines from the Graves region we also guessed correctly . The first wine was totally delicious , ready to drink , complex and powerful. We all loved it . The second one was more backward but had very pretty fine red fuit , freshness and lenght . Total class . The third wine suffered in presence of the second one , it was probably more closed . 1. Carmes Haut Brion 2. Haut Brion 3. La Mission Haut Brion .
Everybody was asked for a top 3 which resulted in
Lafleur 22 votes ( 6 first places )
Carmes haut Brion and Haut Brion : both 13 votes ( each 2 first places )
I love that 2000 Carmes Haut Brion, so delicious and so different than the style currently being produced. Sadly, I went through my last 3 bottles last year. The 1999 was quite delicious, too.
Thanks for the notes and overall impression, Herwig.
It’s just crazy how slow the evolution is for the 2000s. I can recall conversations at the old Squires/Parker board about how the 2000s were too ripe/modern, and would never age. I think all that talk pissed off the wines!
Laurent, track down that 2000 Carmes, shouldn’t be hard to find where you are at! Worth it.
The 2000 Cheval Blanc and 2000 Lafite are both spectacular.
I have found many of the 2000s starting to entire their drinking window, but admittedly, not generally the Paulliacs and St Estephes. I’m sitting on those for five more years.
Popped another 2000 Sociando this weekend. Is it possible that it’s getting greener as it ages?
I often wonder that about some of the Bdx I’ve had from 2000, 2005, 2009, and 2010.
Honestly, it’s a disappointment to me if I open a 19 year old bordeaux and it tastes like it could be a year or two old. I feel they should all be showing something by now.
The last recent Bordeaux 2000 “name brand” I had were the La Conseillante and the Grand Puy Lacoste, both drank during respective vertical dinner-tastings last year.
They did not prove to be terribly dumb or closed down as they were treated with splash double-decanting earlier in the day. In spite of the day-long decanting, they still showed to definitely need more cellar time especially when comparatively drank along with same producers samples from 70s and 80s. That extra oomph and, for my taste, more complexity that are added with good aging makes Bordeaux such a fun and compelling drink.
On the other hand, there are quite a few Bdx 2000 satellites brands that, imo, are drinking or starting to drink well.
Herwig, thanks for posting - really interesting to see how these are developing. I always enjoy your group’s blind tasting results - I have to look for that Carmes.
Though I’ve been pretty reluctant to open 2000s because it seems too early, I have done a few comparisons with 2001. In a couple of cases (Pichon Baron, Clos L’Eglise) tasters preferred the 2001s because the 2000s were so closed. Probably will switch in 5 or 10 years.
We should have double decanted in the morning . We didn’t for practical reasons ( people come from work straight to the restaurant with their wine) . We need to improve this .
Not all the wines showed backward . The Poyferre and the Carmes were delicious . But the Mouton and some others were surprisingly closed for a 19 year old wine . So backward .
Grand Jury Européen tasting - Bordeaux 2006 - Malartic la Gravière.
We had a lunch at Smith-Haut-Lafitte.
My short report : Mouton-Rothschild 2000 : 16/20+ - 20/6/2009
Caractère strict du cabernet-sauvignon. Se livre peu, très récalcitrant, extrêmement difficile à déchiffrer. Avis contradictoires dans la salle. Certains misent sur un grand vin pour dans 15 ans, d’autres sur une prévisible implosion aride voire desséchante.
Smith-Haut-Lafitte 2000 : 15/20 - 20/6/2009
Le vin était mis en comparaison. Plus abordable et un peu fragile à l’air semble-t-il.
Great report. Interesting that when I was learning about Bordeaux, I was told that they generally needed 12-15years, and I am astonished how many of your wines are closed 20 years on.
Recently enjoyed (and purchased more) 2000 Pontet-Canet. Approachable now and can go many more years. And I only paid $99 for 19YR aged Bordeaux versus 2016 release at $140 (!)
My limited experience (thanks again to Mark Taylor for the opportunity some years ago) is the same - the better 2000’s are rock hard closed right now. These will probably peak in 20 years, as many others have said. Amazing.
Wow - thanks for sharing your notes from this impressive tasting. 2000 was the first Bordeaux vintage I bought - appreciate your thoughts…I’ll keep them tucked away for a while longer.
I’ve had good luck with the 00 Grand Puy Lacoste, Pichon Lalande, Branaire Ducru and Smith Haut Lafitte over the past year or two. With the GPL in particular I was surprised how much it evolved between 2010 and 2018. Recent experience with Ducru Beaucaillou and Pichon Baron suggest they are both still sound asleep.
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