25th anniversary of the much heralded 2000 Bordeaux vintage. It received quite a bit of hype (based partially on the even number) but in my opinion the wines have lived up to the hype. I’ve opened a few recently and will open more throughout the year. Here are my notes on the few I’ve had so far. Feel free to post notes or opinions here.
2000 Château Haut-Bages Libéral
Decanted 2 hours before drinking. The 11th bottle from the case I purchased on futures. Solid cork. Moderate sediment. Blackish red color. Sweet cherries with a fun nuttiness. Round finish with integrated tannins. 92 points.
2000 Château Cantemerle
Decanted 2 hours before drinking. 4th time I have had this wine. Crumbly cork. Dark purple color. Some iron aromas on the nose. Notes of earthy red fruit, licorice and pencil lead. 90 points
2000 Château Lynch-Bages
Opened at dinner with Jim Lester and his wife and paired with a homemade pepper steak. only the 3rd time I have had this wine and it is showing what it can be at it’s peak. The last time I had this was in 2015. Solid cork and decanted for one hour. Very lightly sedimented. Crimson color with very little bricking. Notes of leather, black currants, and oak. Firm tannins. Starting to really show some depth. Beautiful. Drink or hold. Glad I have a magnum of this which I will hold. 97 points.
Had a stellar 2000 Branaire-Ducru in September this past year that really surprised me with its freshness, complexity from development, and sustained fruit. I don’t have more detailed notes because it was opened on a bit of a whim, but it was practically my wine of the year last year. Wish I had more!
Later this year, probably August, we’ll participate in a blind 2000 retrospective. It’ll be the third iteration of the event (held every five years starting in 2015) and will include Latour, Mouton, Haut Brion, LMHB, PLL, Pape Clement, Pichon Baron and Lynch Bages for sure, perhaps one additional (in 2020 Ducru Beaucaillou was thrown in the mix).
In 2015, Pape Clement took WOTN honors, and in 2020 it was Haut Brion that won the day. I’m looking forward to seeing who takes top honors this year.
The vintage is aging at a glacial pace, generally speaking, with one off bottles showing well here and there. By and large, I am letting our big guns from the vintage continue to rest.
I also had the Montrose at New Year’s alongside a 2000 Gruaud Larose. Both were superb, the Montrose slightly shaded it, is much earlier in it’s drinking window with more fruit, while Gruaud Larose is now mainly tertiary flavours, but still drinking really well.
Had 2000 Cos d’Estournel a couple of times the past 6 months, drinking well with air.
From auction. Decanted three hours. On the nose and palate, dark fruit, cassis, red currant, and gravel. Cocoa and earthy notes. Dense, ripe flavors, with a nice liveliness from the acidity. Medium bodied. Slightly dusty tannins, mostly resolved. Very nice, early maturity, should hold for another couple decades easy.
… at bud break it’s no wine at all, after harvest with fermentation grape juice becomes wine …
You also can count from bottling …
(release dates can vary widely - also depending on region/country)
Nice thread! I’ve been sipping on the 2000 Chasse Spleen [Moulis] while puttering about the house, crock potting, and so on. This was purchase EP and put away for a long time, and is an elegant (13% abv) delight for consumption now. It is not fading, and C-S has a good history of keeping well. Sadly, among my various tasting groups over the years, we never really tasted many/enough of the older ones, nor conducted a proper vertical since it’s cru bourgeoise status - and thus its price - meant that prospective tasting group attendees would object to babystitters/trains/private rooms costs etc. for a wine they might drink at home. That’s too bad, as the sheer number of CT notes confirm the wine’s popularity. This bottle was similar to prior examples: mint/herbs/oregano on the bouquet, even some chili/mesquite on the initial opening, then currants/cherry/cigar on the palate. Texturally it’s smooth, body is medium, tannins are all deburred and the acidity is medium, not as low/lush as other 2000 might show. I would not expect more from this, but 25 years of positive aging for a $25 Moulis is a fine payoff, and it transcends the cruel Bordelaise caste system. Perfect natural cork, not much sediment, and an A- on my scorecard.
PS: I had always assumed this was a cabernet heavy Medoc, but after poking around Jeff Leve’s website, I’m not so sure that is true, at least anymore. I’ll take a look in my Brooks book.
I think the only vintage of this one I have had was the 89. I remember it being a fine experience. Probably at Gio’s Ristorante with Pappa Doc. 82 Poujeaux is my Bordeaux epiphany and my favorite Moulis estate.
Popped the corks on a few more bottles last weekend.
2000 Château Calon-Ségur
Open by a friend. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Decanted 3 hours. Better than the 1996, 1998 or 2003 which I previously had. Last had this wine in 2014 and this bottle was superior. Crimson color. Floral nose. Notes of leather, currants and black cherries. Well rounded and my favorite of the three 2000 Bordeaux we opened. Long finish. 96 points.
2000 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste
Decanted 3 hours. Last had this in 2014. Reddish black color. The softest of the three 2000 Bordeaux that we opened. Also the best GPL that I have had including the 1983, 1989, 1997 and 2009. The tannins were still firm and I do not see a need to rush to drink this. Blackish red color. Notes of underbrush, plums and black cherries. Velvety texture. Really nice. I have 1 left which I will hold for 5 more years. 94 points.
2000 Château Gruaud Larose
My lone bottle of the Super Second. Won this from Keith Scott in a bet when the Cubs triumphed over the Cards in 2003. WS called this the greatest wine from this estate since 1945. This was right up there with the best wines I have had from this estate which includes the 1981, 1982, 1989, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2010. Last had this at the UGC in 2003. Normally about 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. Decanted 3 hours. Garnet color. Aromas of pencil lead. Notes of charcoal, licorice and blackberry. Fuller bodied. Firm tannins. 93 points.
We also had the 2000 Grand Puy Lacoste recently and it showed very well, much like yours. On the slughtly stern side, but extremely handsome and pleasurable.
Was fortunate enough to try the 2000 Lafleur last week. This wine got a lot of praise on release and they were spot on! Most surprising element to me was this wine felt prime for drinking now.
I had the 2000 Larose-Trintaudon in early January - pretty sure this was purchased on a whim at Safeway back in 2003 (or whenever these were released). The classic supermarket Bordeaux. Temp controlled storage for all those years and this was…surprisingly good! No formal notes taken but this was textbook aged claret. No one was going to mistake this for a first growth but it has plenty of fruit and properly stored bottles can certainly go longer.
… at bud break it’s no wine at all, after harvest with fermentation grape juice becomes wine …
