TN: 2000 Bordeaux Second Labels (all the First Growths +)

WINE TALK
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TN: 2000 BORDEAUX SECOND LABELS (ALL THE FIRST GROWTHS +) - (2/11/2011)

Last night I hosted a tasting of wines that I had bought on release, many for the sole purpose of holding this tasting. Back when B2K was released, the first growths were outrageously priced over $200, so I bought second labels of many wines. At that time, they were reasonable. Forward to now and I invited some friends over and we drank the wines over the course of 4 hours, blind and then revealed. Breads and cheeses were served.

Bordeaux 2000 is a very slow developing vintage, much more so than I think anyone thought on release. It is also a great vintage. The wines are maturing beautifully and in balance. It will take patience. Second labels had a banner year as well. Back then the pricing was reasonable on them. I don’t think that is any longer true, either for these wines or the new releases. I started to price out what these wines would sell for today and quit as it made me tempted to cancel the tasting and sell the wines.
We started with a white:

  • 2005 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
    I loved this wine. Still quite young, it was still improving at midnight after everyone had gone home. Golden color. The nose is waxy with grapefruits and lemons and some seltzer. A bit of melon as well. On the palate, this is very oily and round with enough acid to give it verve. Slight bitterness on the finish is nit picking but there. Still very young, this should make great old bones, but is delicious now. (94 pts.)

The 2000 Second Labels:

  • 2000 La Croix de Beaucaillou - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
    This started out smoking but never really got much better than it was. I would say, this is time to be drinking this. Purple/ruby and bright. The nose has tobacco and cassis and some funk. Very nice. Balanced. Complex. cassis and black raspberries on the palate. Long finish. Excellent wine. (91 pts.)
  • 2000 Alter Ego de Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
    Kemp added this at the last minute so it did not get as much slow ox as the others. perhaps that mattered as this started out very slow but kept improving. The nose has coffee and cassis but is a bit light. Sweet red fruit but slightly disjointed. A bit of a menthol note. Cough syrupy on the finish. With time, this put on weight and the finish became more cassis and less cherry. No point in holding these though. (88 pts.)
  • 2000 Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
    Black/purple in color. This was very tight and took a while to open. Still needs cellar time. Coffee and cassis on the nose. Great texture. Very smooth finish. Thick tannins. Lots of cassis. Last a long time. Hold. (92 pts.)
  • 2000 Château Bahans Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
    Purple/ruby. Perhaps the tightest wine of the night, it took a while to open. The groups number 2, I liked it a bit less I guess. I just never got much out of the nose. The palate was more open with black raspberries and a smokey note. Slick texture. Nice wine. Hold. (90 pts.)
  • 2000 Les Tourelles de Longueville - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
    Just starting to his maturity. It opened quickly. The nose has some funk, cassis and charcoal. On the palate, more black cherry than the other wines. Slightly sweet. Some tannins. Slick texture. Nice finish. Just a bit lacking compared to most of the other wines. (89 pts.)
  • 2000 Le Petit Cheval - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
    The nose has cassis, ashtray and green tobacco. On the palate, this is mature and complex. Cassis and cherries with layers of tobacco. Nice finish. Drink now. (90 pts.)
  • 2000 Le Petit Mouton de Mouton-Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
    I liked this a lot. It was polarizing in the results though. Complex with coffee and cassis. Some black raspberries. Nice texture. Slightly bitter cassis, which I preferred to the overtly sweet ripe fruit. Complex. Good finish. Just starting to be ready to drink. (92 pts.)
  • 2000 Carruades de Lafite - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
    Another polarizing wine, but I liked it a lot. Obviously not worth the money these now sell for, but a really good wine. Cigar, dusty attic, cassis and leather. This is young, needs time. Powerful yet smooth. Long finish. I would sell, er I mean hold these. (92 pts.)
  • 2000 Clos du Marquis - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
    Inky purple in color. Very tight at first, but opened quickly to cassis and leather. Soft texture. Cassis but not as complex as I would have thought. Not sure it gets better so I would drink these. (90 pts.)
  • 2000 Les Forts de Latour - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
    The groups and mine, WOTN. It took some time to open and was still improving when I went to bed, but this is a great wine. Dusty, cassis, coffee grounds on the nose. On the palate, this is delicious. Lots of tannins. Tight layering just starting to unwind. Complex. Long finish. Hold for a few more years. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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I forgot to thank George (and Sherry) Chyla for bringing the Zingerman’s Chocolate, Balsamic Strawberry Gelato that we finished the evening with. It was delicious.

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If you ever get the chance to try it, the 2000 La Chapelle de LMHB is a magnificent little wine.

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Thanks for sharing these interesting and well-written notes.

I have often contributed to wine forums over the years defending 2nd wines, because some wine lovers exclude them across the board, and I don’t think that’s justified, as your tasting amply showed.

However, the problem comes now with the pricing for the 2nd wines of the 1st growths.
These have gone sky high, and the question for those few wines is whether one is not better off buying a second growth, for instance, for a similar price…

The people at Latour like to say that Les Forts de Latour is meant to be on a par with a 2nd growth, and they generally reach their goal…

Best regards,
Alex R.

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Thanks for the notes. Esp the 2000 Pavillon rouge. I got a single as a gift a while back and was wondering whether it was ready.

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Alex, nothing personal as I respect your opinion, but I vehemently disagree with you here. I am one of those people that have come to pretty much exclude the 2nd wines across the board. You hit on my reasoning though - pricing no longer justifies the quality IMO. I’ve never had a 2nd wine that “wowed” me, but I’ve had plenty of 2nd-5th growths that did so.

I had to cough a bit when I read that Latour feels like Les Forts is on par with the 2nd growths. That sounds like Marketing 101 and isn’t backed up by my tasting experience. (Tangential point but, blind, the 1st wines of the 1st growths don’t distinguish themselves relative to other outstanding wines regardless of their classification in my experience.)

Loren - thanks for sharing and I believe your process and plan was well thought out regarding pricing and quality at the time. I agree with your assessment of the 2000 vintage. I have no plans to open any bottles for another 5 years or so.

I’m just curious, but would you consider buying the 2009’s to repeat the process in 10 years? For me, I can’t possibly see how the price justifies it, but again that’s just myself and my money.

Chris

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Chris, not a chance. The pricing is silly now. I just saw the Croix de Beaucaillou locally for $69! And, the first growth wines second labels? Not worth it to me.

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I bought many of the same wines put off by the pricing of the big boys. I was thinking that it was time to start tasting through them. Sounds like Clos du Marquis is a good place to start.

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from what I understood, clos du marquis is not really a second wine. The grapes come from a vineyard where the vines are considered to young for las cases. as such it doesn’t get leftover grapes, it gets it’s own from the entire vineyard. if I’m wrong please correct me.

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Thanks for the notes on the Clos du Marquis. I have nearly a whole case of this, just waiting for it to show. I’d be happy with a 90 point wine here, considering what I paid.

Already sold my Carruades, so no chance to taste those.

Agree on that 2005 Smith Haut Lafite Blanc–that is a beautiful wine that I wish I was still cellaring…

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Yes, but we thought it close enough to be included. Also, the Alter Ego is decided in the vineyard and not after vinification, so also now a true second wine, but again close enough for this tasting.

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Thanks Loren. I have some 00 Pavillon. I still think of these as $20 wines. Probably why I don’t buy them anymore.

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Loren, thanks for the TNs . . . great insight. And of course, Latour wins out! No surprise there! [wink.gif]