Finally this wine is what it should be - a beautiful fully drinkable 2000 Bordeaux (all it took was 10 years). I have tried this wine on multiple occasions and it was always not ready to play (I should have bought more). My last bottle turns out to be the best as it has turned the corner and is now a classic Bordeaux. The nose is all Bordeaux and quite powerful with mature Bordeaux notes. Plum, forest floor, and the stewed red-black fruit mixture that is hard to breakdown into individual parts. A bit of tannin still is present, so I would guess the wine will go another 5 years. If you have this wine, no need to wait any further. Stored in my passive/active cellar since release (52 -60 deg F seasonal swings).
Now perhaps I can try Pipeau and Yon Figeac as they were acting in a similar mode as the Cap de Faugeres.
2000 Château Cap de Faugères- France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Côtes de Castillon (11/13/2009)
This was a wonderful, very inexpensive wine. Half hour decant. The wine is a dark, opaque red-black. Initially I was concerned that it was corked, but the odor blew off quickly. Very nice bouquet with dark red fruit, a somewhat smoky quality, earth and, as Tanzer says, with “faint liqueur-like and meaty elements”. That’s why he’s a pro and I’m not… it’s exactly right, but I’d never have named it so precisely. Very very nice big, medium mouth feel, with resolved tannins and very nice acid balance, on the low acid side but enough to hold it together. A better than expected finish put this one over the 90 mark. And for $10 back in 2001? Glad I got a case. An over-performer, at least from our cellar. (FUF: 11 pts.)
Please note: FUF scores range from 1 - 10. However, given massive score inflation by the critic who developed the scale, which registers only non-specific, context-related enjoyment often affected by blood alcohol levels, FUF indicators reported above are essentially indecipherable except by me. Thank you.
Please note: FUF scores range from 1 - 10. However, given massive score inflation by the critic who developed the scale, which registers only non-specific, context-related enjoyment often affected by blood alcohol levels, FUF indicators reported above are essentially indecipherable except by me. Thank you.
It’s starting to seem clear that lower growth 2000’s are in a really nice space now. It was predicted that 10 years was NOT going to be enough, but more and more glowing notes are coming out.
If you have several bottles, I say give it try. At least you get a data point for your cellar conditions. I always thought 10 years would be enough for the little wines. I think for 05 wines you may need to add a few years to what you have for the 00s drinking window (for the little wines).
