One of those really long days, OK really long weeks, where you just need to reward yourself with some comfort food. Just got back from a whirlwind business trip to DC. My plane yesterday had a mechanical problem and we had to return to Orlando mid-flight, and I got stuck at the airport for hours, didn’t get to DC until 9 PM. Meetings started at 7 AM the next day. Gracefully the meetings ended at one rather than three as projected, so I was able to get an earlier flight home. Walked in the door at 7 PM, immediately pulled the first Bordeaux, on the first shelf that I pulled from one of my home refrigerators.
I love this wine. And not at all what you would expect from a solar vintage 2000 from St. Emilion. Decidedly old school and more on the red spectrum of things. Smoke, brambly wild fruits and dry earth on the nose. A typical minty top note that Magdelaine seems to throw also in the mix. Silky palate followed by some buttressing red-fruit acids. Sweet and sour red and black cherries. Definitely some blood orange notes as well. And some hints of plum. Spicy plum, not overly ripe. Really firm structure to this wine, and definitely could use a few more years to unwind and perhaps unfurl it’s future glory. Chewy tannins with a slight bitter note for intrigue. Somewhere in all the three glasses I’ve gone through i picked up some tar notes as well. Saved 1/3 of the bottle for tomorrow. After all tomorrow is a workday, yay. I get to catch up on all the stuff that came in during the two days that I was out. It never ends!
Hey Robert, thnx for the great note, sounds like it did the necessary work in restoring your spirits!
I sourced 8 bottles of this also out of the UK but have not cracked one yet. Given your note, sounds like there is no rush?
Excellent notes as always Robert - I love the way you describe the sensations as they emerge. I’ve only tried it once, back in 2023, when I found it quite closed, but with obvious future potential - I thought three years would be enough, but it sounds like I need to wait a little longer! Thanks for the info anyway and I hope you have a great weekend!
I’m not sure this will ever be the equal of the 1985 or ‘82, or the ‘98, but it is going to be pretty close. The opulence of the vintage gives it slightly more richness, but it is nowhere near the edge. There is certainly enough acidity, but it is less obvious than the others vintages. A interesting and slightly different take on Magdelaine. Love the wine.
Drank my last one of those about a year ago. Loved every one and agree it’s got many years of life ahead. Pay no attention to the CT drink dates on this one.
I have had it three times in the last three or so years. First one flawed, second one sensational (94/95 pts), third one earlier this year for a 50th anniversary Bordeaux dinner borderline, not clean, not quite as it should be but not undrinkable either.
