This is drinking really well right now. It’s a dense rich wine with a medium to full body. Nice mouthfeel without any overt tannin although I suspect this wine has many years ahead of it. The fruit and glycerin keep the tannin hidden. The color is a deep red showing no sign of age yet. The nose and palate have an earthy aroma with cedar and mushroom blending with dark fruit. I popped, decanted for sediment, and served. Don’t be afraid to open one if you have a few. It’s perfect with red meat on a freezing cold night.
Funny, I just opened a 2000 Lagrange, which is drinking well now too. The oak much better integrated than an earlier bottle. Great for a cold bitter night as well.
Wow, perfect timing Rich. I just moved some 375s to my house from off-site storage and was wondering whether I was about to pop them too soon. Thanks for the note!
Thanks for the look-see. I own one bottle of the 2000 G-L.
2000 seems to be a relatively fast maturing vintage, for a strong year in Bordeaux that is. Of course, the 2000s are now 14 years old and many high-end chateau have entered their drinking window, but in comparison, I think many bottles of claret from 1995s, 1996s, 1998s and even 1989 still need more time.
I wonder if others see it this way. The wines that I’ve tried from most of the vintages above, I usually find the 2000s the most ready to drink (except for 1989, where it is very chateau-specific). There are exceptions to such a generalization, but of course, all vintage talk is (by definition) general.
I actually don’t buy the early maturing 2000 chatter. I do buy the fact that by 2000 we were really seeing the change in style that make many of these more approachable in their youth. The long haul??
Hmm… I had a glass 3 years ago and thought it was pretty locked up. Has it come that far in three years? Might be time to revisit…
2000 Château Gruaud Larose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (10/29/2011): Dark and inky. Stemmy and somewhat barnyardy on the nose, with some notes of wet sawdust. Chewy, sour, leathery, it’s almost like I’m eating a saddle. Lots of young and unresolved dusty tannins, this is currently nigh undrinkable, but there’s lots of promise when it comes around in… two decades. Some notes of graphite and cassis, but they’re just overwhelmed by something akin to the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Simply a beast of a wine, and we’re going to have to wait a long time for it to domesticate. (93 pts.)
Pat,
other than you I think 2000 is a keeper vintage on the Left Bank. IMO only the better Crus Bourgeoise refine today. Most of the better Crus Classé will benefit from further cellaring – at least when storing is cold. Many of the top wines may be approachable because 2000 is a vintage with very good ripeness of the tannins. But if you look for complexity in a top Bordeaux I think the wines are 5 to 10 years away from their best.
I agree that 2000 is not another 1928, 1945, 1986 or 1988. These vintages needed a very long time to develop charm.
I sure 2000 is a keeper vintage, the top wines sill need another 5 years at least, here is my notes on this wines from Dec 2013
The first impression.
Slow ox for 55 seconds… then decanted, aromas jumping out of the decanter, always a good sign. The wine is very dark, deep dense ruby at the edge, black towards the centre, looks a lot younger than it actually is. Has thrown quite a bit of sediment. Lovely intense floral nose with additional notes of chocolate, coffee, cassis, ripe black fruits and a bit of farm yard but no brett.
The palate is intense and concentrated with persistent but refined tannins.The texture has a velvety feel with a little bit of sweetness. Cassis, blackberry, dark chocolate, olive, currents, earth with the oak playing a supporting role. I think this could be cellared for a few more years and will be very long lived. Was hoping to keep it going for a couple a days more but that may prove difficult!
After 3 hours in the decanter.
Showing more depth and texture on the palate with a bit of toast that I did not notice when first opened, but still quite primary. I will be saving the rest of mine for at least 5 years and are thinking the better 2000’s are going to need to be 20 years of age…and that is just the beginning. Have put back the remainder in the bottle, nearly half a bottle left, so will see how its showing with lunch tomorrow.
The next day.
It may have closed down a little, but there are additional flavours of leather and spice with the tannins more assertive on a drying finish. Still richly textured with no signs of oxidation. The fruit is still concentrated and intense. Needs a really big cut of meat right now.
This wine requires more time in the cellar.
This wine, along with many other B2K, are starting to exit their awkward adolescence and reveal some of the beauty they will possess when fully mature. It is a good time to check in if you have multiples, but there is no question that most will be more fully mature and complex with another decade of cellaring.
A good friend served me the 2000 GL blind last year and I guessed it as left bank from a much earlier vintage. I was quite surprised on the reveal, and within a month or two I checked in on a bottle from my own cellar. That one was very approachable, but still very youthful and primary, so I assume bottle variation was in play with my friends earlier bottle.
There’s no doubt the bottle I opened has years ahead of it, as I mentioned in the original post, but it was very approachable last night. I don’t have a strong opinion on the vintage in general as “early maturing” because I’m just starting to check in on my 2000’s. In regard to this chateau in particular, I can say that this 2000 GL showed leaps and bounds better than a 1996 GL served on Christmas day from magnum.
The '96 was a lighter, leaner wine with a lot of earthy flavors and aromas and way less dark fruit than the 2000. The 2000 also showed a black licorice/anise taste in the background which was great. It’s a flavor I usually associate with Pichon Baron but don’t usually find in GL