Had this wine over the course of 2 days, could have potentially benefited from being opened longer, but oh well.
-Intense and powerful when opened, I literally recoiled back. 1.5-2 hours to finally compose itself
-At first, I was met with a fruit bomb, nearly overripe cherries, plum, and some cassis
-Leather, forest floor, even truffle
-Some iodine notes, some orange zest
-Finally some sandalwood
-And finally some dried roses, violets and eucalyptus! I was afraid these notes wouldn’t come out at all given how concentrated this wine was until this point
Second day
-This wine became so elegant overnight, almost ethereal if it was just a little less tense
-I can almost smell a slight chalky-ness from the limestone even though the soil should be predominately gravel with some sand, clay and limestone mixed in
-Speaking of sand, this wine began to have this delicate quality on the nose which I usually find in sandy soil wines. I’ve heard professionals say that you can’t “taste” or “smell” soil types…but I’ve always disagreed. Funny enough, one of these professionals showed me a technique to coax the earthy tones of a wine simply by repositioning the angle of the glass in relation to one’s nose, a technique I still use quite often
-Nearly chugged the wine at this point
Anyways, onto the flavor and structure
-Ripe on entry, almost too ripe for my taste, especially for claret. However, it was concise and focused
-Long finish with tannins and acidity in near perfect harmony
-13% alcohol on the label, felt a little higher
Overall needs another good 5-10 years for the tannins to mellow out a little and for the ripe fruit flavors to mesh a little better with tertiary flavors, though it might just end up sticking out like a sore thumb forever…
You’re very welcome! Currently I do not have any Bordeaux from 2000 at all, but I can easily source some if this economy would just pick up, haha.
From previous experiences at dinners(prior to jotting down notes seriously), I have had Haut-Brion and Cuvee Jean Gautreau(Sociando Mallet) from 2000 and both were tasted 2-3 years ago.
The Haut-Brion was less extracted than this 2005 Gruaud-Larose, and had softer tannins but it was also decanted(I chose to keep the 05 GL in its bottle because I was drinking alone and I drink very slowly even compared to fellow enthusiasts). The fruit quality was ripe, but not overripe at all. Tertiary flavors were just starting to develop, minerality was very pleasing. I had to push my plate away so I could enjoy the wine as it was.
The 2000 Cuvee Jean Gautreau showed dark fruits and immediate leather, cigar and mushroom. Very tertiary, tasted in 2024 I believe. Very big and needed a steak but I honestly didn’t feel like getting up at that moment!
These are currently the only comparison I can offer at this moment, but I would imagine the 00 GL to start peaking right now!
I’d love to know why GL hasn’t retained the magic of their run in the 80s. Was it a Brett cleanup thing? Haven’t had a post 90 GL that stacks up with 82/85/86/88/89.
Good question! I think there was a Brett cleanup phase in the 90s and the wines became more elegant and less concentrated. Perhaps the succession of three new owners from 83 to 97 wanted a different style. I don’t know when Georges Pauli, the technical director responsible for the 80s wines left, but I imagine that had an impact too. Although I believe he was still there until around 2001 or so.
