A couple months ago had the 2000 Clos du Marquis, which was wonderful, and a 2000 La Louviere, which was nice but a bit foursquare – not nearly as good as the 1990.
Decided to open Pichon Lalande, Pichon Baron, Lynch Bages and Gazin to check in on them. Lalande and Baron will probably take another 10 years, Lynch Bages is ready with a decent decant and Gazin is ready now with no further improvement with age. The Lalande was my wotn.
How was it? I’ve had this wine three times over the past five years and it’s been great all three times. Once, I had it alongside the Leoville Barton and LLC and it stole the show.
Glad you enjoyed it! I’ve drank more 2000 GPL than any other Bordeaux from the vintage. Really singing these days. For what it’s worth, I thought the PLL was great as well.
I am loving this bottle right now! It is in a beautiful spot and what a steal for a wine with 20+ years of age. I even let my husband have a small taste .
I also tasted the '00 Leoville Barton recently and found it enjoyable to drink but with room for further improvement, life to go. Felt the same way about 00 Leoville Las Cases in December.
I’m somewhat surprised at the general consensus of these wines being ready at age 21. I would have imagined that the extraction and oak usage at the time would require longer for the wines to come to maturity, or at least for significant tertiary development to occur. No doubt they have shed some youthful features, so I suppose it’s a matter of preference at this point.
Your initial post reads sincerely to me, but even so, in the opinion of numerous folks along the thread, many classified growths are enjoyable and ready to drink now. In light of techniques and tastes in that era, I would have expected the board to take a few years longer to come to that consensus on 2000. Broad strokes, I know, and one could just as easily argue that modern techniques would result in wines that reach maturity sooner.
As with many things in wine, it must be taken to a granular level (which specific Chateaux) and relies on subjective preference (are you holding out for tertiary flavors or just softening the structure enough to result in pleasant drinking). The thread is a helpful reference though, as late 90s and early 00s are often less competitive and less expensive to backfill than good vintages from the 80s.
The 2000 LP was great. Nice fruit with some secondary character. Much better than last time (2017). I look forward to future bottles and some further development.
Had a '00 Pontet Canet last night and it was very good, very Pauillac, not excellent but very good. I double decanted before we took to the restaurant and it was still on the young side, primary to secondary two to three hours after opening. I think an extended decant would have helped and think it has many years left in it.
Will be interested to check in on this one, since it few years ago it struck me as not fully balanced because the maturity of the Merlot versus Cabernet Sauvignon. Anyway, not ready to drink IMO 4-5 years ago, but it seems from the comments here it has turned the corner…
I had a Rauzan-Ségla 2000 last night - if anything, I wonder if its best days are not already in the past. Still a very enjoyable wine, with wonderful notes of wild strawberry, but there’s a definite lack of intensity compared to other Margaux 00s. I liked it more the last time I tried it in 2016. Some critics’ drinking windows are until 2040, but that seems a bit ambitious to me, at least on the basis of last night’s bottle.