Red Bordeaux Blend Wines

wines

A legendary wine, with reason. I have only tasted this once, at the home of a very kind friend, exactly as it should be drunk – over a dinner table, where it managed to stop the conversation. It is still young, just now starting to open up to reveal its dazzling array of black and blue fruits, black olives, truffles and well-defined tannins exerting an influence over the structure. The mineral slate side of Lafleur is now fully in its stride, tugging you back as you reach the end, keeping you hanging on for more. Drinking Window 2020 - 2050.Decanter | 100 DECAn utterly awesome wine, the only problem with the 2000 Lafleur is that I indicated its maturity window would be 2012-2040+. Based on two tastings of it, I would now argue 2020-2060+. Yes, it is that backward, but it has extraordinary potential. Dense ruby/purple to the rim, this fabulously concentrated wine has a sweet nose of kirsch liqueur intermixed with licorice and subtle floral notes as well as a hint of truffle in the background. It is stacked and packed on the attack, with a multi-dimensional mid-palate of unbelievable intensity of concentration and richness, yet at the same time all this power is allied to striking elegance, purity, and depth. This is great Bordeaux, a profound Lafleur, and in about ten years, much of its magic should begin to be unleashed. If you can find it, it is an extraordinary wine, and as expensive as it was a decade ago, it will look cheap compared to prices for more recent vintages.Robert Parker | 100 RPThe 2000 Lafleur is a monumental Pomerol that I have been fortunate to taste almost a dozen times over the years. Now reaching adulthood, it has a deep colour with very little maturity showing on the rim. The bouquet is quite profound, if still a little broody and backward, adorned with captivating scents of blackberry, raspberry, crushed stone, and struck flint tincture that I have remarked on previously. The palate is medium-bodied with damn near perfect line of acidity, utterly harmonious and frankly this is difficult to fault. Filigree tannin, just a subtle touch of spice, layers of pixelated black fruit with astonishing clarity on the finish – it delivers the complete package. This Lafleur has long been a standout of the 2000 vintage and it continues to cruise at altitude as it enters adulthood. Tasted at the Christies’ Lafleur masterclass in London.Vinous Media | 100 VMA hand-crafted, exciting wine. Solid as rock. Bright aromas of violets, berries, cherries and lilacs. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and superbly refined, silky tannins. Long finish. This is a remake of the superb 1998. Much better than I found it in barrel. Best after 2013.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

Deep garnet colored with a touch of brick, the 2000 Mouton Rothschild (composed of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot) boldly bursts from the glass with tantalizing Black Forest cake, dried mulberries, kirsch and blackcurrant pastilles notes plus wafts of iodine, incense, potpourri and cinnamon stick with a hint of cigar boxes. Medium to full-bodied, the palate packs in the muscular fruit, framed by firm, ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with phenomenal length. This is an incredibly complex and multifaceted wine, and it’s drinking deliciously now. This said, I can’t help but feel that it is holding something back, that it still has another layer of opulence and seduction to reveal in its tight-knit fruit and solid structure. I personally can’t wait to see how this beauty will continue to unfold over the years to come.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPWith its distinctive antique bottle and gold etched label dominated by a sheep, this is definitely a move away from classic Bordeaux bottling. It is good that the wine can support the presentation. The fruit is so ripe, it almost tastes of raisins, but that sweetness is finely balanced by the dry tannins and concentrated texture. To finish, there are exotic spices, giving an almost oriental character to the long aftertaste.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEA little more open than the other four Firsts in the vintage, with undergrowth, baked earth and gentle spice alongside the truffles, smoked caramel, spice and bilberry fruits. It shows plenty of the trademark Mouton generosity and ripe tannic structure and is lusciously textured. This came in at 80% 1st wine. It wasn’t until Philippe Dhalluin arrived a few years later that production for the 1st wine would be lowered, with significantly more Petit Mouton being made (Lafite and Latour both closer to 50% 1st wine for similar sized estates). That’s not to say that you won’t be thrilled to open and drink this wine, and it will undoubtedly show that same stubborn unwillingness to fade away that the First Growths all share. 100% new oak. Drinking Window 2020 - 2050.Decanter | 96 DECNo written review provided. | 95 W&SRounded, fleshy and a bit extracted in feel, with dark plum, blackberry and fig jam flavors that flirt with a pruny edge, picking up lots of warm mocha, singed vanilla bean and ganache notes through the finish. This relies more on easy opulence than on depth or purity on the end.--Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2023. 20,833 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe nose is very intense, super-ripe and rich, verging on jammy. Notes of leather, spices and prunes. Full-bodied, soft and beautiful with ripe tannins and a long finish. This is soft and yummy right now. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 93 JSThe 2000 Mouton-Rothschild is a vintage that famously came in an eye-catching gold-embossed bottle, though I was rather ambivalent about its quality. Now just over two decades old, it has a focused bouquet of blackberry, mint and tobacco/black truffle scents, demonstrating fine intensity if not the show-stopping complexity one might expect from a First Growth in 2000. The palate is medium-bodied, juicy and ripe, with rounded tannins and moderate acidity, but I don’t find it complex, and it doesn’t really articulate the DNA of Mouton-Rothschild or its terroir. This becomes quite feral and just a little acetic with aeration.Vinous Media | 91 VM

My all-time favorite vintage of Tertre-Roteboeuf, the 2000 should age much more consistently than the rather irregular 1990 or the top-notch 1989. The 2005 should give it a run for its money down the road, but at present, this wine is performing fabulously well. It boasts a dense ruby/purple color along with notes of kirsch liqueur and licorice. This St.-Emilion could pass for a great Chateauneuf du Pape or top-notch Musigny, although it has more power and depth than a burgundy, and none of the peppery/garrigue characteristics of a Rhone. Nevertheless, there is a sweet character from the high glycerin level as I suspect the alcohol content exceeds 14%. Velvety textured and full-bodied, but surprisingly youthful, this stunningly rich wine can be drunk now, but promises to last another two decades.Robert Parker | 98 RPThe 2000 Tertre-Rôteboeuf is instantly captivating on the nose of gushing red cherries, crushed overripe strawberry, orange pith and violet scents, very Burgundy-like in terms of purity and very well defined. The palate is harmonious, sensual, silky-smooth and kept on an even keel by its fine acidity. Notes of allspice, black pepper and clove emerge. If I were to quibble, maybe it does not quite deliver the complexity you might anticipate on the finish, yet texturally this is an irresistible Saint-Émilion with grace and poise.Vinous Media | 95 VM