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This estate has frequently hit the bull’s eye over recent vintages, and the 2000 Montrose is the finest effort produced since the compelling 1990 and 1989. This gigantically sized, tannic, backward effort boasts a saturated inky purple color followed by a huge nose of acacia flavors, crushed blackberries, creme de cassis, vanilla, hickory smoke, and minerals. Extremely full-bodied, powerful, dense, and multi-layered, this unreal Montrose should last for 30+ years. A blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, this is a special wine that has exceptional purity and length. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2040.Robert Parker | 96 RPThe 2000 Montrose is a straight-up gorgeous bottle of wine that while, still young, is offering up tons of pleasure. Classic Saint Estèphe notes of blackcurrants, damp earth, tobacco leaf, cedar, and hints of truffle all emerge from this dense, concentrated, powerful red that has the classic 2000 structure and richness. With sweet tannins, full body, impeccable balance, and a great, great finish, it’s at the early stages of its drink window and has another 3+ decades of longevity ahead of it.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDJust starting to open, it shows beautiful spices and dark fruit on the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied with ultra-fine, integrated tannins and an extremely complex, refined finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JS(Château Montrose, Cabernet Sauvignon, St-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France, Red) Just beginning to soften and open after a stubborn few decades. Tobacco and crushed mint leaf sit against blackberry and bilberry fruits that continue to be held by a firm frame of tannins. A stately Montrose that has a long future ahead, and is packed with the power and finesse that is so signature to this estate. Harvest September 22 to October 7. First year in the new stainless steel vat room. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. (Drink between 2022-2035)Decanter | 95 DECFull red-ruby. Roasted, smoky aromas of blackberry, blueberry and licorice. Plush, dense and large-scaled; expands impressively in the mouth. Chocolatey-ripe but kept fresh by nicely integrated acidity. Offers lovely sweetness without going over the top. Finishes with big, dusty, horizontal tannins and lovely aromatic persistence. Offers extraordinary texture and depth of flavor for a wine with just 12.8% alcohol.Vinous Media | 94 VMThis has a relatively polished feel, with rounded tannins, though they are substantial enough to give the core of tobacco, black currant paste and warmed fig flavors a nice loamy tug through the finish. Rather refined and with noticeably more depth than AOC colleagues in this vintage, with a very alluring hint of fresh bay at the very end.--Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2023.Wine Spectator | 93 WSNo written review provided. | 92 W&S

Beginning to open magnificently, the still dense purple-colored 2000 reveals a blossoming bouquet of blackberries, cassis, graphite and pen ink. Full-bodied with velvety tannins that have resolved themselves beautifully over the last eleven years, this wine is still an adolescent, but it exhibits admirable purity, texture, mouthfeel and power combined with elegance. One of the all-time great examples of Lynch Bages, the 2000 is just beginning to drink well yet promises to last for another 20-25+ years.Robert Parker | 97 RPThis has a dense but well-defined core of currant and fig paste flavors supported by a gorgeous graphite spine. Long and authoritative, with notes of bay, pepper, leather and juniper slowly emerging on the finish. Terrific structure and integration give this a chiseled feel. No rush here.--Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2033.Wine Spectator | 96 WSFinally rounding the corner, the 2000 Château Lynch-Bages is mature, with classic Pauillac darker currants, lead pencil, tobacco leaf, and spice-laced aromatics. With a deep plum color and slight lightening at the edges, it’s medium to full-bodied and has a layered texture as well as integrated tannins. A classic, elegant, yet still powerful Lynch-Bages, it delivers plenty of sweet fruit and a great finish. It benefits from an hour of air and will certainly hold at this stage for another 10-15 years with no issues.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDAnother wonderful 2000 coming out of its long sleep. Beautiful aromas of berry, tobacco, herb and spice that follow through to a full palate with round, textured tannins and lots of fruit.James Suckling | 95 JSTypical of Lynch-Bages in its sumptuous rich style, this is a resounding success for the team of Jean-Michel Cazes. With its sweet fruit, opulent but balanced wood and red and black fruit flavors, it is a wine that will develop relatively quickly but will certainly age.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE71% cabernet sauvignon, 16% merlot, 11% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot; 5.5 g/l total acidity; 13.3% alcohol): Deep ruby-red. Knockout aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, mocha and cedar complicated by scorched earth and tobacco. Big, ripe and dense, with flavors similar to the aromas and a seamless, rich texture. Though powerful and rich, with a sensual mouthfeel, it maintains a graceful, light-on-its-feet quality. Finishes with ripe, fine-grained tannins and excellent length. Still an infant, but clearly a great vintage for this property.Vinous Media | 94+ VMNo written review provided. | 92 W&S

Hello. Take textbook St.-Julien warmed fig, blueberry compote and blackberry reduction notes along with ample graphite, bramble and tobacco flavors, then dial it up a notch. This has terrific energy to offset the admirable depth and length, and hasn’t even started a second phase yet. One of the stars of the vintage.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Best from 2018 through 2033. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSDecadent aromas of strawberry tart, earth, meat, spices, that gives way to flowers and currants. Full and very soft, with refined tannins with a very long finish. This is just starting to open up right now, a real beauty. Soft and delicious with a great future. This will be better in 5 years, but you can enjoy this now. Pull the cork in 2015.James Suckling | 96 JSRight from the early days of tasting in spring 2001, this was going to be one of the stars of the vintage. And a star it remains. There is big, ripe fruit, with solid, ageworthy tannins. It may not be as powerful as some of the blockbusters of the vintage, but it is certainly more opulent, less classical than Léoville-Barton can sometimes be.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEI found this to be one of the more backward wines of the 2000 vintage and gave it a window of maturity of 2015-2040 when I reviewed it in 2003. In my two recent tastings of it, I changed that window to 2018-2050, which probably says more than the following tasting note could say. This is a behemoth – dense, highly extracted, very tannic, broodingly backward, with a dense purple color and very little evolution since it was bottled 8 years ago. Wonderfully sweet cedar and fruitcake notes are intermixed with hints of creme de cassis, licorice, and earthy forest floor. It is full-bodied and tannic, with everything in place, but like so many wines that come from Leoville Barton, it makes a mockery of many modern-day consumers wanting a wine for immediate gratification. Those who bought it should continue to exercise patience and be proud to own a wonderful classic with five decades of longevity ahead of it.Robert Parker | 95+ RPNo written review provided. | 94 W&SThe 2000 Léoville-Barton has a juicy, ripe bouquet of macerated black cherries, incense, potpourri and veins of blue fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, good density, nice structure and a sappy conclusion. This has opened up in recent years and displays a touch of ash toward the finish. Drinking perfectly now, it’s a decent Léoville-Barton that never quite achieves the heights of recent stellar vintages.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Probably the finest Giscours made since the 1975, this black/purple-colored 2000 offers up terrific notes of camphor, creosote, blackberry, and cassis jam intermixed with notions of smoke and earth. Spicy, with low acidity, a big, rich, fleshy, full-bodied palate, outstanding texture, and a long, pure finish, it is, to reiterate, one of the best Giscours produced over the last 25 years. A sleeper of the vintage, it is still available for a realistic price.Robert Parker | 92 RPThis is very perfumed, with mushrooms, berries, and even strawberries. Full and round on the palate with soft tannins and lovely sweet finish. This is very long and balanced, but still needs time. Just starting to open up now, but give it a couple of years. Pull the cork in 2012.James Suckling | 92 JSThis is a big, powerful, firm wine, with a top layer of ripe, glamorous fruit flavors. Blackcurrant jelly fruits are shot through with ripe acidity and soft tannins. It should develop relatively fast, but then last well.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEA touch more advanced than the rest of the pack, with beautiful singed alder and juniper notes starting to lead the way while the core of lightly steeped black currant and fig fruit notes is simmering nicely with subtle charcoal and loam elements. Stylish bay-infused finish.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2020. 27,500 cases made. Wine Spectator | 91 WSThis is a big, rich style of wine with a deep inner core of colour and fruit that is almost on the overripe side. The extraction seems a little more pushed, the tannins chunky and slightly chewy on the finish. That said, there’s still an innate freshness and gourmand nature to the wine. It will appeal to those that prefer a plusher style, less so those that have a more classic leaning. Drinking Window 2021 - 2028.Decanter | 91 DECThe 2000 Giscours is a vintage that I last tasted at the 20th-anniversary vertical in 2015. It has a lovely nose, not powerful, but pure and less rustic than some of the others tasted, offering red plum and cedar (as I have noted on previous bottles) and hints of fig jam and black olive. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and just a splash of balsamic infusing the red fruit. It lacks a little length and feels a bit compact on the finish, but there is ample freshness and tension. Decanting would benefit this millennial. Fine.Vinous Media | 90 VM