Wine Ratings

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This wine is superb. With its power and structure it will age over 20 years or more. Backed by blackcurrant and jelly flavors, it shows great fruity attractiveness even at this early stage in its development. It will develop slowly and evenly to become a reference point for the vintage.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEI love the chocolate and blackberry character, with hints of cedar. Nicely perfumes. Full and very creamy, with soft tannins and a long finish. The tannins compliment the creamy texture perfectly, wait two more years to pull the cork. 2012.James Suckling | 94 JSThis elegant St.-Emilion has filled out nicely over the last decade. From barrel and post-bottling, I thought it might turn out austere, but that does not appear to be the case. It offers a deep ruby/purple color as well as copious aromas of black cherries, crushed rocks, and earthy undertones. While not a blockbuster, it is beautifully balanced and pure, revealing slightly more depth and richness than I expected. Drink it now and over the next 10-15 years.Robert Parker | 90 RP

(Château Figeac (St. Émilion)) The 2000 Château Figeac is one of the strongest examples of the vintage I have tasted in quite some time. The wine remains youthful, but its promise is self-evident, as it delivers a refined aromatic constellation of black cherries, dark berries, cigar wrapper, a superb base of soil tones, a touch of youthful Figeac herb notes, smoky new oak and an exotic topnote of celery seed. On the palate the wine is deep, complex and full-bodied, with a superb core of fruit, lovely balance and grip, suave, buried tannins and a long, nascently complex and very, very promising finish. This is very elegant for an example of 2000 claret. (Drink between 2025-2075),John Gilman | 94 JGFigeac has become a more consistent wine over the last few years. A profound effort, the surprisingly full-bodied 2000 Figeac has an opaque purple color accompanied by a terrific bouquet of camphor, graphite, black currants, licorice, and smoked herbs. With well-balanced, powerful tannin, concentration, and pinpoint precision, finesse, and purity, this expressive as well as textured effort will drink well between 2004-2018. When Figeac hits on all cylinders, one can understand why some tasters believe it is as complex as Cheval Blanc. This is undeniably the estate’s finest effort since 1996.Robert Parker | 93 RPSpices, herbs, plums, and meat on the nose. Full and round, with soft tannins and a beautiful finish. Chocolate and fruit everywhere. Give this another two or three years. Pull the cork in 2013.James Suckling | 93 JSOvert rosemary, bay and tobacco notes lead the way, backed by dark fig and steeped black currant fruit flavors at the core. The finish is loamy-edged, with a serious tug of earth. There’s nice flesh and density here, though I like where this is now, rather than wanting to wait too much longer.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2020. 8,333 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe 2000 Figeac is similar to the bottle tasted at the château just three months earlier. Still a tad rustic on the nose with singed leather and earthenware infusing the red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied, quite Left Bank in style, a little rough in texture with a slightly herbaceous finish. Maybe marginally better than the previous bottle, though it does nothing to dispel the idea that the 2001 is the better Figeac. Tasted at the Figeac vertical in Berlin.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Although still youthful, I do not think the 2000 Monbousquet will develop much more complexity. It is a seductive, rich, generously endowed effort revealing plenty of spice box, herb, black currant, kirsch, espresso, and toasty oak characteristics in a decidedly modern, but opulent, fleshy style. Enjoy this endearing, long, velvety-textured St.-Emilion over the next decade.Robert Parker | 93 RPBright ruby-red. Roasted currant and black cherry scents complicated by sexy oak. At once chewy and silky in the mouth, with complex, fresh flavors of plum, redcurrant, vanilla, coffee, smoky oak and woodsy underbrush. Finishes sweet and long, with thoroughly ripe tannins. This was bottled in February of this year after 28 months in barrel; it wasn’t too long ago that this wine received barely 18 months of elevageVinous Media | 92 VM

The luxury cuvee from Faugeres (owned by Bernard Magrez), the 2000 Peby Faugeres is the real deal. Sadly, only 500+ cases were made of this compelling St.-Emilion. An inky/blue/purple hue is accompanied by aromas of espresso roast, blueberry liqueur, smoke, and graphite. Thick and unctuously-textured with impressive purity and depth as well as full-bodied power and richness, it needs another 2-3 years of cellaring, and should last for two decades.Robert Parker | 96 RPThis jumps out of the glass, with berry, Indian spices and raspberry character on the nose. Full-bodied, with supersilky tannins and a caressing texture. Slightly short on the finish. A bit too much wood, but impressive. Best after 2008. 1,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSNice berries and cherry character on the nose that opens up to hints of green tea and a stemmy undertone. Full-bodied, with good fruit and a soft finish. Go ahead and pull the cork on this one.James Suckling | 90 JSImpressive saturated ruby. Roasted black cherry, dark chocolate, mocha and espresso on the nose. Lush and silky on the palate, with intense, nicely delineated dark berry and torrefaction flavors. Impressively concentrated and rich. Dense, vinous and solidly structured wine, with plenty of extract to support the firm tannins. Finishes with excellent length.Vinous Media | 90-91 VM

Extremely young with an unbelievable deep purple color, the 2000 Troplong Mondot has hardly budged since I tasted it in 2003. Two recent tastings confirmed that this is the greatest Troplong Mondot between their profound 1990 and more recent vintages such as 2005, 2008, and 2009. Copious chocolate, graphite, blackberry, blueberry, cassis, and ink characteristics are present in this full-bodied, powerful, massive St.-Emilion. While the tannins are noticeable, they are better integrated than they were seven years ago, and the fruit, extract, and richness clearly outweigh the wine’s structure. This 2000 will benefit from another 4-5 years of cellaring (longer than I originally predicted), and has at least two decades of drinkability ahead of it.Robert Parker | 96 RPThe 2000 Troplong Mondot is another vintage that I have not tasted for a long time. This includes some Cabernet Sauvignon that was north-facing and subsequently removed for the 2001. The youthful bouquet of black cherries, cassis, marmalade and blood orange is vibrant and precocious and shows fewer secondary aromas than some of its peers. It opens nicely to reveal camphor and star anise aromas, almost Rhône-like. The palate is chewy, quite dense and backward but initially lacks a bit of charm. Licorice and sloes come through. Slightly granular in texture, it feels tight at first, but it deserves applause for its freshness and improves with aeration, loosening up and finally developing that missing charm.Vinous Media | 93 VMNo written review provided. | 93 W&SA soft, rich wine that bears all the classic qualities of the Valette family’s winery - a strength of line along and complexity. The fruit is ripe, ultra-generous, but is still tempered with layers of acidity and soft tannins.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WELovely berry, cherry and spice, with hints of mineral. Full-bodied, with fine tannins and a pretty mineral and berry aftertaste. A sexy and refined red. Best after 2009. 7,080 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

The first offering in what turned out to be a remarkable decade for this property, the 2000 Clos Fourtet was the finest wine produced here in many years, but it was subsequently eclipsed by the 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2009. The dense plum/purple-tinged 2000 exhibits notes of wet rocks, camphor, blackberries, and cassis. Full-bodied with tremendous density, it appears to have shed much of its tannin, and is through its adolescent stage. It should continue to evolve effortlessly for another decade.Robert Parker | 93 RPRipe and thickly layered, with boysenberry and fig paste flavors taking the lead, pushed by some hefty ganache and black licorice notes. The finish has an ample roasted apple wood injection holding sway, though there's good underlying cut thanks to a buried chalky minerality. Still seems like this will rely more on extraction in the end.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2023. 4,580 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSNo written reviews provided | 90 W&SThis was the last vintage at Clos Fourtet under the ownership of the Lurtons. They made fine wine, but the potential of the property was never quite realized. The wine just fails to excite: it is rich and concentrated with ripe tannins and some sweetness, but at the same time, there is a layer of acidity and structure which gives the wine a firm, solid shape.Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

Opulence and richness, with all the generosity of Merlot, are the hallmarks of this superb wine. It is huge and powerful and has enormous potential. What is so exceptional about this wine is that all its power is still to be revealed. In 10 years time, it will prove to be one of the stars of the vintage in Saint-Emilion.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThis elegant, fully mature 2000 St.-Emilion reveals notes of roasted herbs, sandy, loamy soil, black currants, cassis, and a hint of incense. Medium-bodied and pure with outstanding harmony and freshness, it should last for another decade or more.Robert Parker | 91 RPHas a lightly leathery, old-school edge, with a mild loamy note weaving through as well, while the core of steeped plum and black currant fruit notes is showing a fair amount of maturity already. Nice twinges of espresso and bay through the finish.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2020. 6,665 cases made. — JMWine Spectator | 90 WS

This is a big upgrade for this spectacular micro-cuvee, a true garage wine from a 4.4-acre vineyard. A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, I always find Gracia to be reminiscent of Ausone. The dense, rich 2000 reveals notes of a spring flower garden intermixed with smoky barbecue meat, blackberries, black currants, and crushed rocks. The extraordinary perfume is followed by a wine of great depth and richness, full-bodied power, and not a hard edge to be found. This velvety blockbuster is just beginning to strut all its stuff, and should age easily for another 15+ years.Robert Parker | 96 RPBright medium ruby. Superripe, slightly medicinal kirsch aroma, complicated by licorice, earth and exotic oak tones. Plump and smooth, with impressively concentrated flavors of liqueur-like black raspberry and black cherry. Finishes with big, dusty, late-arriving tannins and a note of roast coffee. Considerably less primary than the 2001 and 2002 vintages, but undeniably sweet and fat.Vinous Media | 91 VM