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BORDEAUX 2000

Offered FEB 9th, 2018

Buying Reserved Wine ‘Ex-Chateau’
If the sensible option is to buy the best of the best, then it follows that the ultimate is to buy the top vintages of the 1st growths, top Pomerols, and St. Emilions, and the ‘Super-Seconds’  directly, Ex-Chateau from their reserved stocks. These are the best of the best, without a doubt.

 

There is, of course, a premium to be paid for great wines that have never been handled by anyone other the Chateau themselves, that and coming with a guarantee of origin. And that extra value grows precipitously larger the older the vintage it is that is being offered.

 

A savvy investor may see a better return in buying cheaper wine that has been in the market since release and they may be right, it may be a better bet, but there is something more worthwhile than simple vanity to be derived from possession of the pristine and perfect Ex Chateau stock. 2000 Ex-Chateau releases have now been held back in the cellars for 15 years from release and 17 from the initial ‘En Primeur ‘or ‘Futures’ offerings.  That is a long time, it only takes a brief moment of carelessness; a couple of hours on sweltering airport tarmac, a prolonged power-outage in the height of Summer, or display in a proud collector’s brightly lit trophy case to ruin a wine.

 

 
2000: The Superb Millennium Vintage Will Always Stand Alone
If you chart all the greatest vintages that Bordeaux has ever produced, 2000 ranks highly, even among the most elite group. In any list, say perhaps the dozen or so great years since the Second World War, the 2000 vintage will be well placed among them.

 

But 2000 holds a special place and a fascination beyond simply being one in a select group, the unique fascination of being THE Millennial vintage will always be there, but a quick review of the historical distribution of the great vintages reveals how the 2000 vintage towers above any other vintage of its generation. From 1991 all the way through to 2005. No other vintage comes close. As time marches on, the 2000s will not just be great examples in their class; they will always be the outstanding wines of their age. It does not take an enormous leap of faith to see how the magnitude and importance of this will be translated into commercial value as this generation of vintages comes to maturity.

Calon Segur 2000
$655 per 3L
$150 per bottle 

94 points Robert Parker: “Tasted from an ex-château bottle at BI Wine & Spirits Calon-Segur dinner in London. The 2000 Calon Segur is one of those wines that reminds you how great the millennial vintage could be. Now at fifteen years old, it has a brilliant, vivacious red berry nose infused with ash and cigar box aromas. The detail here is a beguiling and it just “sings” Saint Estèphe. The palate is medium-bodied with dense, firm tannin that provide a rigid backbone, but it is swathed in copious tobacco-drenched black fruit and a superb line of acidity. It finishes with a twist of bitter cherry on the finish that completes what is a deeply impressive Calon-Ségur; it might just outclass the 2005. Tasted March 2015.”

 

Cheval Blanc 2000
$1,190 per bottle 

99 points Robert Parker: “Coming out of a relatively dormant state, this 2000 is a spectacular Cheval Blanc. Of recent vintages, I think only the 2009 can give it a run for its money. A blend of 53% Merlot and 47% Cabernet Franc, the wine has a sweet nose of menthol, melted licorice, boysenberry, blueberry, and cassis. A broad wine with compelling purity, a layered texture, and sweet tannin, with hints of coffee and earth in the background, this is by far the best Cheval Blanc since 1990 and before 2009. It is a legend in the making and can actually be drunk now, as the tannins have nearly melted away. This is a beauty with incredibly complex aromatics. Drink it over the next 25-30 years.”

 

Clos du Marquis 2000
$99 per bottle

91 points Robert Parker: “One of the great sleepers of the vintage and probably the best Clos de Marquis I have ever tasted, this wine could easily compete with many of the vintage’s classified growths. Dense, opaque purple-colored, with creme de cassis, vanilla, and cherry notes, medium to full body, an unctuous texture, low acidity, and a more evolved style than its bigger sibling, Leoville Las Cases, this dense, chewy, remarkably concentrated and stylish wine should be at its best between 2005 and 2018.”

 

Lynch Bages 2000
$335 per bottle

97 points Robert Parker: “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.”

 

Margaux 2000
$1,350 per bottle

100 points Robert Parker: “Absolutely compelling in two tastings of this vintage, the 2000 Margaux is composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. The extraordinary seductiveness, complex aromatics, and purity it exhibits lead me to believe it has reached its window of full maturity. Medium-bodied, with layers of concentration, stunning blue, red, and black fruits intermixed with spring flowers, a subtle dosage of new oak, and a distinctive personality that is elegant while at the same time powerful and substantial, this is a multi-dimensional wine that was extremely approachable and drinkable in both tastings I had of it. The color remains a healthy, even opaque bluish/purple, but there is no reason to hesitate to drink it. It should evolve for another 30-40 years, so there is no hurry either.”

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