Comprehensive 2000 St Emilion Blind Tasting
The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC
Tasted Wednesday, April 19, 2017 by dcwino with 718 views
Introduction
A few months back, Panos and I discussed about organizing a 2000 St Emilion retrospective tasting. We were able to get most of the marquee wines from our cellars except the Ausone and Tertre Roteboeuf which we sourced recently through on line. Panos contacted a few St Emilion properties and they generously contributed the wines. Eight of us got together at the grill room of the Rosewood Hotel. Due to the logistics, i.e. only five stems and not enough space, we had three or four wines per flight. Most of the wines were served before the meal.
Most of us agreed that the wines showed well. The fruit was certainly ripe but none were overripe. I personally thought that most wines have not reached the initial youthful peak. For my palate, most of the wines have excellent concentration and structure to age gracefully for at least another decade or two. The top wines will easily develop like the 61s. 
Blind tasting is always a humbling experience and this was no different. I have always been a big fan of the 00 Cheval Blanc and hope to correctly guess. Unfortunately I had no clue. In addition, we ended up having two bottles of the Clos Fourtet and my impressions were quite different.
The results were really interesting but not unexpected. Blind tasting is a great equalizer. Considering the maturity and the horizontal format, it is hard to completely discredit the results. The Pavie was the favorite, the Valandraud taking the second place was somewhat of a surprise, and the third place was the Angelus which was my wine of the night. The final results closely resemble the Grand Jury Europeen tastings' results from the past. 
Flight 1 - Starter (4 Notes)
The 96 Salon showed beautifully as usual. The 15 Sandlands Chenin was very fresh, really interesting wine.
Flight 2 - Bordeaux - Flight 1 (3 Notes)
Flight 3 - Bordeaux - Flight 2 (3 Notes)
Flight 4 - Bordeaux - Flight 3 (3 Notes)
Flight 5 - Bordeaux - Flight 4 (3 Notes)
Flight 6 - Bordeaux - Flight 5 (4 Notes)
Flight 7 - Bordeaux - Flight 6 (3 Notes)
Flight 8 - Bordeaux - Flight 7 (3 Notes)
Closing
It was an enjoyable and educational evening. A great time was had by all!
1996 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 98 Points
France, Champagne
Decadent yet incredibly focused and precise nose displaying lemon curd, granny smith, honey, white pepper, wet stone and anise. Beautifully integrated youthful palate, exceptional precision and balance, beautiful interplay of decadent citrus and fresh/precise granny smith, fine mousse, perfectly amount of acidity, strong presence of mineral and a long energetic finish. It is drinking perfectly in very youthful and energetic way but will improve for a few more decades, gaining additional sweetness and complexity. At the age of twenty, it remains incredibly young, brilliant showing.
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2009 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard 96 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Strong mineral note hits you first, followed by decadent pineapple and coconut, butter scotch, also smoke, pepper and honey. Excellent concentration, intense pineapple and smoke driven palate impression, bright acidity, strong presence of mineral and a long sweet finish with a hint of heat at the end. The overall expression is quite harmonious. Drinking beautifully.
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2002 Pol Roger Champagne Blanc de Blancs 94 Points
France, Champagne
Medium expressive deeply toned nose displaying apple, tarte tatin, ginger and brioche. Very good concentration, rich and sweet, good acidity and mineral presence and a long sweet finish. Not the most refined but totally solid Champagne that is drinking beautifully. It has reached the peak but no need to hurry.
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2015 Sandlands Chenin Blanc Amador County 92 Points
USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
Beautifully balanced nose displaying lemon curd, apple sour, beeswax, steel, honey and smoke. Very good concentration, precise and steely, bright acidity and a medium to long finish. This shows beautiful balance and freshness.
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