Saint Emilion 2000 vintage: 15 years in bottle (Grill Room at the Rosewood): Wine #7 - another wine donated to this tasting via the Association de Grands Crus Classés de Saint-Emilion - proved to be one of those excellent QPRs from the evening. It pleased many a palate, some who had never heard of it, as quite juicy and delicious, if just a tad drying to me on the finish. It came from a magnum bottle. Overall crowd pleasing in its mid-palate juiciness. Several wanted to note the name when I explained that the prices are very competitive, so bravo to charismatic owner Hervé Laviale and thanks for sharing a bottle with us to taste. For those of you who plan to visit Saint Emilion, Laviale has a superb bed and breakfast at the château.
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Comprehensive 2000 St Emilion Blind Tasting (The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC): Wine 7 - Medium expressive nose displaying very ripe black fruit, fruitcake, chocolate and earth. Medium concentration, fruitcake driven palate impression, medium acidity, nicely integrated tannins and a medium finish. A bit too ripe for my palate.
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Excellent 17 year-old Bordeaux. Solid blood ruby with red legs. Pretty much opaque. Fragrant nose, even rich. Mostly red fruit. Hint of iodine. Tannins pretty much resolved, leaving a smooth, rich, full wine to behold, sleek and chewy at the same time. An excellent value at $50 for a 2000 Bordeaux of this quality. (Wonder how much this was back in the day.) Smashing! 5-12-15-8: 90/100.
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Drunk over two evenings. Primary purple ruby colour. An attractive bouquet, more Left Bank than Right. Aromas of red and black cherries, blackberries and Black Doris plums with cedar, dark spices and black pepper in the background. Compared with the bouquet, slightly under-delivers on the palate. However, a nice Bordeaux with flavours of sour cherries, blackberries and plums. Suave, refined tannins. Good acidity. A shade below medium weight. Seemingly on its drinking plateau now but there is no need to hurry to drink this 2000.
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Very good, and very enjoyable. This wine had all the structure of the tannins that were probably once prominent. Now they are totally integrated and mellow while still giving the wine some weight. Decanted for over an hour, which may or may not have been necessary. I don't think this needs any more time in the bottle. Drink up.
The palate underperformed compared with the nose, which was absolutely stunning, just divine. I could smell this all night. Alas, this bottle was split four ways, so I had previous little to savor. But everything was very well integrated and smooth. Nothing aside from the smell was mind-blowing, but it's a lovely wine nonetheless.
This went well at the table with steaks, but honestly I wish I had drunk it alone - I always guzzle my wine too quickly with food. For $50, it was an educational experience for me, as I'm not too familiar with wine this old. For that, it was worth it. Otherwise, although this was a lovely wine, I wouldn't pay that for it again.
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Excellent. Corsé, poivré, légers goûts de menthe et de réglisse, moka, bord rosé, gras, profondeur, longueur et minéralité très pure, graphite, vieux cuir, groseille et autres fruits, bonne acidité, tannins bien fondus, longue vie à lui ! Mon premier Franc-Mayne, à découvrir...
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Popped and poured. Note after 90 minutes. Plums, blackberries and black pepper on the nose. Dark fruits and earth on the palate. Nice tannins. This really opened up well over the course of the night.
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Opaque dark red with slight orange rim. Deep first nose of toasted cedar and ripe berries, cocoa powder. A very lively nose with copious sweet ripe berries jam toast/pie, new spiced wood, underbrush, traces milk chocolate. High glycerin entry and low acidity, ultrafine tannin and balanced, lush and soft, rich and round, with berries and spicy underbrush in the palate. Long concentrated lingering finish of juicy ripe plum, fresh, endnote of dark mocha (dark chocolate and bitterness of coffee). Very Bordeaux-styled. A mellow and complete St Emilion with some depth like St Estephe. Excellent stuff.
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Smooth, well integrated ten year old bottle of wine. Better than I'd expectd as I was afraid I'd let this go to long. Not all all, still drinking beautifully. Opened/poured about 2 hours before drinking.
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First of all I'm no expert on Bordeaux (did I even spell it right?). Decanted 1 1/2 hours before drinking. Drank over next hour, some left for tomorrow.
I have to agree with previous reviewer (Kim) on this one. I didn't get any biting dryness on this bottle. It was warm and balanced. Fruit not overwhelming but building through our meal (Veal Francaise). Nose was "high" in that it had a comforting gradual quality until it filled your head with cherries and sweet berry and thyme-like spices. Initially weak in the mid-palate it came on stronger as it opened up. Good acidic balance apparent even in the glass and a very slight warmth on the finish. I had expected to rate this lower, but have to go over 90 here.
Initially purchased 2 bottles for $27 each. Wish I had more because it's ready now or in the next 3-5 years.. Happy New Year Everyone.
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On the nose, tobacco, mocha, spice and red fruits. On the palate, more of the same with a medium body, good acidity and drying tannins that keep it from reaching outstanding. Maybe in time as the tannins integrate.
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I found this even smoother despite the more pronounced tannins. It felt more acidic and complex. I believe this is what critics mean when they say a wine has more structure. I could see this wine having much more aging potential. (Group tasting of 2000 Chateau Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse, 2000 Chateau Franc Mayne, 2000 Chateau Rouget, 1988 Chateau Le Bon Pasteur, 1999 Chateau Cheval Blanc, and 1999 Chateau Ausone, in the order listed.)
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4/25/2019 - troger Likes this wine: 89 Points
Probably towards the end of its good tasting window. From a magnum which helped.
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7/19/2017 - Drew Van Brunt Likes this wine: 87 Points
Excellent
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4/29/2017 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 94 Points
Saint Emilion 2000 vintage: 15 years in bottle (Grill Room at the Rosewood): Wine #7 - another wine donated to this tasting via the Association de Grands Crus Classés de Saint-Emilion - proved to be one of those excellent QPRs from the evening. It pleased many a palate, some who had never heard of it, as quite juicy and delicious, if just a tad drying to me on the finish. It came from a magnum bottle. Overall crowd pleasing in its mid-palate juiciness. Several wanted to note the name when I explained that the prices are very competitive, so bravo to charismatic owner Hervé Laviale and thanks for sharing a bottle with us to taste. For those of you who plan to visit Saint Emilion, Laviale has a superb bed and breakfast at the château.
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4/19/2017 - dcwino wrote: 90 Points
Comprehensive 2000 St Emilion Blind Tasting (The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC): Wine 7 - Medium expressive nose displaying very ripe black fruit, fruitcake, chocolate and earth. Medium concentration, fruitcake driven palate impression, medium acidity, nicely integrated tannins and a medium finish. A bit too ripe for my palate.
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12/3/2016 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 90 Points
Excellent 17 year-old Bordeaux. Solid blood ruby with red legs. Pretty much opaque. Fragrant nose, even rich. Mostly red fruit. Hint of iodine. Tannins pretty much resolved, leaving a smooth, rich, full wine to behold, sleek and chewy at the same time. An excellent value at $50 for a 2000 Bordeaux of this quality. (Wonder how much this was back in the day.) Smashing! 5-12-15-8: 90/100.
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2/25/2016 - Kris G wrote: flawed
slightly corked, so no score
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11/15/2015 - HowardNZ Likes this wine: 89 Points
Drunk over two evenings. Primary purple ruby colour. An attractive bouquet, more Left Bank than Right. Aromas of red and black cherries, blackberries and Black Doris plums with cedar, dark spices and black pepper in the background. Compared with the bouquet, slightly under-delivers on the palate. However, a nice Bordeaux with flavours of sour cherries, blackberries and plums. Suave, refined tannins. Good acidity. A shade below medium weight. Seemingly on its drinking plateau now but there is no need to hurry to drink this 2000.
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5/23/2015 - OregonLoafer Likes this wine: 88 Points
Very good, and very enjoyable. This wine had all the structure of the tannins that were probably once prominent. Now they are totally integrated and mellow while still giving the wine some weight. Decanted for over an hour, which may or may not have been necessary. I don't think this needs any more time in the bottle. Drink up.
The palate underperformed compared with the nose, which was absolutely stunning, just divine. I could smell this all night. Alas, this bottle was split four ways, so I had previous little to savor. But everything was very well integrated and smooth. Nothing aside from the smell was mind-blowing, but it's a lovely wine nonetheless.
This went well at the table with steaks, but honestly I wish I had drunk it alone - I always guzzle my wine too quickly with food. For $50, it was an educational experience for me, as I'm not too familiar with wine this old. For that, it was worth it. Otherwise, although this was a lovely wine, I wouldn't pay that for it again.
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5/18/2014 - meqoubal36 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Excellent. Corsé, poivré, légers goûts de menthe et de réglisse, moka, bord rosé, gras, profondeur, longueur et minéralité très pure, graphite, vieux cuir, groseille et autres fruits, bonne acidité, tannins bien fondus, longue vie à lui ! Mon premier Franc-Mayne, à découvrir...
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9/16/2012 - gsquireh wrote: 91 Points
Medium bodied purple concentrate that is sweet blackberry jam and spice with forest everywhere. Elegant and richly structured.
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4/20/2011 - cookie7 wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured. Note after 90 minutes. Plums, blackberries and black pepper on the nose. Dark fruits and earth on the palate. Nice tannins. This really opened up well over the course of the night.
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2/19/2011 - Ambrose wrote: 92 Points
Opaque dark red with slight orange rim. Deep first nose of toasted cedar and ripe berries, cocoa powder. A very lively nose with copious sweet ripe berries jam toast/pie, new spiced wood, underbrush, traces milk chocolate. High glycerin entry and low acidity, ultrafine tannin and balanced, lush and soft, rich and round, with berries and spicy underbrush in the palate. Long concentrated lingering finish of juicy ripe plum, fresh, endnote of dark mocha (dark chocolate and bitterness of coffee).
Very Bordeaux-styled. A mellow and complete St Emilion with some depth like St Estephe. Excellent stuff.
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2/4/2011 - Jmartin wrote: 89 Points
Smooth, well integrated ten year old bottle of wine. Better than I'd expectd as I was afraid I'd let this go to long. Not all all, still drinking beautifully. Opened/poured about 2 hours before drinking.
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8/24/2010 - Mh33 wrote: 88 Points
Smooth rasberry finish. Simple/accessible for Bourdeaux.
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7/31/2009 - gsquireh wrote: 89 Points
Rich dark purple with spicey black fruit. Balanced acidity and present tannins that are softening.
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12/27/2008 - Jimdish25 wrote: 91 Points
First of all I'm no expert on Bordeaux (did I even spell it right?). Decanted 1 1/2 hours before drinking. Drank over next hour, some left for tomorrow.
I have to agree with previous reviewer (Kim) on this one. I didn't get any biting dryness on this bottle. It was warm and balanced. Fruit not overwhelming but building through our meal (Veal Francaise). Nose was "high" in that it had a comforting gradual quality until it filled your head with cherries and sweet berry and thyme-like spices. Initially weak in the mid-palate it came on stronger as it opened up. Good acidic balance apparent even in the glass and a very slight warmth on the finish. I had expected to rate this lower, but have to go over 90 here.
Initially purchased 2 bottles for $27 each. Wish I had more because it's ready now or in the next 3-5 years.. Happy New Year Everyone.
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4/4/2008 - Kim Iversen wrote: 92 Points
Excellent wine. Perfect mature right now. Notes of cherry, blackcurrant and well balanced barrique.
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5/17/2006 - SacredCow wrote: 89 Points
On the nose, tobacco, mocha, spice and red fruits. On the palate, more of the same with a medium body, good acidity and drying tannins that keep it from reaching outstanding. Maybe in time as the tannins integrate.
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9/19/2004 - peternelson wrote: 89 Points
Denis le Seve’s: Very nice red, sweet forest berries, great structure, med. + bod, excellent.
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3/26/2004 - jmcnally wrote: 89 Points
I found this even smoother despite the more pronounced tannins. It felt more acidic and complex. I believe this is what critics mean when they say a wine has more structure. I could see this wine having much more aging potential. (Group tasting of 2000 Chateau Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse, 2000 Chateau Franc Mayne, 2000 Chateau Rouget, 1988 Chateau Le Bon Pasteur, 1999 Chateau Cheval Blanc, and 1999 Chateau Ausone, in the order listed.)
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1/21/2003 - R2-D2 wrote: 90 Points
2000 Bordeaux Tasting (Chicago, IL): Sweet, but bitter black fruit with spice and mocha on a thoroughly tannic finish.
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1/17/2003 - Vino Me wrote: 89 Points
Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux (2000 Vintage) (Intercontinental Hotel Chicago): Tobacco and coffee nose. Simple red fruits on the palate with meaty notes. medium bodied with a dry finish. 88-90 points.
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