April 6, 2024 - Loved it. Perfect place right now. Silky smooth not hugely complex but very balanced and lovely. Caht see any upside as fully resolved so why wait.
April 3, 2024 - A bit disappointing showing, quite closed and never really opened up even with a half day decant. Outshined by the 01 next to it which was surprising.
March 22, 2024 - (CDV)
Une robe opaque, bordeaux foncée aux reflets grenats et marrons, l’aspect est assez singulier, évoquant du soleil et de la maturité.
Nez magnifique, empyreumatique, musclé, confit, sérieux, très médocain (disons même très Pauillac dans son austérité), tabac, lardé, sous-bois, boîte à cigare…
En bouche du moelleux enrobe des tanins accomplis de grande classe, le goût fumé du vin emplit le palais, rehaussé par un cassis solaire, des épices. C’est long, très long avec une incroyable énergie, et quel accord luxuriant avec l’agneau… 2000 n’y est sans doute pas pour rien!
94/95
March 17, 2024 - Med en klar fruktighet og en klassisk stil uttrykker denne vinen en myndig karakter. Den viser tett konsentrasjon og en knapt merkbar aldring, men er samtidig godt balansert og satt sammen. Åpenbart en imponerende vin som med minimum 10 år ekstra lagring vil bli blant de flotteste i sin årgang.
March 15, 2024 - A complete wine and clearly in its drinking window. Silky smooth - a bit linear. Soft tannins that linger. I think this is at it's apogee. Drink now.
March 8, 2024 - A great bottle of this and for me, the hands-down winner of the 2000 dinner tonight. It has a great energy with rich dark fruits and perfectly ripe tannins. A big wine with a fabulous finish showing great concentration and emerging complexity with notes of tobacco, spices, smoky gravel and earthy minerals. Great now with a long decant and should still improve. Impressive juice! 95+
January 26, 2024 - A friend brought this to dinner last night. Decanted 3 hrs. Lots of leather on the nose with some tobacco, earth, and dark fruit as well. Delicious dark fruit and earth on the palate with well integrated oak, no heat, and manageable tannins. Paired really well with lamb and beef. This was my first higher end Pauillac with this kind of age on it. I get it now:)
January 25, 2024 - Semi-guys night (My house): Wow, 7+ years since I had this wine last and I am scoring it the same, and I also think its STILL just getting into it's drinking window - I would prefer it with another 5+ years. Easy to drink nonetheless. Tannins are grippy. Fruit is big and mostly red. A lot of Bordeaux character, incredibly nuanced.
January 25, 2024 - Guy's Night: Aged Bordeaux/Bordeaux Blends (Joe & Khem's Place, Mpls): Very dark red/purple color, saturated. Decanted for 1.5 hours, drank a glass over 3 hours in a flight with '86 Rausan Segla and '03 Pichon Lalande. This started out slowly for me, the fruit was there, but I was getting some volatility to start that was a bit distracting. With some more glass time though, this starting to strut and show that impressive core of fruit and all the aromatics burst forth. Big, dense and layered, really aromatic, gorgeous cassis notes, black cherry, woodsy, purple flowers. The palate is full bodied, concentrated with layers of creme de cassis, cassis, raspberry and blackberry fruit, woodsy, sublte pencil, very impressive. This became really even and blissful after an hour. This is wonderful with a several hours of air now, but it's going to be better in a few more years as it adds complexity. 96(+)pts.
January 25, 2024 - 5 Guys and a Gal! (Casa Joe & Khem): Treatment: 1 1/2 hour decant.
Nose showed sweet aromatics, with perfumed purple flowers, cherry notes, and birch. Palate showed dark and red fruit, bramble, bark, tar and spice with some anise. Nice! This is drinking quite well right now.. Very smooth and a nice balance between fruit and tertiary flavors. This is in a nice spot for my palate, but those who prefer hedonistic wines, this may be on the downhill slope....for those who prefer more tertiary flavors, this is still young, but hitting its stride. I prefer it the way it is drinking now, and I suspect it will remain here for some time. Solid 93 for my palate!