Pronounced nose intensity with notes of leather, charr wood, mushroom, smoke, toast, flora, black fruits. Medium+ acidity and medium+ tannin. Tannin is integrated and not harsh. Did not decant. Decanting around 2-3 hours will improve mouthfeel. Drinking well now or can cellar. In its optimal drinking window and can last many years.
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Whole Lotta Lafite; 1/26/2024-1/27/2024 (Wine Watch, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): Very youthful and exuberant. Lots of red cherry and raspberry fruit, which is delicious. Somehow both very slightly hot on the finish yet gaining sweetness as well. No complexity yet. Nice acidity. I'm optimistic for the future but you can drink it now if you like fruit bombs, Bordeaux-style.
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Color was near perfection, just a slight hint of bricking on the edge, ruby with a solid core. Nose jumped out of the glass, magical mix of dark fruits and an almost perfumed nose, On the palate everything in balance and surprisingly fresh. Finish was sublime.
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Commanderie de Bordeaux: 2000 Lafite, LLC, & Cos (The Minikahda Club, Mpls): Very dark red/purple color. Double decanted and then slow-O for 4 hours, recorked and then slow-O again for an hour before serving. Drank a glass plus over 2.5 hours. Wow, mesmerizing nose from the start; perfumed with succulent red and black fruits; cassis, blood orange, deep red raspberry, fine leather, mint, so much earth and damp forest floor. The palate is ultra layered, ripe cassis, raspberry, brambly fruit of the forest berries, ultra tangy, charcoal, earthy, pencil, exciting, and blissful in it harmony and textural giving. This also has a mineral posture to go along with its impressive fruit and polished tannins - a true stunner. Yes, this still shows a youthful vigor, and I fully expect this to hit 3 digits in time, but it is immensely impressive as it is. Ranking: WOTN '00 Lafite, #2 '00 LLC, #3 '00 Cos.
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IWFS Lafite Big Bottles (The Modern): Perhaps because I haven't spent a ton of time with this wine to me this is still in the obviously too young phase. It's lots of spices and again some black fruit and interestingly enough more integrated at this stage than the '90 (from a magnum which may explain some of the differences). There is an intensity here although you can see the finesse that Saskia references. It's drinking well but I'd want some more decades.
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Opened up a half-bottle to celebrate being back home after a fantastic summer and September elsewhere. Did not decant but and instead poured straight into the glass. It was not overpowering, but had a nice subtle palate with earthy overtones, currants, and ripening fruits. The tannins were soft and it had some length and duration to the flavor. Wonderfully mature and felt like it was totally drinkable now.
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The past 5-6 years have added a lot here. 2000 is bottled elegance. Everything is in place here. The wine has a beautiful sense of refinement, balance, silky tannins and layers of sweet, soft, red fruits that do not want to quit. This is one of the few vintages of Lafite that is better on the palate than it is on the nose. This is an incredible tasting experience that is only getting started. Unless you have a case and you cannot wait to dig in, give it a few more years in the cellar. With time, perhaps a decade or so, this will probably hit triple digits. Drink from 2025-2075.
Lafite Rothschild vertical (Taberna del Alabardero, Washington D.C.): Explosive nose displaying perfectly ripe black fruit, crème de cassis, blackberry, black cherry, strong lead pencil, bell pepper/jalapeno, coffee, cedar, cabernet floral dust and crushed rocks. Perfectly ripe fruit and a hint of green coexist which is really fascinating. I also noticed the ripe fruit and green in the 00 Mouton. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of intense cassis fruit, incredibly rich and silky, perfect amount of acidity and strong mineral, noticeably but silky tannins, and a long intense black fruit driven finish with lead pencil and jalapeno at the end. The palate is incredibly rich yet there is a hint of green. It may become perfect in another decade or two.
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En-Primeur campaign for the 2021 vintage; 4/25/2022-4/29/2022 (Bordeaux): Leather, mushroom, blackberry, and blackcurrant and plenty of spice, a little peppery alcohol prickle. In the mouth it’s massive and unwieldy, drying floury textured tannins persist very long. I’d say time will help but it’s already showing plenty of tertiary notes at 22 years old from a good vintage. Hmm
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Deep ruby colored, nearly no aging signs yet. Seductive and intense nose with lots of dark fruits like cassis, blackberries and dark cherries. On the palate cassis, ripe blackberries and blueberries, some espresso, dried tobacco and very soft leathery notes. In the background some elegant mineral notes and some pencil shavings - feels very refined. Full bodied with a nice medium intense acidity. The tannins are velvety and nicely integrated. Beautiful complexity and depth. Multiple fruit layers and a great elegance. It’s bold but not fat - I love this style. Overall balance is fantastic. The finish is super long. Incredible wine which is in an amazing spot right now. If you want to wait a few more years, it won’t be a problem either - in fact I think it will even gain more complexity. Drink it from now until 2040. (IG)
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I hear people often questioning the quality of the 2000 vintage in Bordeaux when it's clear to me that this is perhaps the last classically styled Bordeaux vintage that is meant to really age for a long time. Most of the wines are just beginning to show a hint of their potential as they slowly open up and that's the case here. In the Lafite Vertical, along with the '96, this was the most powerful and serious wine of the night and the purity and depth really caught my attention. This is a legend in the making but its just coming out of its shell. 96+
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Not a great bottle tonight. Capsicum taste dominates mid palette- have seen this in other wines of the vintage. Improves a little with time, so perhaps a strange phase. Or bottle.
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Bordeaux 2000 - 20 Years On - 48 Reds: All tasted blind, not decanted. Observations: 1) It´s a good vintage but not on par with more recent great vintages like 09/10/15/16. Why? A smaller group of top wines reaching lower highs and in general a tad less depth, purity and finesse. 2) Right bank is ready, the left bank still needs time to integrate and open up. 3) Not much tertiary aromas yet - peak drinking window at least 10 years away for most wines. 4) 2000 is a bit a cooler vintage which is great for the right bank (not too much ripeness). 5) Winners? Pomerol with the highest ratings. Le Pin (97+ pts) leading the pack for me (narrowly beating the consensus winner Pavie (97 pts).
More information, top and worst 10 lists, appellation rankings, out- and underperformer from five participants in the story link. As always, in such tastings (lots of wines, not a lot of time per wine, not decanted) the ranking of wines/appellations might be more informative than the scores.
TN: Not decanting a rather young Lafite is usually not a good idea. At first the wine seemed quite close but with a lot of swirling it opened up nicely hinting at the potential and it left us craving for a properly decanted bottle. Rather bold on the nose with dense dark fruit but surprisingly red fruited, with baking spices and a sexy sweetness on the palate. Additional aromas of coffee, wet earth and minerality notes. The tannins are satin like but need further time to integrate and soften, the acidity is well integrated and the wine shows a fine and airy texture but overall has not enough concentration. Very harmonious and with a good length. This should come together nicely. I haven’t had a ton of Lafite but it is still only the 5th first growth for me. It doesn’t have the aristocratic stature of the Latour, the approachability and sexiness of the Mouton, the absolute elegance and airiness of the Margaux and the depth of the Haut Brion. In this tasting, however, it was clearly ahead of the HB and on par with the other Pauillacs.
Decanting: This would have needed a few hours in the decanter (2-4h?).
Group average: 92.5 pts Group rank: Shared 25th out of 48
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Grand Bordeaux 2000 horizontal tasting; 6/20/2021-6/21/2021: Grand Bordeaux 2000 tasting with ~60 wines from the vintage hosted by a private collector. All wines were poured directly from the bottle with no decant and served in flights of 4. As general observations I would highlight: 1/ Today the 2000 is, without a doubt, a right bank vintage with Pomerol the star, 2/ the vast majority of wines are still going strong with hardly any past their peak 3/ On the left bank, St Estèphe was most ready to drink with a lot of wines in a closed stage right now, 4/ On the left bank, 2nd to 4th growths were generally more open for business than the 1st growths which almost all closed, only hinting at their full potential. 5/ If you must open a left bank bottle, Margaux is the safest place to look. Complete scoring overview and additional commentary included in the tasting story.
Tasting note: Tobacco, dried leaves, a well faceted bouquet overall with herbal and even floral elements, but not really intense and rather in a closed phase. Very fresh palate with aging notes popping up, relatively approachable but tannins felt a bit coarse and I found a small acidity overhang weighing on the balance.
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My 1,100th Post! - The 2000s - Two Decades On @ Jake's!: Aside from the Cristal 2000 and DP P2 2000, we drank the following 2000s side by side - Mouton, Lafite, Lalande, Sassicaia, Solaia & Tignanello.
Very generous of the host to open this tonight, which is why I have made it a point to post this as my 1,100th CT post as a tribute! I have not tasted a lot of Lafites but this has a similar regal palate as the bottles I have drank. Classical. Black fruits, truffles, tobacco leaves, graphite, lead pencil shavings. Great aromatics and purity of fruits. A lot of precision. This is developing really well and has a long, long life ahead. Whilst this was not my WOTN tonight, this has the greatest potential of any Bordeaux I have drank in 2020. A blend of 93.3% cab sauv and the rest merlot. A future legend in the making IMO. Hold 96/97
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Decanted about 3 hours. Nice nose and very long finish that went on forever. Probably more upside with more cellar time but quite drinkable already. Excellent Bordeaux.
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WOTN. Opened very quickly with roasted coffee nose that evolved to Cuban cigar, then gun smoke. More gun smoke as the wine breathed, along with incense, as if you are breathing immediately after Lunar New Year fireworks. Palate not quite as intense. More roasted fruit and coffee. Some of the fruit faded in time with a more closed cinnamon aftertaste. 98-100 nose, 94-95 palate, 97 overall. The nose is one of the most singular I have ever smelt, but if smelt blind it could have come across as La Mission Haut Brion (or another Graves wine) or even some of the aged top Vosne Romanees from a classic producer (such as Grivot). If smelt and tasted blind I would not have guessed Chateau Lafite and would have probably been led astray as described above. Not the most memorable wine I have drank but up there with other 97+ pointers and my experience drinking Haut Brion 2000 comes to mind.
HDH annual Bordeaux tasting: Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Chicago, IL): I think this is a little more resolved and showing better than a bottle a few years ago at a similar Bordeaux tasting. Like the 2010, this is a massively-scaled wine with plenty of graphite aromas on the nose. The palate is slightly soft but well on its way to resolution. Very complex and layered, with fruit, minerality, acidity, and secondary notes of Bordeaux leather and pencil shavings all in excellent interplay. Among my favourites tonight -- I love how the 2000 vintage has evolved and is drinking, and this bottle is another case in point.
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Lafite Dinner 2019 (Blue Hill): “Monster”. There is some star acidity and almost lean-like uneven ripeness due to discrepancy between vineyards at harvest. Lovely showing, backward with much freshness. 96-97
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Masterclass in San Francisco with Saskia De Rothschild, Chairwoman DBR Lafite.
Saskia told me they are buying an existing property or starting one in China.
The nose reveals; ripe and slight stewed fruits. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, dark plum skin, dry cranberries & poached strawberries. Dark, dry soils, limestone minerals, touch of bandaid=VA, saddle-wood, steeped black tea, dry river stone, dark rich & dry soils, crushed rocks, dry underbrush, cherry cola with dry and fresh dark and red flowers.
The body is full and thick. This wine is just coming out of its infant stage and just starting to stretch it arms & legs. The tannins are firm, rounded and powdery. The structure, tension, length and balance show the beauty of the vintage but, the drinking window on their 2000 is somewhere between 2035-2080. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, dark plum skin, dry cranberries & poached strawberries. Dark, dry soils, limestone minerals, touch of bandaid, saddle-wood, steeped black tea, dry river stone, dark rich & dry soils, lots of graphite, crushed rocks, limestone, dry crushed rocks, gritty volcanic minerals, dry herbs, dry underbrush, cherry cola with dry and fresh dark and red flowers. The acidity is round and beautiful. The finish is very good now but, if you don’t cellar it 35 years from birth, you are cheating yourself out of something truly special. Its well balanced, rich, ripe and persists for days. 95 now with more to come in 16-25 plus years.
All wines arrived weeks ago directly from the Chateau.
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Purple color with a bouquet and flavor of lead pencil, leather, and cassis with good balance and a long finish. Tannins not completely integrated with more years to improve. This was my last 2,000 Bordeaux (twenty-different wines in all). A lovely wine for St. Patrick's day for this fourth generation American with Irish roots. This wine went through Hurricane Katrina and may have been better otherwise.
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Double-decanted 3 hours prior to serving. This has a beautiful nose, a real wow. Classic pencil notes. Interestingly this was aged in 100% new oak for 20 months, and is not oaky. It has lovely silky texture, complexity and depth on the attack. It is still young but still very enjoyable, particularly the exotic spices throughout.
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During the year end Gala Dinner of the Commanderie de Bordeaux Hong Kong with Domaines Rothschild CEO Jean-Guillaume Prats present as guest host. Boy, this wine was convincing tonight. A nose to die for with cedar, farmyard, dark and red fruit. The palate is dense yet fresh and full of energy. Wonderful. Early in the drinking window. Decanting advised.
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The wine looks purple colored. It smells like blackberry, blueberry, black currant (cassis), toast, coffee, oak, vanilla, lead pencil, black pepper and violet.
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The elusive greatness of Lafite. We wrestle with it will it ever be ready to drink? It doesn’t have the early baby fat fruit bomb joy to drink phase that Mouton, Haut Brion and Margaux have. What is it about Lafite? Why does it have such a great reputation? Is it overrated? It’s hard to say without drinking it often because it is so expensive. I have had Lafite probably not more than ten times in my life and out of those ten times I would say it was great 3 times and one of those 3 times it was profound,velvety silk in the mouth a stubborn 82 after about 3 hours in the decanter suddenly turned to magic. I would say Lafite in a great vintage is best drunk at around the age of 27 or 28 years.
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Occasional dinner group; Bordeaux 2000 (@ Merlet): The bouquet is still locked with dark berries, bell pepper and beautiful oak. On the palate supple and juicy red berries and cherries. Still youthful and a good length. Waiting another decade might be rewarding. No more notes… 94++
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Once in a while there is a wine that stirs the soul. And it is thrilling to taste it, feel it, at its perfect moment. This is one of those wines. It is difficult to put into words and they won’t suffice, but I’ll give it a try. It’s presently opaque ruby with a black core – invincibly youthful in colour. Intense and concentrated, yet polished and elegant. Aromas come in gentle waves changing constantly from dark fruit to ethereal components to tertiary and roasted notes and dark minerals. Abundant glossy tannins and perfect acid structure. Timeless beauty.
Aromas if classic pencil lead rich sweet black cherry fruits with a scorched earthy quality. Dark dense pure piercing intensity with a tense sweet fruit that is full bodied and layered with wonderful spices. Long rich finish. Textured yet firmly structured. Really lovely with real breed. Young, but giving strong hint of wonderful potential. 96 Thanks Wine Whisperer!
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Graphite, leather, cedar, blackcurrant driven. The flavours are not very expressive but one can definitely feel the complexity and depth of flavours. Very good structure, lots of ripe tannins and high acidity.
It still has at least 10 -15 years before its prime.
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At the Lafite Vertical Dinner, Amuse Bouche Hong Kong - This is immediately identifiable as a 2000 Bordeaux and that's not a bad thing. Whilst it doesn't quite hit the heights of 2000 Latour, it is an excellent wine with enormous structure and the fruit to match. Many decades left here.
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WS notes: Subtle aromas of currants, leather, tobacco and cedar. Classic cigar box nose, with fruit. Full bodied, with an amazing texture of silky, ripe tannins. This wine completely coats your palate, but caresses it at the same time. This is the best young Lafite ever made. A triumph. Best after 2012. 18,000 cases made.
Big Boy Bordeaux Spring Dinner (Morton's Northbrook): This probably really deserved more than a splash decant as for me it came across a bit closed and backward yet showed tremendous breed. Rich sweet earthy aromas dominated, although noted a dirty quality and with a cloudy appearance as compared to the 2000 Margaux and 2000 Cheval Blanc. Dark dusty black sour cherry flavors in a somewhat tart lean package. It was quite good, but not up to my expectations tonight. Thanks Keith!
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This is all about the obvious potential, as the wine is young, tight and needs coaxing to bring out much of its charm. Clearly, the fruit is ripe, elegant, fresh and present, the tannins and soft and there is length, but it's not much fun to drink today. Give it another decade and call me in the morning.
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Nose not fully there yet. Red fruits with some spices. Powerful on the palate with red fruits berries. Spices. Medium tannins. Long finish. Still a bit young especially when tasted side by side with latour 82 tonight.
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Great stuff with serious upside. Was sleek and profound with lots of classic tobacco, cedar, and blackberry qualities. A seriously sophisticated drink showing a dark sweet earthy appeal. Seamless and concentrate with mouth filling density. Packed with a solid wall of rich fruit and just hinting at potential with some dark spices on the long intense bitter chocolate finish. Give it a long decant or hold for more development. Great structure and already well balanced. Lots of upside here. Very interesting to read my notes on this wine in CT from ten years ago.
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Chateau Lafite Rothschild - 20 year vertical blind tasting (Fribourg): Tasted blind. Dark ruby. Discrete nose of dark fruit, forest, pine. Very clean with Cedar and no barnyard notes. Soft and dense on the palate, this was the Lafite with the softest mouthfeel of the entire tasting. Very polished package overall but aromatically not quite up at the level of the 2005 and 2010. May be this will develop. An excellent Lafite no doubt, but given the fact that the 2000 vintage commands the highest price of the last 20 years and is not the best wine I would not buy this with priority. Group rank # 5/20. Readiness: Young, but can be approached after decanting.
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Nose is still a little green but gives up good acrylic and ceramic notes. Missing the classic Pauillac lead pencil and damp earth. Already a great palate with dense blackberry, currant, and casks with some robust red cherries. Undeveloped at this stage and not really singing. Powerful and elegant. Tremendous potential. Come back in another ten years.
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Annual Comparative Bordeaux Tasting (2000/2005) (Chicago, IL): Very dense and deep nose, with graphite for days. This is very much a black-fruited wine, with lots of sweet blackberry and cassis flavours, as well as that lovely pencil-shaving graphite note. The palate is perhaps a bit softer than the nose would make you expect, probably owing a bit to the slightly sweet and riper fruit. Again, a winner against the 2005 at this stage, thanks to the acidity.
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Decanted for 3 hours; still very vibrant color showing little color change at rim, some clarity; nose is classic Bordeaux but not yet delineated, red cherry, red currant, lots of red fruit all very round, a sharp green pepper note, cedar, tobacco in the background, slight chocolate; palate is impressive and subtle at the same time, soft silky entry, medium plus body but caressingly rich on the mid palate, ripe and polished tannin from the vintage, purity to the sweet red fruit, great acid lift, love the drinkability, long finish not driven by alcohol; a bit deceptive due to its elegance and drinkability, phenomenal balance, extremely graceful and noble; my style of Bordeaux; possibly just exiting its primary stage so this still has loads of potential, 96+.
Mostly French dinner - Rayas, 00 Lafite, 13 Trump, H Lignier CDR and etc. (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): Served in the 13 Trump bottle. I am pleasantly surprised by the Balance and finesse and initially rate 93 pts. After tasting the 00 Lafite bottle, I retaste and it is clear that Alan is monkeying around. Subtle cassis driven nose, strong lead pencil note, cedar, floral dust and earth. Although the nose is not terribly expressive, the palate makes the wine perfect. Exceptional concentration, incredibly refined, weightless and polished palate, perfect precision and balance, perfect amount of acidity, fully integrated silky tannins and love long seamless finish. With air, the fruit emerges a bit more. Epitome of perfect balance and finesse. It is very impressive but will need another twenty years to reach the peak.
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This is not in the same class as the Margaux, at least not right now. Seemed like a classic Lafite, but is very young and tight. Needs a lot of time to open up. Probably best to just sit on the case for another 5-10 years.
Sadly, the first bottle that I opened was corked. This was flawless.
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Very pretty, aromatic nose of blackcurrant, violets, pencil shavings, cigar box, dust, and earthiness. Medium-bodied, elegant on the palate, with soft ripe tannins and ridiculously long and complex finish. Drinking beautifully now and should just continue evolving with time.
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This is very good. Not great, but really fine. The fruit has a regal quality, the tannins are ripe, soft and polished. There is ample concentration, but perhaps not at the same level that the top of wines of the vintage show. My guess is, there is more here than meets the eye at the moment and that with 15 or more years, this could really deliver the goods.
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Ridiculously concentrated wine that kept changing character over the 3 hours it was open and enjoyed. Deep, brooding Claret flavors in spades, and a finish that was too long to time. Probably opened this wine far too early. Would love to come back and try it in 15 years. One the most interesting and near-perfect wines I've ever experienced.
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This is a wonderful wine. We decanted it for two hours and it was a fantastic wine with a rack of lamb and steamed veggies. It was amazing to watch the bottle go.
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Well this was disappointing. Nothing really wrong with it - just dull and boring compared to how excellent Lafite normally is. Classic BDX but muted and lacking its usual depth. I wonder if this bottle had entered its "dumb phase" but based on other recent reviews this appears to be an outlier.
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Wine experience of Biblical proportion ... began the meal with 2010 Quilceda Creek Cab and then shifted to 2008 Bond Vecina as entrees arrived; concluded the evening with 2000 Lafite, saving the best for last. Wonderful treat! Initial burst of red currants and dark chocolate. Lingering flavor not unlike that caused by errant strands of tobacco that end up in your mouth when smoking a hand-rolled cigarette. Very satisfactory considering how little time this wine was exposed to air. You needn't wait for this baby to mature any further; drink it now with confidence or at any point in your long life.
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3 hour Vinturi decant; rebottle for transit to restaurant with another hour in the decanter once we got there. Looks like a newly-bottled bordeaux with absolutely no evidence of bricking, even at the remote edges. Classic Pauillac nose with graphite, cedar, spice, earth and delicate tobacco notes. Full mouthfeel, elegant and refined with a ridiculously long finish considering this beauty, at 13 years, is still just a pup. Felt a bit feminine for a Pauillac...
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HDH '90 vs '00 BDX Comparative Tasting (Chicago, IL - Spiaggia): Much less expressive than the '90. Tannins are in the forefront and have the fine polish typical of a 1st growth. Fantastic pure red fruit note carries the palate. Nose was rather closed. Subtle fine mint/flint note carried through the palate to the finish. Really young and hard to gauge. A-/A
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Normally, Lafite Rothschild is not as expressive as the other First Growths when tasted young. This specific bottle on this single was a completely different tasting experience as it was firing on all 12 cylinders. Text book Pauillac Aromatics with lead pencil, cedar wood, cassis, floral, spice, earth and tobacco notes flooded your nose. And that was not even the high point of the wine! Full bodied, intense, lush and rich in texture, the wine was all about class, elegance and refinement. Do not mistake this positive note that this is mature. It's not. But like all great Bordeaux today, this shows well young, even though it's only a quick peek into the future. Ridiculously expensive, but stunning, if you have a spare million laying around, grab a case, pop a cork 10 years from now and pass the remaining bottles down to your grandchildren.
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Not usually fortunate to have this kind of juice on hand, but purchased three some years back and enjoyed this one with good friends. Decanted maybe an hour plus. Nose is a hedonistic mix of berry, vanilla, and oak. Couldn't get enough. Still a bit tight on the palate, but as elegant a wine as there is and balanced. As someone else said, more restrained and less fleshy than I expected, definitely after that nose, but still a classic. Glad I have one left.
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Friday after Thanksgiving (FAT) (Palm Beach Gardens FL): Tasting, brief note. Dark fruit, good background spice aromas. Still brooding and backward on both nose and palate, but showing so much concentration and extract from middle to finish. 96-97 points for potential.
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Still needs time to develop; tannins a bit prominent but the structure is there; unmistakeable quality and complexity that is restrained; tobacco, smoke and dark berries are elegant; needs time to evolve - in agreement with most recent notes
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Hertiage Auction Preview & Friends (Hertiage Auctions, Beverly Hills, CA): The nose is a bit reductive with primary Cabernet notes underneath but tight overall. Pretty around the edges with dense fruit in the middle. Medium tannins. This was tight and a bit hard to get a read on but its no secret it is a pup.
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Another Saturday at Knightsbridge - mostly blind (Northbrook, IL): Tasted double blind. Decanted several hours. Smoky cigar box and black fruit on nose. Black and red fruit on palate, incredibly elegant and alluring. Very pretty and spicy, less dense or masculine than I would have expected. This bottle lost its label in a Kevin's sad recent storm-sewer backup-cellar flood mishap.
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Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): Wonderful wine. Fruity and juicy. Pretty plush in style while still retaining Old World styling and some nice rustic traits. Some nice candied fruit coupled with freshly toasted oak and charred leather. Lovely depth and saturation of fruit and earth. Stunning. The palate has a light metalic play - I suppose you can say graphite - just a real "deep gray" personality. It's leady. On the back end classic cigar box aromas and light balsamic tones show their presence. Lots of oak, earth and dusty fine grainy tannins which are perfectly integrated. This is feminine, graceful and very well made. The finish goes on and shows excellent style and purity. This wine is still just a baby. Overall, an awesome wine experience. Thank you Kevin.
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An aromatic display of spice, cedar, graphite, blackberry and cassis. Plush, rich and mouth filling with round tannins, freshness, purity and an intensity of flavors. Another decade or two will add a lot to this wine.
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G7 (Rick): Black cherries, blackberries, blueberries, violets, chocolate, graphite, and earth. Very firm tannins but quite refined and approachable. Full bodied. Well balanced with beautiful acidity. Impressive elegance in the layered mid palate. Power finish with incredible complexity that lasts for over a minute. Still a baby. This wine will only improve over time. My personal WOTN and favorite of the RP100 Lafite's tasted tonight. Absolutely fantastic.
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pencil, tabacco, earth, cherry nose. nice balance in the mouth, plumb. powerful fruit. but what was distracting me the most is the incredible complexity. a crescendo that seemed to go on for minutes.
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Backstreet Offline - well I had difficult time depicting this wine, it was unreal in the softness and integration, complexity's I was having difficulty with. Absolutely have not had something like this before and I think in a few decade My score will go way up but for now I could only go on what I tasted today.
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Skinner Fine Wine Auction Reception (Boston, MA): Skinner auction reception. Opaque ruby color. Nose of some pencil shavings but largely reticent. Palate of blackberry, some cassis quickly followed by searing tannins which seemed to dominate the rest of the experience. Hard for me to project this wine into the future, but clearly not ready at this point. Like the '82, perhaps this will still seem youthful 20 years from now.
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Private dinner with friends. (@ PVa): Sophisticated power to say it in two words. A lot of firm tannin is the first impression. Then cassis. Full bodied. But…..the wine seems to be totally locked at the moment, even after several hours of air. No lead pencil to smell or taste, and that MUST be there, but not now. Except for the few things I mentioned and some luxury oak, everything is hidden. Even the oak is suppressed by the power. Forget about this wine for at least 5 years or more likely 8 – 10. For the moment my score is 94 but when the wine opens up (again) it will almost certainly gain several points.
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Chicago's Best Bordeaux Tasting Ever? (Ken's Home): Double decanted at 6:42 am and poured at 8:15pm Black licorice nose with ripe dark cherry with claasic pencil shaving aroma. Great rich red cherry berry flavors along with big acid and tannins. Mid palate falls a touch, perhaps a sign of closing-up? Great classy wine with upside potential. Don't open another for ten years?
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I had the opportunity to taste this wine along with the 83, 86, 89, 96 and 2000 and other 2000 states. This wine has received a great deal of attention, but unfortunately it is hiding in the bottle until a better time to rise and shine. A very dark (second darkest to all 2000 states) wine that shows loads of fruit, graphite, caramel and a hit of chocolate. I found the wine medium to light body. It was hard to judge as the wine is very close at this point. Too early for this (what I'm sure will be a long lived) wine to be opened.
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Full deep purple/black. Big bright ripe round nose of black current frit, cedar, and pencil lead. Tight, lighter red fruit with firm acidity. Not quite the stuffing of the other 2000s, but more elegant and open. 10/05
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The 2000 cepage includes 93.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6.7% Merlot. The wine is a super clean dark red colour and not a dark purple wine that some expected. Absolutely beautiful and although young the wine surprisingly drank well. Common terms terms floated around as we tasted included: cassis, tobacco, cedar, and a floral quality resembling violets. Some found hints of more complex aromas including truffles but that was a bit difficult for me to pinpoint as the wine is quite young.
I found this to be a wine more on the feminine side with layers of sexiness and excitement. It really is a lovely wine to taste young or keep for the longer term. Considering that the value has now more than quadruple the price I paid "En Primeur" I doubt I will be opening my second bottle anytime soon if at all. As prices are currently running...it is looking more and more as an investment opportunity and not a bottle to be consumed.
Cheers to those that have the chance to taste this perfect beauty. She's sexy!
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Just tasting one big glass after 1.30 opened so I can not rated 100/100. Anyway, very very elagance nose of mild roasted espresso, slightly vanilla, modern style combined with Lafite texture.
Almost full-bodied, perfect ABC, everything is so balanced and complex, no hard edge. More ready to drink than 1998.
Very nice aftertaste too....I'm still waiting for the 2nd time....for testing not tasting....
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Tasting. Brief note. Sensational aromatic complexity to start. Incredible concentration and density. Least shut down of the First Growths, this was exciting from start to finish.
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This is the wine I went crazy over last year. To begin with, let me note that this wine has shut down considerably. Very dark red appearance. With air, notes of dairy products emerged along with a whiff of freshly chopped pine wood. Meaty and dense in the mouth with good, thick texture. One can really sense the quality of the underlying material here, with a great complex character and superfine tannins. Exquisitely balanced, highly concentrated and with a monster long finish, this is class is the glass.
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Purple in the glass. Dense purple. Intoxicating scents of sweet vanilla. Maybe also a hint of yoghurt on the nose. Fantastic structure to this wine. All the components are built into a huge frame-work that keeps a measure of precision, detail, and transparency that has to be lavours are superbly delicate, ranging from moccha and coffee, to classic cassis. The wine seems to find new dimensions and avenues continuously. Large bodied and packed to the rim with fruit, this wine should be a model for every big behemoth out there. Here we have all the power, all the fruit, yet untold amounts of elegance, definition, symmetry, style, élan, what-have-you. The finish lasts more than a minute. Wow, can this wine really be that good....This is darn close to 1 I'll reserve my last two points for the eventuality that this will be even better in 20 years. If that's at all possible.
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3/8/2024 - Sean Tay Likes this wine: 97 Points
Pronounced nose intensity with notes of leather, charr wood, mushroom, smoke, toast, flora, black fruits. Medium+ acidity and medium+ tannin. Tannin is integrated and not harsh. Did not decant. Decanting around 2-3 hours will improve mouthfeel. Drinking well now or can cellar. In its optimal drinking window and can last many years.
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1/26/2024 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Whole Lotta Lafite; 1/26/2024-1/27/2024 (Wine Watch, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): Very youthful and exuberant. Lots of red cherry and raspberry fruit, which is delicious. Somehow both very slightly hot on the finish yet gaining sweetness as well. No complexity yet. Nice acidity. I'm optimistic for the future but you can drink it now if you like fruit bombs, Bordeaux-style.
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8/8/2023 - JPF16 wrote: 100 Points
Absolutely one of the finest bordeaux ever.
Top 3 wines I have ever had.
Color was near perfection, just a slight hint of bricking on the edge, ruby with a solid core.
Nose jumped out of the glass, magical mix of dark fruits and an almost perfumed nose,
On the palate everything in balance and surprisingly fresh.
Finish was sublime.
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6/14/2023 - rocknroller wrote: 98 Points
Commanderie de Bordeaux: 2000 Lafite, LLC, & Cos (The Minikahda Club, Mpls): Very dark red/purple color. Double decanted and then slow-O for 4 hours, recorked and then slow-O again for an hour before serving. Drank a glass plus over 2.5 hours. Wow, mesmerizing nose from the start; perfumed with succulent red and black fruits; cassis, blood orange, deep red raspberry, fine leather, mint, so much earth and damp forest floor. The palate is ultra layered, ripe cassis, raspberry, brambly fruit of the forest berries, ultra tangy, charcoal, earthy, pencil, exciting, and blissful in it harmony and textural giving. This also has a mineral posture to go along with its impressive fruit and polished tannins - a true stunner. Yes, this still shows a youthful vigor, and I fully expect this to hit 3 digits in time, but it is immensely impressive as it is. Ranking: WOTN '00 Lafite, #2 '00 LLC, #3 '00 Cos.
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2/8/2023 - kenthecpa Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted 2 hours.
Beautiful nose with a long finish.
A terrific birthday wine.
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10/17/2022 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
IWFS Lafite Big Bottles (The Modern): Perhaps because I haven't spent a ton of time with this wine to me this is still in the obviously too young phase. It's lots of spices and again some black fruit and interestingly enough more integrated at this stage than the '90 (from a magnum which may explain some of the differences). There is an intensity here although you can see the finesse that Saskia references. It's drinking well but I'd want some more decades.
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10/9/2022 - alexbhurst1678 wrote:
Drank when home in moami
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10/7/2022 - alexbhurst1678 wrote: 95 Points
Opened up a half-bottle to celebrate being back home after a fantastic summer and September elsewhere. Did not decant but and instead poured straight into the glass. It was not overpowering, but had a nice subtle palate with earthy overtones, currants, and ripening fruits. The tannins were soft and it had some length and duration to the flavor. Wonderfully mature and felt like it was totally drinkable now.
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5/8/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
The past 5-6 years have added a lot here. 2000 is bottled elegance. Everything is in place here. The wine has a beautiful sense of refinement, balance, silky tannins and layers of sweet, soft, red fruits that do not want to quit. This is one of the few vintages of Lafite that is better on the palate than it is on the nose. This is an incredible tasting experience that is only getting started. Unless you have a case and you cannot wait to dig in, give it a few more years in the cellar. With time, perhaps a decade or so, this will probably hit triple digits. Drink from 2025-2075.
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5/6/2022 - cab blends wrote: 93 Points
NOT blind
Although this is a highly rated wine, it was not at that level for me up against the 1989 or the 2008.
Maybe 10 or 20 years will give us a blockbuster.
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5/4/2022 - dcwino wrote: 98 Points
Lafite Rothschild vertical (Taberna del Alabardero, Washington D.C.): Explosive nose displaying perfectly ripe black fruit, crème de cassis, blackberry, black cherry, strong lead pencil, bell pepper/jalapeno, coffee, cedar, cabernet floral dust and crushed rocks. Perfectly ripe fruit and a hint of green coexist which is really fascinating. I also noticed the ripe fruit and green in the 00 Mouton. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of intense cassis fruit, incredibly rich and silky, perfect amount of acidity and strong mineral, noticeably but silky tannins, and a long intense black fruit driven finish with lead pencil and jalapeno at the end. The palate is incredibly rich yet there is a hint of green. It may become perfect in another decade or two.
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4/26/2022 - chatters wrote:
En-Primeur campaign for the 2021 vintage; 4/25/2022-4/29/2022 (Bordeaux): Leather, mushroom, blackberry, and blackcurrant and plenty of spice, a little peppery alcohol prickle. In the mouth it’s massive and unwieldy, drying floury textured tannins persist very long. I’d say time will help but it’s already showing plenty of tertiary notes at 22 years old from a good vintage. Hmm
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4/11/2022 - DrZett wrote: 96 Points
Deep ruby colored, nearly no aging signs yet. Seductive and intense nose with lots of dark fruits like cassis, blackberries and dark cherries. On the palate cassis, ripe blackberries and blueberries, some espresso, dried tobacco and very soft leathery notes. In the background some elegant mineral notes and some pencil shavings - feels very refined.
Full bodied with a nice medium intense acidity. The tannins are velvety and nicely integrated. Beautiful complexity and depth. Multiple fruit layers and a great elegance. It’s bold but not fat - I love this style. Overall balance is fantastic. The finish is super long.
Incredible wine which is in an amazing spot right now. If you want to wait a few more years, it won’t be a problem either - in fact I think it will even gain more complexity. Drink it from now until 2040. (IG)
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3/30/2022 - dream Likes this wine: 96 Points
I hear people often questioning the quality of the 2000 vintage in Bordeaux when it's clear to me that this is perhaps the last classically styled Bordeaux vintage that is meant to really age for a long time. Most of the wines are just beginning to show a hint of their potential as they slowly open up and that's the case here. In the Lafite Vertical, along with the '96, this was the most powerful and serious wine of the night and the purity and depth really caught my attention. This is a legend in the making but its just coming out of its shell. 96+
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9/21/2021 - steinersing wrote: 90 Points
Not a great bottle tonight. Capsicum taste dominates mid palette- have seen this in other wines of the vintage. Improves a little with time, so perhaps a strange phase. Or bottle.
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9/9/2021 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
A bit rigid, awkward phase.
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7/14/2021 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux 2000 - 20 Years On - 48 Reds: All tasted blind, not decanted. Observations: 1) It´s a good vintage but not on par with more recent great vintages like 09/10/15/16. Why? A smaller group of top wines reaching lower highs and in general a tad less depth, purity and finesse. 2) Right bank is ready, the left bank still needs time to integrate and open up. 3) Not much tertiary aromas yet - peak drinking window at least 10 years away for most wines. 4) 2000 is a bit a cooler vintage which is great for the right bank (not too much ripeness). 5) Winners? Pomerol with the highest ratings. Le Pin (97+ pts) leading the pack for me (narrowly beating the consensus winner Pavie (97 pts).
More information, top and worst 10 lists, appellation rankings, out- and underperformer from five participants in the story link. As always, in such tastings (lots of wines, not a lot of time per wine, not decanted) the ranking of wines/appellations might be more informative than the scores.
TN: Not decanting a rather young Lafite is usually not a good idea. At first the wine seemed quite close but with a lot of swirling it opened up nicely hinting at the potential and it left us craving for a properly decanted bottle. Rather bold on the nose with dense dark fruit but surprisingly red fruited, with baking spices and a sexy sweetness on the palate. Additional aromas of coffee, wet earth and minerality notes. The tannins are satin like but need further time to integrate and soften, the acidity is well integrated and the wine shows a fine and airy texture but overall has not enough concentration. Very harmonious and with a good length. This should come together nicely. I haven’t had a ton of Lafite but it is still only the 5th first growth for me. It doesn’t have the aristocratic stature of the Latour, the approachability and sexiness of the Mouton, the absolute elegance and airiness of the Margaux and the depth of the Haut Brion. In this tasting, however, it was clearly ahead of the HB and on par with the other Pauillacs.
Decanting: This would have needed a few hours in the decanter (2-4h?).
Group average: 92.5 pts
Group rank: Shared 25th out of 48
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6/20/2021 - sirpat00 wrote: 93 Points
Grand Bordeaux 2000 horizontal tasting; 6/20/2021-6/21/2021: Grand Bordeaux 2000 tasting with ~60 wines from the vintage hosted by a private collector. All wines were poured directly from the bottle with no decant and served in flights of 4. As general observations I would highlight: 1/ Today the 2000 is, without a doubt, a right bank vintage with Pomerol the star, 2/ the vast majority of wines are still going strong with hardly any past their peak 3/ On the left bank, St Estèphe was most ready to drink with a lot of wines in a closed stage right now, 4/ On the left bank, 2nd to 4th growths were generally more open for business than the 1st growths which almost all closed, only hinting at their full potential. 5/ If you must open a left bank bottle, Margaux is the safest place to look. Complete scoring overview and additional commentary included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
Tobacco, dried leaves, a well faceted bouquet overall with herbal and even floral elements, but not really intense and rather in a closed phase. Very fresh palate with aging notes popping up, relatively approachable but tannins felt a bit coarse and I found a small acidity overhang weighing on the balance.
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12/19/2020 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 96 Points
My 1,100th Post! - The 2000s - Two Decades On @ Jake's!: Aside from the Cristal 2000 and DP P2 2000, we drank the following 2000s side by side - Mouton, Lafite, Lalande, Sassicaia, Solaia & Tignanello.
Very generous of the host to open this tonight, which is why I have made it a point to post this as my 1,100th CT post as a tribute! I have not tasted a lot of Lafites but this has a similar regal palate as the bottles I have drank. Classical. Black fruits, truffles, tobacco leaves, graphite, lead pencil shavings. Great aromatics and purity of fruits. A lot of precision. This is developing really well and has a long, long life ahead. Whilst this was not my WOTN tonight, this has the greatest potential of any Bordeaux I have drank in 2020. A blend of 93.3% cab sauv and the rest merlot. A future legend in the making IMO. Hold 96/97
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9/6/2020 - King Julien wrote: 97 Points
Decanted about 3 hours. Nice nose and very long finish that went on forever. Probably more upside with more cellar time but quite drinkable already. Excellent Bordeaux.
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8/2/2020 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 97 Points
WOTN. Opened very quickly with roasted coffee nose that evolved to Cuban cigar, then gun smoke. More gun smoke as the wine breathed, along with incense, as if you are breathing immediately after Lunar New Year fireworks. Palate not quite as intense. More roasted fruit and coffee. Some of the fruit faded in time with a more closed cinnamon aftertaste. 98-100 nose, 94-95 palate, 97 overall. The nose is one of the most singular I have ever smelt, but if smelt blind it could have come across as La Mission Haut Brion (or another Graves wine) or even some of the aged top Vosne Romanees from a classic producer (such as Grivot). If smelt and tasted blind I would not have guessed Chateau Lafite and would have probably been led astray as described above. Not the most memorable wine I have drank but up there with other 97+ pointers and my experience drinking Haut Brion 2000 comes to mind.
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7/13/2020 - JS79 Likes this wine: 100 Points
67Pm tasting with Jean-Guillaume Prats
All the reasons I love reading about, talking about, learning about....drinking and sharing wine, they are all here in this glass.
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5/9/2020 - Cgm1967 wrote: 98 Points
Amazing stuff! We enjoyed it right out of the bottle (without decanting) and it was absolutely brilliant!
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4/13/2020 - rlesher wrote: 97 Points
Maybe not the best wine I’ve ever had but extraordinary nonetheless!
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1/27/2020 - beatles wrote: 94 Points
Quite cool style, considering the year, still young, blackcurrant, blackberry, chocolate, some chalk in the structure.
#d'Angleterre
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11/14/2019 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
HDH annual Bordeaux tasting: Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Chicago, IL): I think this is a little more resolved and showing better than a bottle a few years ago at a similar Bordeaux tasting. Like the 2010, this is a massively-scaled wine with plenty of graphite aromas on the nose. The palate is slightly soft but well on its way to resolution. Very complex and layered, with fruit, minerality, acidity, and secondary notes of Bordeaux leather and pencil shavings all in excellent interplay. Among my favourites tonight -- I love how the 2000 vintage has evolved and is drinking, and this bottle is another case in point.
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11/12/2019 - hprphf wrote: 96 Points
Lafite Dinner 2019 (Blue Hill): “Monster”. There is some star acidity and almost lean-like uneven ripeness due to discrepancy between vineyards at harvest. Lovely showing, backward with much freshness. 96-97
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9/9/2019 - steinersing wrote: 96 Points
quite open now and drinking well - early phase of its window. a lot of stuffing. Possibly blind closer to Latour than Lafite now.
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9/9/2019 - LB88 wrote: 94 Points
WOTN best against the 1985, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2008 tonight. Just sublime mellow and drinking very well
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6/8/2019 - hprphf wrote: 97 Points
Acker 2019/06 (Hong Kong): Pure as before. 97
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5/22/2019 - Somm David T Likes this wine: 95 Points
Masterclass in San Francisco with Saskia De Rothschild, Chairwoman DBR Lafite.
Saskia told me they are buying an existing property or starting one in China.
The nose reveals; ripe and slight stewed fruits. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, dark plum skin, dry cranberries & poached strawberries. Dark, dry soils, limestone minerals, touch of bandaid=VA, saddle-wood, steeped black tea, dry river stone, dark rich & dry soils, crushed rocks, dry underbrush, cherry cola with dry and fresh dark and red flowers.
The body is full and thick. This wine is just coming out of its infant stage and just starting to stretch it arms & legs. The tannins are firm, rounded and powdery. The structure, tension, length and balance show the beauty of the vintage but, the drinking window on their 2000 is somewhere between 2035-2080. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, dark plum skin, dry cranberries & poached strawberries. Dark, dry soils, limestone minerals, touch of bandaid, saddle-wood, steeped black tea, dry river stone, dark rich & dry soils, lots of graphite, crushed rocks, limestone, dry crushed rocks, gritty volcanic minerals, dry herbs, dry underbrush, cherry cola with dry and fresh dark and red flowers. The acidity is round and beautiful. The finish is very good now but, if you don’t cellar it 35 years from birth, you are cheating yourself out of something truly special. Its well balanced, rich, ripe and persists for days. 95 now with more to come in 16-25 plus years.
All wines arrived weeks ago directly from the Chateau.
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3/17/2019 - tcosgriff Likes this wine: 94 Points
Purple color with a bouquet and flavor of lead pencil, leather, and cassis with good balance and a long finish. Tannins not completely integrated with more years to improve. This was my last 2,000 Bordeaux (twenty-different wines in all). A lovely wine for St. Patrick's day for this fourth generation American with Irish roots. This wine went through Hurricane Katrina and may have been better otherwise.
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1/17/2019 - lepetitchateau wrote: 96 Points
Double-decanted 3 hours prior to serving. This has a beautiful nose, a real wow. Classic pencil notes. Interestingly this was aged in 100% new oak for 20 months, and is not oaky. It has lovely silky texture, complexity and depth on the attack. It is still young but still very enjoyable, particularly the exotic spices throughout.
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12/15/2018 - Collector1855 wrote: 100 Points
During the year end Gala Dinner of the Commanderie de Bordeaux Hong Kong with Domaines Rothschild CEO Jean-Guillaume Prats present as guest host. Boy, this wine was convincing tonight. A nose to die for with cedar, farmyard, dark and red fruit. The palate is dense yet fresh and full of energy. Wonderful. Early in the drinking window. Decanting advised.
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12/1/2018 - Sean Tay wrote:
The wine looks purple colored. It smells like blackberry, blueberry, black currant (cassis), toast, coffee, oak, vanilla, lead pencil, black pepper and violet.
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11/26/2018 - Ktstefanopoulos Likes this wine: 92 Points
Delicious wine but opened too early unfortunately, decanted for about 2 hours but needs another 5-10 years
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11/9/2018 - hprphf Likes this wine: 97 Points
Lafite Dinner 2018 with Saskia de Rothschild (Chef's Club): Finally started to show! Plump fresh red fruits with expressive florals and great sweetness, among beautiful cigar. Lots of structure. Very long life ahead. 97
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8/18/2018 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
Classic profile.
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5/13/2018 - miadelt Likes this wine: 96 Points
Feminine wine. Tastes wonderful and the finish has a great depth. Very smooth right now.
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5/2/2018 - europat55 wrote:
Still needs another 10-20 years to blossom to its full potential.
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4/17/2018 - Ispendtoomuchmoneyonwine wrote:
The elusive greatness of Lafite. We wrestle with it will it ever be ready to drink? It doesn’t have the early baby fat fruit bomb joy to drink phase that Mouton, Haut Brion and Margaux have. What is it about Lafite? Why does it have such a great reputation? Is it overrated? It’s hard to say without drinking it often because it is so expensive. I have had Lafite probably not more than ten times in my life and out of those ten times I would say it was great 3 times and one of those 3 times it was profound,velvety silk in the mouth a stubborn 82 after about 3 hours in the decanter suddenly turned to magic. I would say Lafite in a great vintage is best drunk at around the age of 27 or 28 years.
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1/27/2018 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
Occasional dinner group; Bordeaux 2000 (@ Merlet): The bouquet is still locked with dark berries, bell pepper and beautiful oak. On the palate supple and juicy red berries and cherries. Still youthful and a good length. Waiting another decade might be rewarding. No more notes… 94++
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12/23/2017 - jswine15 Likes this wine: 92 Points
I may not have let this breath long enough, but I found this to be a bit flabby. Not what i expected from a 2000
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11/4/2017 - Julia7ich Likes this wine: 100 Points
Once in a while there is a wine that stirs the soul. And it is thrilling to taste it, feel it, at its perfect moment. This is one of those wines. It is difficult to put into words and they won’t suffice, but I’ll give it a try. It’s presently opaque ruby with a black core – invincibly youthful in colour. Intense and concentrated, yet polished and elegant. Aromas come in gentle waves changing constantly from dark fruit to ethereal components to tertiary and roasted notes and dark minerals. Abundant glossy tannins and perfect acid structure. Timeless beauty.
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10/21/2017 - KenK Likes this wine: 94 Points
Aromas if classic pencil lead rich sweet black cherry fruits with a scorched earthy quality. Dark dense pure piercing intensity with a tense sweet fruit that is full bodied and layered with wonderful spices. Long rich finish. Textured yet firmly structured. Really lovely with real breed. Young, but giving strong hint of wonderful potential. 96 Thanks Wine Whisperer!
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10/13/2017 - vinhslee wrote: 95 Points
Graphite, leather, cedar, blackcurrant driven. The flavours are not very expressive but one can definitely feel the complexity and depth of flavours.
Very good structure, lots of ripe tannins and high acidity.
It still has at least 10 -15 years before its prime.
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10/6/2017 - KoalaHK wrote:
At the Lafite Vertical Dinner, Amuse Bouche Hong Kong - This is immediately identifiable as a 2000 Bordeaux and that's not a bad thing. Whilst it doesn't quite hit the heights of 2000 Latour, it is an excellent wine with enormous structure and the fruit to match. Many decades left here.
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10/6/2017 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
NM Lafite. Inky and primary. Tough to taste today.
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9/23/2017 - Ejkennedy@mac.com Likes this wine: 89 Points
WS notes:
Subtle aromas of currants, leather, tobacco and cedar. Classic cigar box nose, with fruit. Full bodied, with an amazing texture of silky, ripe tannins. This wine completely coats your palate, but caresses it at the same time.
This is the best young Lafite ever made. A triumph. Best after 2012. 18,000 cases made.
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4/24/2017 - KenK wrote: 93 Points
Big Boy Bordeaux Spring Dinner (Morton's Northbrook): This probably really deserved more than a splash decant as for me it came across a bit closed and backward yet showed tremendous breed. Rich sweet earthy aromas dominated, although noted a dirty quality and with a cloudy appearance as compared to the 2000 Margaux and 2000 Cheval Blanc. Dark dusty black sour cherry flavors in a somewhat tart lean package. It was quite good, but not up to my expectations tonight. Thanks Keith!
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10/21/2016 - jsebiri wrote:
Well done wine, much room for improvement I would think....Very good not great......many years of life ahead
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8/12/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
This is all about the obvious potential, as the wine is young, tight and needs coaxing to bring out much of its charm. Clearly, the fruit is ripe, elegant, fresh and present, the tannins and soft and there is length, but it's not much fun to drink today. Give it another decade and call me in the morning.
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7/8/2016 - jeremy@ wrote: 96 Points
Nose not fully there yet. Red fruits with some spices. Powerful on the palate with red fruits berries. Spices. Medium tannins. Long finish. Still a bit young especially when tasted side by side with latour 82 tonight.
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5/21/2016 - KenK Likes this wine: 96 Points
Great stuff with serious upside. Was sleek and profound with lots of classic tobacco, cedar, and blackberry qualities. A seriously sophisticated drink showing a dark sweet earthy appeal. Seamless and concentrate with mouth filling density. Packed with a solid wall of rich fruit and just hinting at potential with some dark spices on the long intense bitter chocolate finish. Give it a long decant or hold for more development. Great structure and already well balanced. Lots of upside here. Very interesting to read my notes on this wine in CT from ten years ago.
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4/24/2016 - King Julien wrote: flawed
Decanted 4 hours, flawed.
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3/15/2016 - Collector1855 wrote: 97 Points
Chateau Lafite Rothschild - 20 year vertical blind tasting (Fribourg): Tasted blind. Dark ruby. Discrete nose of dark fruit, forest, pine. Very clean with Cedar and no barnyard notes. Soft and dense on the palate, this was the Lafite with the softest mouthfeel of the entire tasting. Very polished package overall but aromatically not quite up at the level of the 2005 and 2010. May be this will develop. An excellent Lafite no doubt, but given the fact that the 2000 vintage commands the highest price of the last 20 years and is not the best wine I would not buy this with priority. Group rank # 5/20. Readiness: Young, but can be approached after decanting.
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11/14/2015 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 94 Points
Nose is still a little green but gives up good acrylic and ceramic notes. Missing the classic Pauillac lead pencil and damp earth. Already a great palate with dense blackberry, currant, and casks with some robust red cherries. Undeveloped at this stage and not really singing. Powerful and elegant. Tremendous potential. Come back in another ten years.
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10/29/2015 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Annual Comparative Bordeaux Tasting (2000/2005) (Chicago, IL): Very dense and deep nose, with graphite for days. This is very much a black-fruited wine, with lots of sweet blackberry and cassis flavours, as well as that lovely pencil-shaving graphite note. The palate is perhaps a bit softer than the nose would make you expect, probably owing a bit to the slightly sweet and riper fruit. Again, a winner against the 2005 at this stage, thanks to the acidity.
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9/13/2015 - Rezy13 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted for 3 hours; still very vibrant color showing little color change at rim, some clarity; nose is classic Bordeaux but not yet delineated, red cherry, red currant, lots of red fruit all very round, a sharp green pepper note, cedar, tobacco in the background, slight chocolate; palate is impressive and subtle at the same time, soft silky entry, medium plus body but caressingly rich on the mid palate, ripe and polished tannin from the vintage, purity to the sweet red fruit, great acid lift, love the drinkability, long finish not driven by alcohol; a bit deceptive due to its elegance and drinkability, phenomenal balance, extremely graceful and noble; my style of Bordeaux; possibly just exiting its primary stage so this still has loads of potential, 96+.
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8/6/2015 - dcwino wrote: 98 Points
Mostly French dinner - Rayas, 00 Lafite, 13 Trump, H Lignier CDR and etc. (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): Served in the 13 Trump bottle. I am pleasantly surprised by the Balance and finesse and initially rate 93 pts. After tasting the 00 Lafite bottle, I retaste and it is clear that Alan is monkeying around. Subtle cassis driven nose, strong lead pencil note, cedar, floral dust and earth. Although the nose is not terribly expressive, the palate makes the wine perfect. Exceptional concentration, incredibly refined, weightless and polished palate, perfect precision and balance, perfect amount of acidity, fully integrated silky tannins and love long seamless finish. With air, the fruit emerges a bit more. Epitome of perfect balance and finesse. It is very impressive but will need another twenty years to reach the peak.
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7/13/2015 - jclary Likes this wine: 95 Points
This is not in the same class as the Margaux, at least not right now. Seemed like a classic Lafite, but is very young and tight. Needs a lot of time to open up. Probably best to just sit on the case for another 5-10 years.
Sadly, the first bottle that I opened was corked. This was flawless.
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3/1/2015 - DSR Likes this wine: 96 Points
Very pretty, aromatic nose of blackcurrant, violets, pencil shavings, cigar box, dust, and earthiness. Medium-bodied, elegant on the palate, with soft ripe tannins and ridiculously long and complex finish. Drinking beautifully now and should just continue evolving with time.
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2/27/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
This is very good. Not great, but really fine. The fruit has a regal quality, the tannins are ripe, soft and polished. There is ample concentration, but perhaps not at the same level that the top of wines of the vintage show. My guess is, there is more here than meets the eye at the moment and that with 15 or more years, this could really deliver the goods.
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11/25/2014 - fcxj wrote: 96 Points
Infanticide, Ficofi
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9/25/2014 - driz Likes this wine: 100 Points
Ridiculously concentrated wine that kept changing character over the 3 hours it was open and enjoyed. Deep, brooding Claret flavors in spades, and a finish that was too long to time. Probably opened this wine far too early. Would love to come back and try it in 15 years. One the most interesting and near-perfect wines I've ever experienced.
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7/4/2014 - woofy Likes this wine: 95 Points
This is a wonderful wine. We decanted it for two hours and it was a fantastic wine with a rack of lamb and steamed veggies. It was amazing to watch the bottle go.
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4/11/2014 - mattiasjansson wrote: 90 Points
Well this was disappointing. Nothing really wrong with it - just dull and boring compared to how excellent Lafite normally is. Classic BDX but muted and lacking its usual depth. I wonder if this bottle had entered its "dumb phase" but based on other recent reviews this appears to be an outlier.
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3/25/2014 - Rogie wrote: 97 Points
Wine experience of Biblical proportion ... began the meal with 2010 Quilceda Creek Cab and then shifted to 2008 Bond Vecina as entrees arrived; concluded the evening with 2000 Lafite, saving the best for last. Wonderful treat! Initial burst of red currants and dark chocolate. Lingering flavor not unlike that caused by errant strands of tobacco that end up in your mouth when smoking a hand-rolled cigarette. Very satisfactory considering how little time this wine was exposed to air. You needn't wait for this baby to mature any further; drink it now with confidence or at any point in your long life.
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1/6/2014 - rromain wrote: flawed
seems to have been an inferior wine
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1/6/2014 - rromain wrote: flawed
assumed in poor condition per rr's " was disappointed with this wine, consumed over holidays 2013 "
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11/8/2013 - robertdtwo wrote: 99 Points
3 hour Vinturi decant; rebottle for transit to restaurant with another hour in the decanter once we got there. Looks like a newly-bottled bordeaux with absolutely no evidence of bricking, even at the remote edges. Classic Pauillac nose with graphite, cedar, spice, earth and delicate tobacco notes. Full mouthfeel, elegant and refined with a ridiculously long finish considering this beauty, at 13 years, is still just a pup. Felt a bit feminine for a Pauillac...
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9/20/2013 - Nutty08 wrote:
HDH '90 vs '00 BDX Comparative Tasting (Chicago, IL - Spiaggia): Much less expressive than the '90. Tannins are in the forefront and have the fine polish typical of a 1st growth. Fantastic pure red fruit note carries the palate. Nose was rather closed. Subtle fine mint/flint note carried through the palate to the finish. Really young and hard to gauge. A-/A
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8/29/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Normally, Lafite Rothschild is not as expressive as the other First Growths when tasted young. This specific bottle on this single was a completely different tasting experience as it was firing on all 12 cylinders. Text book Pauillac Aromatics with lead pencil, cedar wood, cassis, floral, spice, earth and tobacco notes flooded your nose. And that was not even the high point of the wine! Full bodied, intense, lush and rich in texture, the wine was all about class, elegance and refinement. Do not mistake this positive note that this is mature. It's not. But like all great Bordeaux today, this shows well young, even though it's only a quick peek into the future. Ridiculously expensive, but stunning, if you have a spare million laying around, grab a case, pop a cork 10 years from now and pass the remaining bottles down to your grandchildren.
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6/3/2013 - charleshetzel wrote: 100 Points
Perfection!
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12/23/2012 - klausner1 wrote: 95 Points
Not usually fortunate to have this kind of juice on hand, but purchased three some years back and enjoyed this one with good friends. Decanted maybe an hour plus. Nose is a hedonistic mix of berry, vanilla, and oak. Couldn't get enough. Still a bit tight on the palate, but as elegant a wine as there is and balanced. As someone else said, more restrained and less fleshy than I expected, definitely after that nose, but still a classic. Glad I have one left.
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11/23/2012 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Friday after Thanksgiving (FAT) (Palm Beach Gardens FL): Tasting, brief note. Dark fruit, good background spice aromas. Still brooding and backward on both nose and palate, but showing so much concentration and extract from middle to finish. 96-97 points for potential.
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11/23/2012 - psmith wrote: 95 Points
Friday after Thanksgiving II (Palm Beach Gardens, FL): Dark fruits. Bold, but well tempered by a graceful ’00 styling. Clean, and exceptionally well in-sync.
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6/14/2012 - royalscam wrote: 95 Points
Still needs time to develop; tannins a bit prominent but the structure is there; unmistakeable quality and complexity that is restrained; tobacco, smoke and dark berries are elegant; needs time to evolve - in agreement with most recent notes
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5/5/2011 - WetRock wrote:
Hertiage Auction Preview & Friends (Hertiage Auctions, Beverly Hills, CA): The nose is a bit reductive with primary Cabernet notes underneath but tight overall. Pretty around the edges with dense fruit in the middle. Medium tannins. This was tight and a bit hard to get a read on but its no secret it is a pup.
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4/17/2011 - Gizmo2011 Likes this wine: 100 Points
nothing like it. Pure elegance.
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7/31/2010 - Burgundy Al wrote: 95 Points
Another Saturday at Knightsbridge - mostly blind (Northbrook, IL): Tasted double blind. Decanted several hours. Smoky cigar box and black fruit on nose. Black and red fruit on palate, incredibly elegant and alluring. Very pretty and spicy, less dense or masculine than I would have expected. This bottle lost its label in a Kevin's sad recent storm-sewer backup-cellar flood mishap.
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7/31/2010 - beezer6 wrote: 96 Points
Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): Wonderful wine. Fruity and juicy. Pretty plush in style while still retaining Old World styling and some nice rustic traits.
Some nice candied fruit coupled with freshly toasted oak and charred leather. Lovely depth and saturation of fruit and earth. Stunning.
The palate has a light metalic play - I suppose you can say graphite - just a real "deep gray" personality. It's leady.
On the back end classic cigar box aromas and light balsamic tones show their presence.
Lots of oak, earth and dusty fine grainy tannins which are perfectly integrated. This is feminine, graceful and very well made.
The finish goes on and shows excellent style and purity. This wine is still just a baby. Overall, an awesome wine experience. Thank you Kevin.
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7/31/2010 - psmith wrote:
Medium bodied. Tobacco and earth-driven notes. Fine tannins. Graphite. Surprisingly feminine styling. Really nice wine.
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3/5/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
An aromatic display of spice, cedar, graphite, blackberry and cassis. Plush, rich and mouth filling with round tannins, freshness, purity and an intensity of flavors. Another decade or two will add a lot to this wine.
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1/22/2010 - JBReyes wrote:
Not quite vinegar, but at least that would have some flavor. Funky barnyard on the nose. Thin, very green, no finish.
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9/20/2008 - babnik wrote:
Very tight and closed down. Hold for 10-15 years more.
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1/28/2008 - jeff nowak wrote: 97 Points
outstanding wine of power and fruit. surprisingly open, but restrained by tannins.
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1/28/2008 - kstoddard wrote: 98 Points
G7 (Rick): Black cherries, blackberries, blueberries, violets, chocolate, graphite, and earth. Very firm tannins but quite refined and approachable. Full bodied. Well balanced with beautiful acidity. Impressive elegance in the layered mid palate. Power finish with incredible complexity that lasts for over a minute. Still a baby. This wine will only improve over time. My personal WOTN and favorite of the RP100 Lafite's tasted tonight. Absolutely fantastic.
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1/10/2008 - Wilmettewines wrote:
very young
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12/5/2007 - mattiasjansson wrote: 93 Points
From magnum
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12/5/2007 - goofy Yno wrote: 96 Points
pencil, tabacco, earth, cherry nose. nice balance in the mouth, plumb. powerful fruit. but what was distracting me the most is the incredible complexity. a crescendo that seemed to go on for minutes.
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12/5/2007 - jivey wrote: 95 Points
Backstreet Offline - well I had difficult time depicting this wine, it was unreal in the softness and integration, complexity's I was having difficulty with. Absolutely have not had something like this before and I think in a few decade My score will go way up but for now I could only go on what I tasted today.
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12/5/2007 - kstoddard wrote: 95 Points
eRobert Parker Offline - Best of Cellar (Backstreet Wine Salon, Phoenix): From magnum. Blackberry, cherry, earth, leather and pencil lead. Very well balanced with beautiful acidity. Firm tannins. Complex and powerful finish. Quite young.
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9/24/2007 - Paul D wrote:
Wine Society Famous Five Tasting - Bordeaux First Growths 2000 & 1990 (Merchant Taylors' Hall, Threadneedle Street, London EC2): Deep ruby/purple, hardly any rim, easily the most youthful looking wine so far. Lovely, pure, elegant cassis nose, relatively closed, some vanilla oak and coffee. Classy and nervy. Notable, slightly edgy tannins on the palate, refined cassis fruit, vanilla oak. Needs a very long time. Ranked 3rd out of 5.
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9/24/2007 - Rupert wrote: 92 Points
Famous Five tasting with Jancis Robinson (Merchant Taylors Hall, London): Fine, elegant, both on nose on palate, silky, at first a bit indistinct, but bloomed in the glass
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9/12/2007 - cgrimes wrote:
Skinner Fine Wine Auction Reception (Boston, MA): Skinner auction reception. Opaque ruby color. Nose of some pencil shavings but largely reticent. Palate of blackberry, some cassis quickly followed by searing tannins which seemed to dominate the rest of the experience. Hard for me to project this wine into the future, but clearly not ready at this point. Like the '82, perhaps this will still seem youthful 20 years from now.
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9/1/2007 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
Private dinner with friends. (@ PVa): Sophisticated power to say it in two words. A lot of firm tannin is the first impression. Then cassis. Full bodied. But…..the wine seems to be totally locked at the moment, even after several hours of air. No lead pencil to smell or taste, and that MUST be there, but not now. Except for the few things I mentioned and some luxury oak, everything is hidden. Even the oak is suppressed by the power. Forget about this wine for at least 5 years or more likely 8 – 10. For the moment my score is 94 but when the wine opens up (again) it will almost certainly gain several points.
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9/1/2007 - the godfather wrote: 96 Points
one of the most elegant bdx i have tasted, so young and promising
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3/17/2007 - G SQUARED wrote: 94 Points
Dinner at Wilf's. Still primary. Great nose, but hard for me to tell when this will finally become drinkable.
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8/27/2006 - KenK wrote: 96 Points
Chicago's Best Bordeaux Tasting Ever? (Ken's Home): Double decanted at 6:42 am and poured at 8:15pm Black licorice nose with ripe dark cherry with claasic pencil shaving aroma. Great rich red cherry berry flavors along with big acid and tannins. Mid palate falls a touch, perhaps a sign of closing-up? Great classy wine with upside potential. Don't open another for ten years?
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4/25/2006 - MRichman wrote:
Lafite Rothschild vertical (DB Bistro Moderne, NYC): Closed. Not showing a lot.
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10/25/2005 - ramsesm wrote: 97 Points
I had the opportunity to taste this wine along with the 83, 86, 89, 96 and 2000 and other 2000 states. This wine has received a great deal of attention, but unfortunately it is hiding in the bottle until a better time to rise and shine. A very dark (second darkest to all 2000 states) wine that shows loads of fruit, graphite, caramel and a hit of chocolate. I found the wine medium to light body. It was hard to judge as the wine is very close at this point. Too early for this (what I'm sure will be a long lived) wine to be opened.
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10/22/2005 - trankin wrote:
Wine Spectator Bordeaux First-Growth Tasting (New York Marriott Marquis): Very bright red, medium body. Nose of gentle round red berries. Nice, well-balanced wine, with notes of cocoa, cedar and tobacco.
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10/1/2005 - winefool wrote: 93 Points
Full deep purple/black. Big bright ripe round nose of black current frit, cedar, and pencil lead. Tight, lighter red fruit with firm acidity. Not quite the stuffing of the other 2000s, but more elegant and open. 10/05
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5/1/2005 - Happy Sommelier Likes this wine: 100 Points
The 2000 cepage includes 93.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6.7% Merlot.
The wine is a super clean dark red colour and not a dark purple wine that some expected. Absolutely beautiful and although young the wine surprisingly drank well. Common terms terms floated around as we tasted included: cassis, tobacco, cedar, and a floral quality resembling violets. Some found hints of more complex aromas including truffles but that was a bit difficult for me to pinpoint as the wine is quite young.
I found this to be a wine more on the feminine side with layers of sexiness and excitement. It really is a lovely wine to taste young or keep for the longer term. Considering that the value has now more than quadruple the price I paid "En Primeur" I doubt I will be opening my second bottle anytime soon if at all. As prices are currently running...it is looking more and more as an investment opportunity and not a bottle to be consumed.
Cheers to those that have the chance to taste this perfect beauty. She's sexy!
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2/15/2005 - noppakit s. wrote: 99 Points
Just tasting one big glass after 1.30 opened so I can not rated 100/100. Anyway, very very elagance nose of mild roasted espresso, slightly vanilla, modern style combined with Lafite texture.
Almost full-bodied, perfect ABC, everything is so balanced and complex, no hard edge. More ready to drink than 1998.
Very nice aftertaste too....I'm still waiting for the 2nd time....for testing not tasting....
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1/11/2005 - Burgundy Al wrote: 97 Points
Tasting. Brief note. Sensational aromatic complexity to start. Incredible concentration and density. Least shut down of the First Growths, this was exciting from start to finish.
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2/22/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 97 Points
This is the wine I went crazy over last year. To begin with, let me note that this wine has shut down considerably. Very dark red appearance. With air, notes of dairy products emerged along with a whiff of freshly chopped pine wood. Meaty and dense in the mouth with good, thick texture. One can really sense the quality of the underlying material here, with a great complex character and superfine tannins. Exquisitely balanced, highly concentrated and with a monster long finish, this is class is the glass.
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6/12/2003 - cigar52 wrote: 86 Points
little brush, no depth - ok for comany without expectations
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4/19/2003 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 98 Points
Purple in the glass. Dense purple. Intoxicating scents of sweet vanilla. Maybe also a hint of yoghurt on the nose. Fantastic structure to this wine. All the components are built into a huge frame-work that keeps a measure of precision, detail, and transparency that has to be lavours are superbly delicate, ranging from moccha and coffee, to classic cassis. The wine seems to find new dimensions and avenues continuously. Large bodied and packed to the rim with fruit, this wine should be a model for every big behemoth out there. Here we have all the power, all the fruit, yet untold amounts of elegance, definition, symmetry, style, élan, what-have-you. The finish lasts more than a minute. Wow, can this wine really be that good....This is darn close to 1 I'll reserve my last two points for the eventuality that this will be even better in 20 years. If that's at all possible.
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3/13/2003 - cigar52 wrote: 86 Points
nothing special
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