Chateau Lafite Rothschild - Pauillac 2000 (1.5L)

 
WS
100
WA
98
D
98
JA
98
JS
100
V
97

Price: $4000.00

Producer Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Subregion Pauillac
Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage 2000
Sku 10589
Size 1.5L

James Suckling: 100 Points

"The nose is fresh bright and dense. With aromas of violets minerals spices cool stones mint dark fruits and plum skins this is beautiful. Very much still a baby right now it needs much more time. This is a wine for the next generation. Finesse and elegance truly a wine that makes you contemplate life. This is not about power there is really nothing like it. 93% Cabernet Sauvignon. Do not even think about touching this for another ten years 2020. 15+25+25+35. Find the wine"

Wine Spectator: 100 Points

"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."

Wine Advocate: 98 Points

"Since I gave this wine a perfect score I suppose some could see this as a downgrade. I found everything still there for a perfect rating but I was just struck by how tight and backward the wine was. A blend of 93.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot the wine still has a dark ruby/purple color and an extraordinarily youthful nose of graphite black currants sweet unsmoked cigar tobacco and flowers. The wine is rich medium to full-bodied but has that ethereal elegance and purity that is always Lafite. I originally predicted that it would first reach maturity in 2011 but I would push that back by 5-7 years now although it has 50-60 years of life in front of it. Owners of this beauty are probably best advised to forget it for 5 years. Tasted next to a 1996 several days after the 2000 tasting the 1996 which is a perfect wine was far closer to full maturity than the 2000. "

Decanter: 98 Points

The bouquet is amazingly open and forward at this stage with a ripe black fruit character on the nose just beginning to open up and reveal savoury notes of leather earth and roast coffee. The texture is lush and dense and there is plenty of body and structure to make this a wine for the long term. I visited the Château in July of 2000 and it was pouring with rain; that week there was plenty of spraying for rot. Fortunately it was hot and dry for the rest of the summer and the fruit ended up healthy and ripe although only 36% of the harvest made it into the grand vin which was 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot. Tasted by: Charles Curtis MW (at Atlanta USA 28 Feb 2022)

Jane Anson: 98 Points

A baby still barely evolved at 21 years old perhaps the slowest out of the block of all Five Firsts in this vintage. A high Cabernet Sauvingon year one of the highest on record and although you had to be patient it's clear that the 2000 vintage deserved the plaudits it received on release. The texture is velvety seductive with obvious width and it remains extremely young . I would strongly recommend opening the 2001 over this (not a vintage that I specfically tasted in this vertical but on recent examples) or certainly the 1996. If you drink this now you are missing out on the extra layer of naunce that is undoubtedly hidden underneath although you'll already enjoy cassis puree savoury black fruits elegant yet concentrated with precision heft and finely-sculpted tannins signature Cabernet Sauvignon and signature Lafite. The power comes slowly expanding through the palate to show graphite pencil shavings cigar smoke all with firm acidities and a fantastic grip. 46% of the overall crop went into this wine in the 2000 vintage. A brilliant example of the success at Lafite under the longtime triumvirate of then-owner Baron Éric de Rothschild CEO Christophe Salin and estate director Charles Chevallier. Last tasted July 2020. 100% new oak.

Vinous: 97 Points

The 2000 Lafite-Rothschild is deep in color. It has a beautifully defined bouquet of blackberry cedar and mint still quite closed but very focused. There is a lot of power here but maybe not the same level of elegance as other vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins firm grip very nicely judged acidity and good density on the finish. This is quite backward and muscular at the moment although aeration/decanting shaves some of its edges. It?s just beginning to open and improves with time in the glass. - By Neal Martin on June 2021

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