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Tasting notes from a 2000 Bordeaux tasting - Saturday, November 16, 2002, at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Twenty wines were poured for a tasting fee of $25. The wines were double-decanted over a 24-hr period prior to the tasting.

Overall impressions: this was my first look at the 2000 vintage, a flight of mostly lesser cru wines, with a few grand cru thrown in for good measure. From all the advance press on the vintage, I was expecting some pricey offerings that didn't deliver a reciprocal wine in the bottle. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find some very nice wines -- and at reasonable prices.

From my top 4 favorites, the Fougas is the clear bargain. The Barde Haut is fabulous as well, although it's about $10 more than the '99 vintage. Other values include what I think is one of the finest Fontenil's to date, along with the Haut Chaigneau, Puygueraud, and Pique Caillou. The rest of the pack was arguably less value-oriented, with most wines performing about as expected.

I didn't find any particular surprises or disappointments in the flight, although I did expect more "oomph" from a couple of the wines - notable the Montrose, and to a lesser degree the Lynch Bages. Both seem nice enough, but appeared to lack something in nose or palate.

Tasting Notes

2000 Chateau de Cugat Cuvee Francis Meyer - Bordeaux Superieur. $12.99. Medium-dark garnet ruby color. Nose of sweet oak and cassis, with a touch of cheddar. Off-sweet mouthfeel, medium body, good balance, reasonably long finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

2000 Chateau Croix de Bonnin - Lussac Saint Emilion. $9.99. Dark ruby color. Nose of cassis and wood shavings, with a touch of eucalyptus. Chewy off-sweet mouthfeel, lots of macerated texture and taste, but seems a bit too oaky at present. 80% Merlot.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B

2000 Chateau Guibot La Fourvieille - Puisseguin Saint-Emilion. $10.99. Very dark ruby color. Fleshy, sweet and seductive, with just a hint of mint in the nose. Off-sweet mouthfeel, slightly stemmy and meaty, good balance, long finish. 100% Merlot
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B+

2000 Chateau Sainte-Colombe - Cotes de Castillon. $11.99. Dark ruby color. Complex and integrated nose of cassis, oak, vanilla, and a light touch of caramel. Slightly macerated flavors, smooth mouthfeel, quite toasty through long finish. 75% Merlot.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

2000 Chateau Puygueraud Cuvee George - Cote de Francs. $16.99. Very dark garnet color. Fleshy, eucalyptus-infused and toasty, with a fascinating roasted meat quality. Chewy and very tasty mouthfeel, with lots of grip on the palate, and a very long slightly oaky finish. 35% Malbec.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

2000 Chateau Haut Chaigneau - Lalande de Pomerol. $15.99. Dark garnet color. Nose of licorice, cassis, and nicely toasted oak. Very toasty and very grippy on the palate, nice chewy fruit, very long tasty finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

2000 Chateau Fougas Maldoror - Cotes du Bourg. $24.99. Very dark garnet color. Intense somewhat stemmy nose, with vanilla-laced cassis and aromas of mahogany wood shavings. Very chewy and flavorful mouthfeel, with a nice toasted grain quality throughout, and a long smooth tasty finish.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: A- Overall score: A-

2000 Chateau Mayne Vieil Cuvee Alienor - Canon-Fronsac. $12.99. Very dark ruby color. Lovely, very fruit and floral-driven nose. Tasty and smooth on the palate, but the finish seems a bit too brief.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B

2000 Chateau Fontenil - Fronsac. $19.99. Very dark ruby color. Big, complex nose of cassis, vanilla and shoe wax and toasty overtones. Chewy and full in the mouth, with flavors of sweet ripe fruit, licorice, and toast.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

2000 Chateau Cote de Baleau - Saint Emilion. $29.99. Dark ruby color. Effusive and slightly herbaceous nose, with a nice Herbs d' Provence quality as a background note. A bit stemmy on the palate, with nicely integrated oak, chewy fruit, and a long smooth finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

2000 Chateau Faugeres - Saint Emilion. $34.99. Dark ruby garnet color. Nose of cassis and toasty oak, with a hint of pine resin. Young mouthfeel; somewhat closed, but mostly dense fruit with just a touch of oak, and a very long finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

2000 Chateau Barde Haut - Saint Emilion. $44.99. Very dark ruby color. Fragrantly perfumed nose, with a bit of stemmy herbaceousness peeking through. Excellent balance, with a nice meaty mouthfeel, and a very long if slightly bitter finish.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: A- Overall score: A-

Favorites - In Order of Preference

2000 Chateau Fougas Maldoror - Cotes du Bourg. $24.99.
2000 Chateau Barde Haut - Saint Emilion. $44.99.
2000 Chateau La Couspade - Saint Emilion. $49.99.
2000 Chateau Lynch Bages - Pauillac. $n/a.
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2000 Chateau Fontenil - Fronsac. $19.99.
2000 Chateau Cote de Baleau - Saint Emilion. $29.99.
2000 Chateau Haut Chaigneau - Lalande de Pomerol. $15.99.
2000 Chateau Duhart Milon - Puillac. $27.99.
2000 Chateau Puygueraud Cuvee George - Cote de Francs. $16.99.
2000 Chateau Les Carmes Haut Brion - Pessac-Leognan. $n/a.
2000 Chateau Pique Caillou - Pessac-Leognan. $15.99.
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2000 Chateau Faugeres - Saint Emilion. $34.99.
2000 Chateau Palmer Alter Ego - . $n/a.
2000 Chateau Montrose - Saint Estephe. $n/a.
2000 Chateau Sainte-Colombe - Cotes de Castillon. $11.99.
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2000 Chateau Petite Bocq - Saint Estephe. $15.99.
2000 Chateau Guibot La Fourvieille - Puisseguin Saint-Emilion. $10.99.
2000 Chateau Mayne Vieil Cuvee Alienor - Canon-Fronsac. $12.99.
2000 Chateau Croix de Bonnin - Lussac Saint Emilion. $9.99.
2000 Chateau de Cugat Cuvee Francis Meyer - Bordeaux Superieur. $12.99.

2000 Chateau La Couspade - Saint Emilion. $49.99. Very dark ruby color. Fabulously integrated nose of cassis, toast, licorice, and vanilla. Off-sweet mouthfeel, slightly oaky and tight at present, with a very long if oak-charged finish.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: A-

2000 Chateau Pique Caillou - Pessac-Leognan. $15.99. Very dark ruby garnet color. Nose of cassis and licorice, with a just a touch of toast and vanilla. Slightly bitter and oaky mouthfeel, but the dense cassis fruit stands up quite well, leaving a nice long chewy and fruity finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

2000 Chateau Les Carmes Haut Brion - Pessac-Leognan. $n/a. Dark ruby color. Complex floral nose of cassis, toast, rose petal, and a touch of stem. Interesting light floral flavors come through on the palate, complimenting the moderate fruit. Good balance and medium-long finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score:B+ Overall score: B+

2000 Chateau Palmer Alter Ego - . $n/a. Very dark ruby garnet color. Nose of cassis and toast, with slight vegetal and oaky notes pushing its herbaceous qualities. Fleshy and tasty mouthfeel, with a somewhat narrow focus - more like a single vineyard, rather than a blend. A little strange - but well made. The name comes from the reverse blend of about 2/3 merlot.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

2000 Chateau Duhart Milon - Pauillac. $27.99. Dark garnet color. Somewhat herbaceous nose of cassis, oak, white pepper, and a touch of olive. Off-sweet mouthfeel, with a healthy does of oak contributing to the firmly gripping tannins and long finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

2000 Chateau Lynch Bages - Pauillac. $n/a. Dark ruby garnet color. Stunning nose of cassis, toast and vanilla, with a light floral scent. Initially chewy mouthfeel lasts through mid-palate, but seems to thin out a bit on the otherwise long tasty finish.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: A-

2000 Chateau Petite Bocq - Saint Estephe. $15.99. Dark garnet color. Aromas seem to jump from the glass, but while fruity and enjoyable, they also seem largely neutral or one-dimensional. Lots of fruit on the palate, with a nice chunky macerated taste of bing and black cherry, and a long finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

2000 Chateau Montrose - Saint Estephe. $n/a. Dark garnet ruby color. Very refined nose of cassis and toast, but also a bit tight or restrained. Off-sweet flavorful mouthfeel, very good balance, slightly bitter finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

     

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