TN: 2000 Château Margaux

[David Pian]

Sunday, March 06, 2011 - I am literally speechless! The perfection of this wine goes way beyond what words are capable of describing!! I had absolutely no reason to take off any points from this wine, and if I could give more than 100 points for this wine, I would! The 2000 Margaux's beauty and attraction start right at the beginning from the minute you see it: deep purple color with slight ruby hue that is opaque all the way towards the rim, exhibiting delicacy, great finesse and high elegance. You would have had to try extra hard to convince me that the wine carries over 10 years of age, but the extremely well-developed, over-the-top bouquet has given it all away: manure and meaty overtone with a touch of nutty character letting out intense heat and spice. Hints of vanilla extract, cedar, graphite, Chinese herb and tobacco open up to unbelievably caressing aromas of dark fruits showing black currant, blackberry, black cherry, crème de cassis and black licorice, intermixed with web gravel, forest floor and blooming flowers. This full-bodied wine is highly viscous, rich and creamy, yet, with light weight on the palate that does not overwhelm at all. All of the nice fruit components on the nose follow through perfectly into the initial attack of dark berries and plum with beautiful floral note and perfume. Crisp acidity and firm, yet, silky and chewy tannins form a balanced and well-rounded structure on the middle palate. Extremely long finish takes your breath away with beautiful fruit and perfume lingering for minutes after the swallow, and the core finish lasted for whopping 135 seconds! Very impressive and extremely complex all-together with all of its nuances in perfect balance, evolving into a harmonious symphony. This wine came in a 375 format and opened up after 3 hours of decanting. Already attractive, but will age gracefully for another 60 years easy, and perhaps a century!! Hands-down: best wine ever tasted!

[Christer Byklum]

Wow, I must say, sounds fantastic. I have never tried the 00 Margaux, but Ch. Margaux is visiting us up here in Norway from Wednesday to Friday this week. Mr Pontallier, and Gunvor Bizard (she is from Norway) are coming to see us. As we are the only importer of wine in Norway only working with Bordeaux, it's an honor for us to have them, and I look so much forward to tasting some vintages going back to 85, all directly from the Châteaux.

[Jeff Leve]

David... I've had 2000 Chateau Margaux a few times and it's absolute perfection! It's still young, but the fruit is intense, pure and round. It is a stunning Bordeaux wine that will improve for decades.

Christer... I look forward to hearing about all the wines you're tasting from Margaux!

[Leah Amir]

What an incredible tasting note! Enthusiasm and passion like this from wine lovers is why I'm hooked on wine and everything that goes along with it...

[Alex Stone]

David I agree with what Leah wrote. It it postings like yours that makes me want to try a wine. If only I could find a few friends with 2000 Margaux that want to open them :D

[Hamish Wakes-Miller]

David. That's a great and very detailed tasting note. I don't usually hear 'Chinese herb' and 'web gravel' in a TN! But glad that you enjoyed the 2000. Interesting that you tried it in half bottle format rather than a bottle. You are definitely correct that this wine has so much longer to go.....but it is encouraging that it is showing its charm now.
Christer. If you do not already know Gunvor Bizard, she is an absolutely lovely lady. She always mentions her proud Norwegian heritage and she has mentioned her big Norwegian trip several times. Hope the wines show well. Look forward to your notes.

[David Pian]

David. That's a great and very detailed tasting note. I don't usually hear 'Chinese herb' and 'web gravel' in a TN! But glad that you enjoyed the 2000. Interesting that you tried it in half bottle format rather than a bottle. You are definitely correct that this wine has so much longer to go.....but it is encouraging that it is showing its charm now.
Christer. If you do not already know Gunvor Bizard, she is an absolutely lovely lady. She always mentions her proud Norwegian heritage and she has mentioned her big Norwegian trip several times. Hope the wines show well. Look forward to your notes.

Ah, thanks Hamish for pointing that out, or else I wouldn't have noticed: it's a typo, supposed to be "wet gravel", and apparently the spell-check couldn't have caught that one... haha. Actually my Chinese heritage gave me perspectives that are rather unique, yet quite applicable in wine-tasting, I think. For instance, things like ginseng, which is present in the nose of a lot of the older vintage Bordeaux I've tried, I'd really urge people to try. It is not something commonly seen here in America, but if you go to Asian stores, you should be able to get some. Check out this link (http://www.cellartracker.com/new/note.asp?iNote=1906979), try a little bit of the ginseng, then try out something like a 95 Pichon Lalande, you will find the striking connection between the two, and it's spot on, guaranteed! It has that combination of herbal, graphite, pencil shavings note present and it is just amazing!

[David Pian]

David I agree with what Leah wrote. It it postings like yours that makes me want to try a wine. If only I could find a few friends with 2000 Margaux that want to open them :D

Thanks Alex for your nice words, and I agree. I wish I only had more friends who are willing to open up more first growths together. Main goal is to cut costs I guess, which answers your question too Hamish: half-bottle format is how I save some money and still try something spectacular as 2000 Margaux.

[Christer Byklum]

Hamish, I know Gunvor, she is a lovely lady. We call her Gunvor Marquise de Margaux here in Norway :) We had some fantastic days with them (Gunvor, Mr Paul Pontallier and his wife Beatrice). We had the 09, 08 and 93 Pavillon Blanc, 04 and 01 Pavillon Rouge, 99, 95, 89, 86 and 85 Magnum. Notes will come shortly.