2000 Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, Bordeaux

The 2000 Lafite-Rothschild is utterly sublime. Delicate, sensual and wonderfully nuanced, the 2000 is majestic. The purity of the fruit is simply striking.

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.

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.

Dark ruby – same colour as Ch Margaux 2000. Very light – almost soapy – on the nose. Lots of chew and potential. Polished sinewy tanins but not nearly ready – however many bottles have already been drunk in China! Appetising but wait. Green notes at the moment. This has length and potential.

A baby, still barely evolved at 20 years old, perhaps the slowest out of the block of all Five Firsts at this point in their lives. Savoury black fruits, elegant yet concentrated, extremely Cabernet and extremely Lafite. The power comes slowly, expanding through the palate to show graphite, pencil shavings, and 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 owner Baron Éric de Rothschild, CEO Christophe Salin and estate director Charles Chevallier.

Drink 2022 - 2045

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.

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.

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.

Drink 2023 - 2060

Well, well, well - Lafite Rothschild does it again. Ever since manager Charles Chevalier was transferred from his beloved Sauternes property of Rieussec also owned by the Rothschilds) to Lafite in 1994, there has been a succession of profound wines to emerge from this noble estate. The 2000 Lafite Rothschild, a blend of 93.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6.7% Merlot only 36% of the crop made the grade) has an opaque ruby/purple colour, followed by an extraordinary aromatic expression of liquid minerals/stones interwoven with the tell-tale graphite notes, mulberry, black currants, caramel, and tobacco. 

In the mouth, it is remarkably light on its feet but somehow seems to pack intense flavours into layer upon layer of fruit and richness that cascade over the palate. A compelling wine, with extraordinary precision, great intensity, and seamlessness despite what are obviously elevated levels of tannin, this wine was provocatively open and beautiful when tasted in January and February, but I am sure it will soon close down. The finish lasted a whopping 72 seconds! This is utterly fascinating stuff.

Drink 2011 - 2050

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.

Full medium ruby. Flamboyantly perfumed aromas of cassis, graphite and tobacco, lifted by a floral nuance and stony minerality. Very young and precise but not austere or forbidding. A remarkably rich, silky, seamless Lafite with superb vibrancy for the vintage. Tannins are noble and the aristocratic finishing flavours go on and on. I tasted this from a 375 ml. bottle, but from all reports, this wine is equally approachable right now from a standard bottle. Has more sheer density than the beautiful 2001 and may well soon shut down in the bottle.