Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2000

JAMES SUCKLING: "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 ENTHUSIAST: "Perhaps of all the first growths in the totally un-classic 2000, this retains most of the classic Bordeaux. It is certainly almost black in color, while the new wood flavors are very present. But it shows an impressive restraint, leaving the power of the wine to be revealed over the years rather than immediately. This could well be the longest-lived of the Pauillac first growths."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "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: "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, 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. Drinking Window 2020 - 2045"

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Schwarze Früchte, etwas Zwetschge, feine Holzwürze, Edelschokolade, rauchige Mineralik. Am Gaumen völlig embryonal, verhalten, feine Würze, wirkt noch relativ streng und monolithisch, präsente Tannine, die Frucht ist angelegt, Nuancen vom vollreifen Cabernet Sauvignon, Noten von Cassis und Brombeeren, extraktsüß, gut anhaltend, sicheres Zukunftspotenzial, hat die erste Trinkreife noch nicht ganz erreicht. Die Geduld wird sich lohnen."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This is remarkably young, with a deep well of succulent black currant, fig and blackberry fruit notes that feel 10 years younger than most peers, carried by wave upon wave of velvety tannins. Despite the density and heft, there's glorious length and finesse too, with alluring black tea, smoldering charcoal and warm paving stone notes just starting to emerge. Awesome wine.--Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Best from 2018 through 2043. 16,000 cases made."

WEINWISSER: "Nicht besonders dramatisch dunkle Farbe für diesen Jahrgang. Superbes, delikates Bouquet, etwas Karamell, Butternoten, viel Zedern und dominikanischer Tabak, vielschichtig und parfümiert. Auch wenn sich der Wein momentan nur zu einem kleinen Teil zeigt, fasziniert, ja berauscht er sogar mit seinem ausufernden Nasenbild. Hochfeiner Gaumen mit seidigen Tanninen, lang und tänzerisch. Könnte der Nachfolger des sensationellen 1982ers sein. Zur ersten grossen Reife braucht diese schon verführerische 2000er-Beauty noch mindestens zehn Jahre."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "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."