2000 Lagrange

[stefan]

Some 2000 Bordeaux have been criticized recently, but my experience has been very good. I opened our case of 2000 Lagrange a while back and Lucie and I drank our second bottle tonight with skirt steak and baked potato. Lagrange typically is one of the earliest maturing of the St. Julien Cru Classe wines, and indeed the bouquet of flowers and fruit was immediately appealing. The tannins are soft and strong. The red cassis and red cherries are lip smacking good and the finish is lingering. The St. Julien elegance is pronounced. A wonderful wine now, it will improve for 5-10 years. stefan 93. Lucie 92.

[johnz]

That's interesting. I've tried to break into my '96 Lagrange St. Julien's in the last year or 2, but have found them quite young -- not closed, and with a decent bouquet of black cherries, blueberries, spice, licorice that builds with time, but in the mouth to me it was angular, plenty of green pepper and drying tannins. I thought it still disjointed and needing time, as with most of the '96s I've tried, though I love the '96 Pape Clement right now. I would have thought the 2000 Lagrange might be similar or even less together than the '96, but I have not tried it. The '90 Lagrange is still terrific stuff.

--Gary Rust

[stefan]

The strong tannins in the 2000 beg for grilled steak. Eventually I think it will be best with prime rib.

[JimHow]

It's been a while since I've had either of those wines but my recollection is that the 1996 would be a more long-lived wine than the 2000. I remember some of us, myself and SteveH included, drinking down our 2000 Lagrange half bottles early on. I thought, early on at least, that the 2000 Lagrange was a forward, easy drinking wine.