Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

For a long time we have used D’Armailhac and Haut-Batailley to get a read on how the higher class Pauillac will be at maturity. Neither wine is ever fantastic, but rarely do they disappoint.

Last night with grilled lamb chops we drank

2000 D’Armailhac. Almost no bouquet. Good balance in the mouth but austere for a 15 year old D’Armailhac. The tannins are still strong but not teeth staining. Do all of the 2000 left bank classified growths need more age, or is this vintage just not as good as I thought it would be? stefan 87+.

2008 La Gomerie. This Pomerol is better for drinking now than the D’Armailhac. The tannins are rougher, but the sweet fruit compensates. stefan 90.

Tonight with leftover lamb chops we drank

2002 Haut-Batailley. Jim is a big fan of 2002, and I also love this vintage. The tannins in the H-B have lengthened and the black currants are sweet. Up front, the nose is lovely. It surprises me that this wine is so good. Lucie thinks the fruit is getting old and the wine is on the downslope, but I disagree. stefan 92. Lucie 90.

I said from Day One that 2000 was a disappointing vintage for d'Armailhac. Jacques disagreed with me, as I recall.

Yes,and I did not buy 2000 D'Armailhac, Jim. This was a recent single bottle purchase.

OTOH, I bought a case of 2002 Haut-Batailley on futures.

JimHow wrote:I said from Day One that 2000 was a disappointing vintage for d'Armailhac. Jacques disagreed with me, as I recall.

Well done on the 2007 haut batailley(bahahahaha)...seriously, i am a fan of the GPL family

I'm still saving my 6 pack of the 93 Batailley for future special occasions. Nothing has seemed worthy yet.

For me, 2000 vintage has been a disappointment so far... Not impressed with the wines I had so far...

2002 is tremendous on the left bank.
I'm gonna crack open the case of 2002 SHL soon and give it a visit.
I loved that wine early on.

I thought La Gomerie is a St Emilion?

My 00 d'Armailhac is hiding in perhaps the most inaccessible nook. I went to drop some stuff off at my storage site today, and forgot my hammer/claw case opener, and was in too much of a rush anyways to deal with moving everything to get access to it. Sadly, some of our consumption habits are driven solely by how hard things are to pull out.

Oops! You are right, Arv.

stefan

Chateau Vin wrote:For me, 2000 vintage has been a disappointment so far... Not impressed with the wines I had so far...

Me too although I have not opened any of my more highly praised Left Bank bottles yet.

I sold all my 2000 first growths when prices got silly, so I can't comment on them, but I've had a number of very good experiences with 2000 left bankers, including Leoville Poyferre, Smith Haut Lafitte, Giscours, Pichon Baron and Leoville Barton. They are still improving, but not a disappointment in the lot.

Claret wrote:

Chateau Vin wrote:For me, 2000 vintage has been a disappointment so far... Not impressed with the wines I had so far...

Me too although I have not opened any of my more highly praised Left Bank bottles yet.

Yes, me three. At least compared to the hype, I'm let down by year 2000. Some really excellent wines were made but it was a huge crop and the tannins are very rough and dry in many instances, so selection and care really mattered (favoring the wealthy estates). A good vintage at least, but definitely not vintage of the century material as initially heralded.

DavidG wrote:I sold all my 2000 first growths when prices got silly, so I can't comment on them, but I've had a number of very good experiences with 2000 left bankers, including Leoville Poyferre, Smith Haut Lafitte, Giscours, Pichon Baron and Leoville Barton. They are still improving, but not a disappointment in the lot.

I've loved every 2000 pretty much. Over the years I've had many, many of them. No disappointments for me.

I do not know how they will end up comparing to 05 or 09 over the long run, but I don't care about that relative ranking very much.

That might matter more to someone who is backfilling today, and cares about future speculative value.