Where to start… if someone puts together a 4-day blind tasting of 200 Grand Cru Burgundies of the vintage 2000 that features all 33 GC appellations including ALL Grand Cru wines produced by the cult producers Leroy, DRC, Rousseau, Roumier, Coche-Dury, Leflaive, etc. accompanied by a famous Chef on each day, I would say: you’re kidding! Yet, it happened in Singapore and a few lucky friends were invited – generosity on a different level. The host is one of Asia’s prolific collectors, who not only has a 50k bottle deep cellar but also has done his reading homework with WSET and other exams on his belt. This epic blind tasting had the following features:
The tasting was called Route de Grand Cru (RdGC) 2000, meaning tasting all Grand Crus appellation of the vintage 2000 in a way that all anchor producers of each Grand Cru site were shown. As mentioned, of the very top producers, all of their GC wines were shown! For this, sometimes dedicated producer flights were showcased in addition to the appellation flights. The tasting was organized in 12 flights of 4, 48 btls per day over 4 days, with ringers in some of the flights to keep us on our toes. There were also some separate surprise flights in-between and after tasting nite cap bottles, as if we had not enough wines, with ringers from all over the world. All wines, including the ringers, were from the vintage 2000.
Observations:
- To the surprise of many, the whites did not have much premox issues and showed more consistent than the reds (also, not many corked bottles). The light and challenging vintage produced great whites. The best whites were not the heavy ones, but the ones that retained a mineralic, flinty note. They were simply stunning. Some whites where maturity was pushed, smelled too much like a pina colada (pinapple plus cream).
- The reds were light as the medium quality vintage suggests. They are at the end of their drinking window with browning edges. The top reds were excellent, classic and elegant, they gave a lot of pleasure. Producers clearly trumped terroir.
- Leroy and Coche were a class of their own. Boy, are they expensive, but are they awesome. Leflaive, Henri Boillot also top for whites. DRC, Ramonet, Roumier good but not at the level of Madame’s wines – looks like they fired the wrong person at DRC back in the days…
Enjoy the tasting notes of the 2nd day.
2000 Jacquesson & Fils Champagne Dégorgement Tardive Extra Brut, 94 Points
Aperitif wine. From MAG. Beautiful aromas of bruised apples, light on its feet, almost delicate, cinnamon and sweet spices on the finish. 94+
Flight 1
2000 Claude Dugat Griotte-Chambertin, 93 Points
Nose of red fruit, good acidity, generally in good shape but light. Solid but could need a bit more stuffing for a higher score.
2000 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques, 95 Points
Nose of red fruit as well, very light, some good plum coming through. A bit watery. Very composed, very precise. I continue to struggle with the tannins and palate weight of the CSJ of Rousseau. I have yet to see a top sample where both elements are in place. I generally prefer Fourrier’s CSJ. Anyway, verdict: Aroma 96, palate 93
2000 Domaine René Leclerc Griotte-Chambertin, 96 Points
Advanced nose here, tertiary but really nice complexity. Cured meat, farmyard funk. A real success and top wine of this flight.
2000 Domaine Fourrier Griotte-Chambertin Vieille Vigne, 94 Points
This was still before the son took over, so not representative what Fourrier’s Griotte is now. More red and dark fruit, less farmyard. Slightly riper. Good as well but also a touch too light like most reds in this vintage.
Flight 2
2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux, 95 Points
Beautiful nose here, red fruit, cured meat, light bodied, elegant, whole cluster. Body a bit too light but great wine overall.
2000 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Echezeaux, 97 Points
Wow, super aroma also here, dark fruit mixed with red fruit, complex farmyard funk, precise, good acidity. The full package for a lighter vintage!
2000 Emmanuel Rouget Echezeaux, 93 Points
A bit more advanced in hte nose than the peers in this flight. Richer, riper, good mid mouth volume but also more tired.
2000 Domaine Bizot Echezeaux, 94 Points
This was more acidic and at the same time riper as well than the peers in the flight. More advanced aromas as well. Grippy tannins despite the wine being light and clear. Good rather than great.
Flight 3
2000 Domaine René Engel Clos Vougeot, 94 Points
Nose of plum, ripe a bit pushed, pushed, very Ponsot style, dried plum again on the mid palate, marmalade. Complex but the finish is a touch drying.
2000 Domaine René Engel Echezeaux, 94 Points
Structured, ripe as well like the CdV next to it, red and dark fruit, sweet spices. Good rather than grand.
2000 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux, 94 Points
Lighter palate than the two Engels before it. More linear, good aromas, precise, cured meat, a bit too light and strict on the palate for a higher score though.
2000 Domaine René Engel Grands-Echezeaux, 96 Points
Here we go, a big step up from the Ech. Great wine right toff the bat. Beautiful aromatics, farmyard, cured meat, most complete wine of this prestigious flight where no bottles was below $2k.
Flight 4
2000 Bernard Dugat-Py Chambertin Vieilles Vignes, 94 Points
Ripe and rich, but lovely balance, strict, plush but not oxidative like some of the earlier wines. A touch dry on the finish preventing a higher score, I may be stingy here but my measurements are how the tannins of top producers are made today.
2000 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne, 93 Points
A wine from the fathers era that are not yet at the level of what they are today. It shows, strict, linear, acidity on the forefront but good red fruit core. Medium complexity.
2000 Domaine Leroy Chambertin, 98 Points
Boom, here we go. Really top nose here, plum, farmyard, dried meat, underbrush. Excellent fruit on the palate still. Complex and complete. Burg as good as they come. Nobody was spurprised when the winning wine was yet again from Madame…
2000 Domaine Trapet Chambertin, 96 Points
Wonderful aromas here as well on the nose, in a similar league than Leroy next to it with autumn leaves, complex. the palate is light and elegant, does not possess the ripeness and polished nature of Leroy. Still, very well done.
Flight 5
2000 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot, Not Rated
The Raveneau wines did not do well in this tasting, despite old Raveneau typically being a recipe for stellar whites. May be the provenance was not the best, who knows. TN: Oxidative, cheese, stinky aromas. Over the hill.
2000 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses, 92 Points
Some funk at the beginning in the nose. Lemon curd, advanced tertiary but still withing drinking window level. Good but not great.
2000 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur, 92 Points
Discrete nose, very balanced, middle of the road type of wine, good, but not overly complex. Clearly I had better Raveneau than this.
2000 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos, Not Rated
Argh, corked.
2000 Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Grenouilles, 91 Points
Nose of Mirabelle plum, advanced, bees wax, pine apple, but properly dry on the finish. Decent but a bit all over the place.
Flight 6
2000 Pierre Damoy Chapelle-Chambertin, 95 Points
Nose of cured meat, stemmy, farmyard, cloudy color, Leroy style, a bit light, and a bit too acidic for a higher score. Classic and aromatic overall though.
2000 Domaine Rossignol Trapet Chapelle-Chambertin, 96 Points
Nice nose right away. Richer, riper, good complexity, stemmy, farmyard, great stems, complex, Leroy funky style. Great!
2000 Henri Magnien Ruchottes-Chambertin, 95 Points
Initially the nose was a bit oxy, blew off. Still a drink up candidate. Rich, ripe, stemmy, farmyard. Good complexity.
2000 Claude Dugat Chapelle-Chambertin, 94 Points
Richest and ripest of all in this Chapelle flight. Almost Prieur Roch or Ponsot style, very ripe, very rich but not oxy and the balance works.
Flight 7
2000 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart, 93 Points
Nose of sour cherry, elegant but too light? Some pomegranate and grape fruit intermixing. Complex but borderline ripeness.
2000 Domaine Robert Groffier Bonnes Mares, 93 Points
Feels ripe and a bit pushed, pine tree, lilly floral aromas as well, ruby color still, not oxy but bready, good mid palate volume.
2000 Domaine d’Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Bonnes Mares, 95 Points
Tannic, dense, masculine, demanding, like a mature Corton, not for the faint hearted, a BM flight I was asking myself and was on the money with this guess. I like the complexity here but it was too strict for a higher score. Nose 96, palate 93.
2000 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares, 92 Points
Airy, mirabelle, ripe, blue and red fruit, all this flight had good ripeness but not so much complexity. good rather than great.
Flight 8
2000 Joseph Drouhin Bâtard-Montrachet, 99 Points
Ahhh, pop corn, lemon curd, fresh, great Chard, at its best, complex, rich yet racy. Grande in every way!
2000 Henri Boillot Montrachet, 99 Points
Nose of fresh, lemon, a bit leaner than the Drouhin Batard next to it but more precise, with flowers and lots of other aromas. A true wow white wine.
2000 Jean Noel Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet, 97 Points
Very different than the Boillot and Drouhin next to it but no less interesting. More green apples, racier, apple cider, more acidic as well, not quite the stuffing, but good buttery finish, gained with time. Wow as well.
2000 Marc Colin et Fils Bâtard-Montrachet, 94 Points
Good but not at the level of Boillot and Drouhin of this Batard flight. A bit overripe, the only wine that shows its age, late in the game but not oxy. Good but last in this outer worldly. 94+
Flight 9
2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin, 92 Points
Ringer. Really dense and acidic, demanding tannins, good aromas, clean and precise but too tannic at age 22 for a higher score.
2000 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve, 97 Points
Ringer. Aaah what a nose. Ripe rich but not oxy very good farmyard funk, a bit too soft on the palate, but so fragrant. Rayas frangrance and everyone else at the table can go home. unfortunately it is no secret anymore and the wines went from 400$ to 2k in one year… :-). If Parker was wrong on ONE wine then it was Rayas.
2000 Noël Verset Cornas, 89 Points
Ringer. Very green and watery wine, good aromatics but too much asparagus, not balanced.
2000 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie, 92 Points
Ringer. This was lean and crisp, a bit green and strict, could pass for a Corton, dry finish, Cote Rotie it was. I had better Jamet than this. Try the majestetic 2010 or even from a lesser vintage, the light and elegant 2011.
Flight 10
2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg, 96 Points
Nose of black forest cake, beautiful balance, bakery, sweet spices, lovely, so elegant, just a touch acidic for a super score.
2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti, 96 Points
Supernose. Great ripe wine here, farmyard, sweet spices, apple pie cinnamon, lovely, a bit too light light unfortunately on the palate.
2000 Bass Phillip Pinot Noir Reserve, 95 Points
Ringer. Much richer wine here, whole cluster, more ripeness, more volume, but also more greenness. A touch disjointed, an bit of nail polish smell, but very Burgundian. Interesting.
2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche, 96 Points
Strict, a bit more closed but v good still, then opening up, a slight stinginess with the tannins, like most 2000, light and transluscent color but so much aroma packed in here. Grand wine, DRC?
Flight 11
2000 Domaine Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, 93 Points
Rich, ripe, good sucrosite, almost too intense, too acidic for the fruit? A bit short. The Bienvenues were all a step below the Batards.
2000 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Le Montrachet, 91 Points
This was very rich, almost too rich, alcoholic grapa style, not balanced.
2000 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, 92 Points
Nose of apple cider, acidic, not balanced either, hayaa why does this strange white flight come last. Verdict. The Bienvenues were nowhere near the Batards (as so often).
2000 Louis Carillon Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, 94 Points
Nose of pop corn, lemon curd, a bit better then the rest of the flight, but not above there with the top whites today. Well, as so often the Bienvenues had no chance against the Batards.
Encores
2000 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich, 90 Points
Dessert wine with the cheese. Sweet, rich, floral, honey suckle, off dry, It smelled halfway between a Riesling or a floral Mouscat. Too sweetish for me, I clearly prefer the JJ Prum style.
2000 Nikolaihof Riesling Vinothek, 91 Points
Dessert wine. Nose of bruised apples, dry, acidic, good ripeness, feels like a dry Chenin, Riesling from Austria it was.
2000 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore, 93 Points
Dessert wine with the cheese. The nose is restraint with smoke, white pepper, more classic than the Pichler. Impressive aromas, hard to pinpoint what this is. Sancerre it turned out to be.
Closing Remarks
Simply the biggest and most dazzling tasting of my life. I cannot thank the knowledgeable and exceptionally generous host enough.
Author: Christian Raubach, WSET III, FWS, WSG Champagne Master
August 2022