Bordeaux First-Growth Tasting
The five top estates contrast their 2000 wines with great vintages from the 1980s and '90s
By Jo Cooke
"I had the 1870 Latour a week or so ago," said James Suckling, Wine Spectator's European bureau chief, as he opened up Saturday's second seminar. "It was fresh and balanced, with beautiful fruit. When did you last have an 1870 Napa Cab?"
The immediate applause that followed demonstrated that the (clearly envious) packed house was hearing what it wanted. Because what singles out a tasting of the five Bordeaux first-growths is the inevitable reference to benchmark wines from the great vintages of the past: 1961, 1945, 1929, 1900 and on.
No one knows these classic vintages better than the château owners, who made up the panel, and their winemakers and managers, who were in the audience.
The tasting initially focused on wines from 2000-the best of the recent vintages in Bordeaux, particularly in the Médoc, the home of four of the first-growths. (Château Haut-Brion is located further south, in Pessac-Léognan.) Wine Spectator gave the 2000 vintage in the Médoc an overall rating of 99 points, and three first-growths-châteaus Latour, Lafite and Margaux-received perfect 100-point scores.
Suckling said that Bordeaux enjoyed a perfect summer in 2000, with little rain and hot, but not overly hot, temperatures. Everything was in proportion, he said, making for complex wines with ripe, but not jammy, fruit and a classic structure with fine tannins.
Joan Dillon, Duchesse de Mouchy and owner of Château Haut-Brion, started by comparing the 2000 Haut-Brion (94 points on release) to the 1929 vintage. "You could drink the 2000 now," she said, "but hold off, as it's going to get better."
Corinne Mentzelopoulos, owner of Château Margaux, compared her 2000 to the classic 1900, saying that the 2000 had a lot of power, but that the tannins were soft and manageable. "I had the 1900 two weeks ago," interjected Suckling. "It was beautiful, with Margaux's typical floral and fruity character. It's exciting to speculate that the 2000 may get as far as the 1900."
Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, owner of Château Mouton-Rothschild, agreed, adding that she was going to wait to drink her 2000 (93 points). She then reminded her cousin, Baron Eric de Rothschild, of New Year's Eve 1999, when they had shared a bottle of 1900 Mouton, "or was it 1899? Maybe it was Lafite. I can't remember now."
Eric, who owns Château Lafite Rothschild, elaborated on the differences between the classic vintages of the past and the "modern classics," like 2000. Today, he said, there is more attention to detail, from the moment the vine is planted, through the harvest to the bottling of the wine. "With the old methods, the tannins were rougher, and it took longer for the wine to reach a drinkable state," he said. "Now the wines are ready much earlier, but I believe they will age for just as long."
"Latour 2000 is a baby," said owner Florence Rogers-Pinault, adding that the rich, complex character of the wine, coupled with its elegance, put it in the realm of Latour's classic 1982 vintage. Suckling noted that Latour has always shown the typical characteristics of Pauillac Cabernet, with ripe currants, flowers, a hint of lead pencil and a tendency towards austerity. The 2000, he said, has all that.
For the second part of the tasting, each château had chosen another recent great vintage to introduce, giving the attendees a chance to compare 1995 and 1996 and 1989 and 1990, as well as 1988, which has been overshadowed by the two subsequent vintages.
Suckling said that the Latour 1996 (96 points in its last blind tasting) shone in a year that was not good across all of Bordeaux, and now the tannins were starting to resolve themselves. On the other hand, Mentzelopoulos said that Margaux 1995 (100 points) was still too tannic and needed another 10 years.
Both the Haut-Brion 1990 (95 points) and the Mouton-Rothschild 1989 (98 points) were very drinkable, with softer palates and resolved tannins. Suckling believed that both wines were just going to get better and better.
The Lafite-Rothschild 1988 (90 points), however, was still showing a lot of tannin. Eric de Rothschild described it as "a classic ager, with tannins that still need the edge knocked off." The reason for this, he explained, was that the grapes in 1988 had very thick, tannin-rich skins and less juice than normal.
Then, again recalling New Year's Eve 1999, he turned to Philippine and said, "I don't remember either whether it was 1900 or 1899, Mouton or Lafite. But I do remember the 1799 Lafite we shared the very next day!"
