Château Palmer 2000

One of the sexiest wines for drinking now and over the next 10-15 years is undoubtedly the 2000 Palmer. A blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, the wine has an almost exotic floral nose, soft, undulating tannins, and tremendous opulence and flesh, with a full-bodied mouthfeel, silky tannins, and loads of floral notes intermixed with blue and black fruits as well as hints of smoke and incense in its complex aromatics. This wine is drinking beautifully and should continue to do so for up to two more decades.

Still tight, with a core of black currant, blackberry and plum fruit flavors that is quite youthful, while hints of dried anise, tobacco and singed alder are starting to peek through on the finish. There's a really vibrant iron note cutting through the finish too. Hold off for now. -- Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Best from 2018 through 2028.

At this stage, this is very closed, very tight, giving little. But it is possible to discern that this is going to be a beautiful wine. There are flavors of sweet raisins and the fruit has a new world richness, but the structure of dry tannins is always present. It looks as though it has a good, long life.

Now at 20 years old, and absolutely singing, after a sometimes frustratingly slow start to its life. The tannins are ripe but rich and still broad-shouldered, and it will probably still show at its best with a good plate of food to draw out the mouthwatering acidities. Dense, powerful, complex, with a menthol-laced finish, no signs of going anywhere yet. No Petit Verdot in the blend in this vintage, because the then director Bouteiller didn't feel it was adding to the overall balance achieved by the already rich and concentrated Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Harvest September 21 to October 7.

A typical Palmer showing finesse alongside strength. I love the blackberry, plum, chocolate and cedar character. It’s very long and beautiful. The velvety, textured tannins are impressive.

Difficult start to the vintage – until mid July. Summer started mid July but then lovely up to harvest. 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot. Deep dark ruby. Some cedary notes over the pure fine cassis but also a hint of very sweet damson. Cedary purity though fully ripe. Thick, rich and opulent with fine, chocolate-smooth tannins. Rich and firm but beautifully balanced. Harmony and proportion. Leathery in aroma and texture but not at all tough just adding a savoury grainy edge. Then finishes fresh and with a fine, attractive dryness – like a smooth dry handshake. Hint of undergrowth on the long finish. (JH)

This bottle was much better than the one tasted a few months ago. With the texture of pure silk, from the moment the wine left the glass, it was where it needed to be with its perfume seemingly created in a tobacco shop with flowers on every counter. Full-bodied, elegant, fresh and refined, the silky tannins and layers of sweet, ripe, soft red fruits on your palate sealed the deal. You can enjoy this for another 2 decades with ease.

The color is a deep cherry red with purplish hues and a violet sheen. On the nose, a profound bouquet of fine wood, blackcurrant, blackberry, truffle and tobacco; still closed, yet showing a compact structure. On the palate, it is quintessentially Margaux: round, lavish, velvety, with an interplay of red, blue and black berries, again with plenty of mulberry. Very dense, with tannins already showing full, fleshy contours; the fruit is ripe but not overripe, with a classic frame and superb character, accented by dark chocolate notes. Blackberries return on the long, lingering finish. A top wine, with certain parallels to the 1985 vintage—perhaps even a touch more perfect.

No Petit Verdot! Anyone who bought Palmer 1997, 1998 and 1999 will have received, with the shipment, a tiny bit of Petit Verdot in the blend. Not so with the 2000 vintage. It simply didn’t have the class or finesse to be integrated into any blend—not even in Alter Ego. Still, this is no drawback for the Grand Vin: the Cabernet had very small berries and very thick skins, so it will more than make up for it. 01: Barrel sample (19/20): dark cherry-red purple with a violet sheen. Profound bouquet of fine oak: blackcurrant, blackberries, truffle, tobacco; still closed, but showing compact potential. A mouthful of Margaux on the palate—round, lush, velvety, with a play of red, blue and black berries; again lots of mulberry, very dense. The tannins already show rich curves; the fruit is just ripe, not overripe, giving this Palmer a classic stature and magnificent character. Notes of dark chocolate and again blackberries in the long, echoing finish. A top wine with parallels to the 1985 vintage, perhaps in an even more perfect form. Back then, too, there was a head-to-head race between Palmer and Château Margaux. With 1985 today, it’s Palmer that seems to be just before the finish line. 03: At the big Palmer tasting at Brandenberg in Zug: delicate, multi-layered, concentrated and perfumed; cherries and blackcurrant. On the palate, fine texture and still an intense, yet finely structured tannin presence. (19/20). 16: Dense purple with a lightening rim. Plummy-sweet, warm bouquet, suggesting dried fruit, nutty contours and a hint of dark pralines. Surprisingly approachable. Velvety palate, rounded tannins. Only an acidity not yet fully integrated affects perfect harmony. Strikingly, it shows almost mature and quite charming. In two or three years it will have reached its drinking maturity. (19/20). 19: The color is medium and shows garnet and ruby, with first signs of maturity at the rim. Given the great expectations of the vintage, it seems a little too light. In the end, you don’t drink the color, but the wine. Already when decanting, a sweet, seductive scent carried far. One finds woody spice notes, dried fruit, freshly tanned leather and Dominican tobacco. It feels openly aromatic and complete. The palate conveys an impression of warm, ripe aromas. The tannins still seem—like before—a bit mealy, and so this Palmer, falling short of expectations, ends somewhat rough. The Petit Verdot was completely declassified. As a result, in flavor terms—for a Palmer—it comes across somewhat atypically. My scores were always somewhere between 18 and 19 points. At the moment, I criticize a certain lack of harmony, which is why it has to settle for a slightly lower rating right now. P.S. When I poured off the sediment, it smelled of cold smoke. It develops faster than other, qualitatively comparable Palmer vintages because there is no Petit Verdot in the blend. And this grape variety gives backbone and positively slows the wine’s evolution by delaying oxidation. Hence this 2000 is now unquestionably mature. That’s good too! (18/20). 21: Medium-dark garnet, first mature tones on the minimally lightening rim. The most beautiful bouquet of all the Margaux wines tasted! At first, multi-layered, perfumed, red-berry. Then elderberry notes follow, delicate truffle nuances, cold coffee and fine woods. On the palate, with gentle extract; silky tannins, finely spread and beautifully laid out. Great length! Truly Burgundian. And if we’re already comparing it to Burgundy, then it’s a possible Musigny—something that was not uncommon with a mature Palmer in earlier vintages. It has developed very positively in recent years. Superb bottle! (19/20). 21: Still a deep, saturated purple, little maturity showing. Nutty-cedary bouquet, Dominican cigars, showing more spice than fruit. Fine texture on the palate, gray pepper meal on the tongue; again a positively accentuated first hint of terroir spice. It seems, on the one hand, still quite young; on the other, it has developed well in recent years and I like it more and more. At the beginning I was rather critical of this wine. Time in bottle obviously doesn’t just heal wounds—it can also work small miracles. (18/20).

Spicy, powerful, velvety bouquet: Malaga notes, herbs, lovage, with a delicate hint of eucalyptus. Dense, aromatic, sweet palate with a creamy, broad structure, fine tannins, sweet aromatics and a refined finish. 18/20 drink to the last drop.

Breathe deep to enjoy the curl of violet and woodsmoke aromatics that are coming out of this glass. Softened russet pink around the edges at 21 years old, still deep ruby through the core. The fruits are a little more tertiary than I expected, brambled raspberry, with hawthorn, tobacco, white pepper, truffle and campfire notes, but as it opens up, the palate expands outwards and builds in concentration and grip. No question this once-stubborn vintage is now open for business, and overall this is soft and welcoming but has decades ahead of it. Harvest September 21 to October 7. 60% new oak.

Pure, refined nose. A very stylish, fresh wine, with balance and a silky, supple palate. We love its silky texture and the superb grain of its tannins. Great, fresh length.

Logo on the cork: inverted T (Trescases) Dark color, medium intensity and showing evolution. Moderately aromatic, fruity nose. A hint of caramel. On the palate, a cool flavor not noticed the day before, with a slender body but lacking richness.