Lafite 2000 5.0L OWC

2000 Lafite - Wine Spectator Mar 31, 2003: Subtle aromas of currants, leather, tobacco and cedar. Classic cigar box nose, with fruit. Full-bodied, with an amazing texture of silky, ripe tannins. This wine completely coats your palate, but caresses it at the same time. This is the best young Lafite ever made. A triumph. Best after 2012. 18,000 cases made. –JS

Wine Advocate #189, Jun 2010: Since I gave this wine a perfect score, I suppose some could see this as a downgrade. I found everything still there for a perfect rating, but I was just struck by how tight and backward the wine was. A blend of 93.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, the wine still has a dark ruby/purple color and an extraordinarily youthful nose of graphite, black currants, sweet, unsmoked cigar tobacco, and flowers. The wine is rich, medium to full-bodied, but has that ethereal elegance and purity that is always Lafite. I originally predicted that it would first reach maturity in 2011, but I would push that back by 5-7 years now, although it has 50-60 years of life in front of it. Owners of this beauty are probably best advised to forget it for 5 years. Tasted next to a 1996 several days after the 2000 tasting, the 1996, which is a perfect wine, was far closer to full maturity than the 2000.