WEINWISSER: "Nicht besonders dramatisch dunkle Farbe für diesen Jahrgang. Superbes, delikates Bouquet, etwas Karamell, Butternoten, viel Zedern und dominikanischer Tabak, vielschichtig und parfümiert. Auch wenn sich der Wein momentan nur zu einem kleinen Teil zeigt, fasziniert, ja berauscht er sogar mit seinem ausufernden Nasenbild. Hochfeiner Gaumen mit seidigen Tanninen, lang und tänzerisch. Könnte der Nachfolger des sensationellen 1982ers sein. Zur ersten grossen Reife braucht diese schon verführerische 2000er-Beauty noch mindestens zehn Jahre."
WINESPECTATOR: "This is remarkably young, with a deep well of succulent black currant, fig and blackberry fruit notes that feel 10 years younger than most peers, carried by wave upon wave of velvety tannins. Despite the density and heft, there's glorious length and finesse too, with alluring black tea, smoldering charcoal and warm paving stone notes just starting to emerge. Awesome wine.--Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Best from 2018 through 2043. 16,000 cases made."
WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Perhaps of all the first growths in the totally un-classic 2000, this retains most of the classic Bordeaux. It is certainly almost black in color, while the new wood flavors are very present. But it shows an impressive restraint, leaving the power of the wine to be revealed over the years rather than immediately. This could well be the longest-lived of the Pauillac first growths."
JAMES SUCKLING: "The nose is fresh, bright, and dense. With aromas of violets, minerals, spices, cool stones, mint, dark fruits, and plum skins, this is beautiful. Very much still a baby right now, it needs much more time. This is a wine for the next generation. Finesse and elegance, truly a wine that makes you contemplate life. This is not about power, there is really nothing like it. 93% Cabernet Sauvignon. Do not even think about touching this for another ten years, 2020. 15+25+25+35. Find the wine"
ANTONIO GALLONI: "Full medium ruby. Flamboyantly perfumed aromas of cassis, graphite and tobacco, lifted by a floral nuance and stony minerality. Very young and precise but not austere or forbidding. A remarkably rich, silky, seamless Lafite with superb vibrancy for the vintage. Tannins are noble and the aristocratic finishing flavors go on and on. I tasted this from a 375 ml. bottle, but from all reports this wine is equally approachable right now from a standard bottle. Has more sheer density than the beautiful 2001 and may well soon shut down in the bottle."
THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "This is all about the obvious potential, as the wine is young, tight and needs coaxing to bring out much of its charm. Clearly, the fruit is ripe, elegant, fresh and present, the tannins and soft and there is length, but it's not much fun to drink today. Give it another decade and call me in the morning."
FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Schwarze Früchte, etwas Zwetschge, feine Holzwürze, Edelschokolade, rauchige Mineralik. Am Gaumen völlig embryonal, verhalten, feine Würze, wirkt noch relativ streng und monolithisch, präsente Tannine, die Frucht ist angelegt, Nuancen vom vollreifen Cabernet Sauvignon, Noten von Cassis und Brombeeren, extraktsüß, gut anhaltend, sicheres Zukunftspotenzial, hat die erste Trinkreife noch nicht ganz erreicht. Die Geduld wird sich lohnen."
THE WINEADVOCATE: "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."
