Chateau Haut Bailly 2000

JAMES SUCKLING: "Still very youthful but starting to show its wonderful depth, structure and complexity. It’s full-bodied with silky tannins and a pretty fruit character that goes from currants to sweet earth. A wine to enjoy now and in the future."

WEINWISSER: "Sehr dunkles Rubin-Purpur. Frisches, würzig-florales Bouquet, tintige Würze, Backpflaumen. Sattes, dichtes Extrakt, wiederum viel Würze, Lakritze, Tabak, schwarze Kirschen, nachhaltige Adstringenz, noch sanft aufrauhend, tolles Potential."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Wonderful finesse and length to this wine. Loads of plum and berry, with hints of raspberry. Full-bodied, with a solid, velvety core of ripe fruit and tannins. Long finish. One of the few Pessacs better in 2000 than 1998. American-owned. Best after 2010. 6,665 cases made."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "It has been a little while since I last tasted the 2000 Haut Bailly. Now at 17 years of age it does not quite deliver the authority and the pedigree of the 2005 or 2010, moving into secondary notes with cedar wood, smoke and a touch of undergrowth, though it has lost a little cohesion. The palate is medium-bodied with a very well balanced opening. Hints of clove and black pepper infuse the black fruit, and it exerts a gentle grip in the mouth with quite a persistent finish. You can broach this now although it should continue to drink well for another 15-20 years. Tasted March 2017."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: 91 THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Delicate, elegant, graceful and easy to drink today, this medium bodied, soft wine leaves with fresh, silky, smoky, spicy red and black fruits in the finish. There is no real hurry to drink this, however, at close to 15 years of age, there is no need to wait to pop a cork seeking further development."