This has a floral and earthy Bordeaux nose with red and black fruit. There is cherry, blackberry, raspberry and some coffee on the palate. The acid is still quite strong here with a solid tannic backbone. This wine is very warming, not “hot” alcohol; in fact alcohol does not even factor into the flavor profile, but has a pleasing warmth in the chest.

A little time and the floral/earthy qualities carry over to the palate. The coffee also becomes a bit more pronounced and cherry is the predominate fruit with hints of other berries, red and black fruits etc. Has a very long finish and aftertaste that is quite nice.

87-90 Points

This is an awesome wine that comes with the slap in the face of opening it too early. A no name St. Emilion with a low price tag, I assumed it was good to go. Very young still, fortunately it has no flaws, no rough edges; it is just young and extremely powerful and of course this obscures the wine to a degree.

I have a ton of St Emillion and satellites from 2000. Every time I open one I know it's too early.

You like any Cotes De Castillon, KillerB?

I love Cotes du Castillon. I have several from 2000 - cases of Chateau Fongaban and Chateau du Bourg plus a number of other bottles. To be honest they probably do need drinking.

I was going to pick up a 2000 d'Aiguilhe, Côtes d'Castillon for drinking in the near term. Your comment made me think twice. If you open a 2000 Cotes Castillon let me know. Especially if it is the d'Aiguilhe.

I'll pop one on Palm Sunday (it's still Lent, but don't mention it to anyone), if I remember. I may decide that something else is in order though.

Spo, La Mauriane is great juice for only $15. I assume you got it at Vintage Wines. I went through 1 case of this, then they ran out and now they brought it back. To me, it is very nicely balanced.

Hi Zmeu,
I got this at San Diego Wine Company for $22. I better check out Vintage Wines. There is no doubt in my mind this is good stuff. I would just like for it to mellow a little bit more. I think this would still last for a long time. How about yourself?

Spo, it's a very balanced wine that has enough fruit to last a while. I see no reason why it could not last 5 more years, hack it may even further improve.