Chateau Margaux 2000

We were unaware at that time that we were harvesting one of the greatest vintages of the late 20th century. The grapes had rarely, perhaps never, been as concentrated, particularly the Cabernets. In certain cases we surpassed the already historic levels of the 1986 and 1995 vintages, with an elegance and softness on the palate, reminiscent also of the 1990 and 1996 vintages. It seemed in fact that 2000 was setting a new benchmark in quality, never before attained, at least in terms of style. Throughout the barrel ageing time, these first impressions were gradually confirmed. The wine has now acquired a slightly tighter texture and at the same time keeps such a soft and especially long finish that it seems to go on forever… The bottling took place in November 2002, after over 2 years of barrel ageing. Such a long ageing is unusual but not as rare as one might think: most of the greatest vintages are aged for that length of time.