2000 Wine

2000 Wine

Create an alert

The millennium ends in magnificent fashion with this exceptional 2000 vintage, which has become legendary in Bordeaux. Yet the year did not begin well, with a dreadful spring followed by a wet and cool June and July. Then came 2 months of very fine, warm and dry weather. The result is some of the most monumental wines: deeply coloured, concentrated, powerful and tannic. Outstanding successes in the Médoc and exceptional Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. 'The very best possess the most impressive length, structure, concentration and definition I have encountered in all my years of tasting new Bordeaux vintages' - Robert Parker.

Among the references of this 2000 vintage are Château Palmer 2000, Château Haut Brion 2000, Château Mouton Rothschild 2000, Petrus 2000, Château Ausone 2000

In Burgundy, the winemakers were also affected by the difficult spring, but the result is some beautiful Burgundy white wines. On the red wine side, quality falls slightly short. The finest successes are to be found among the Burgundy grands crus and premiers crus. Finally, in the Rhône Valley, wines from the Cornas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellations show strong potential.

  Read more
Read more
Create an alert
Our article on the 2000 vintage

Our article on the 2000 vintage

Filter

Regions
Château
Appellation

Products (39)

Filter
1 2

Receive our latest arrivals of 2000 Wine directly in your inbox!

Sign up and be the first to hear about new arrivals.

The 2000 vintage region by region: a greatness rooted above all in Bordeaux

Few years were as eagerly anticipated as 2000, the symbol of the turn of the new millennium. Its reputation was ultimately built on one vineyard above all: Bordeaux, where a dry summer and a luminous late season produced one of the finest red harvests of the late 20th century. Elsewhere, the picture is more nuanced — Burgundy relies on its whites, the southern Rhône shines, the north remains a notch below 1999, and Champagne is divided between houses that declared the vintage and those that did not. This is therefore a year that rewards targeted selection, and whose finest wines are now entering their drinking window.

Bordeaux 2000: the pinnacle of the vintage, patient then brilliant

Nothing foreshadowed a great year: after a cold winter and a wet spring, the vineyards suffered one of the most severe mildew attacks in years, followed by a grey early summer. The turnaround came in mid-July, with nearly two months of dry heat and near-continuous sunshine; a welcome rainfall in mid-September relieved the stressed vines without harming the harvest, which began around 14 September on the Right Bank. The reds emerged deeply coloured, rich and built on powerful tannins — initially austere, superb with time.

Success extends across the entire vineyard and reaches its peak with the most sought-after crus. On the Right Bank, Château Ausone and Petrus reach absolute heights, alongside Château Troplong Mondot in Saint-Émilion. On the Left Bank, Château Mouton Rothschild embodies the vintage at the highest level, while in Pessac-Léognan, Domaine de Chevalier and Château Pape Clément confirm the great form of the Graves. The tannic style of the year, long considered severe, explains why these wines have only recently revealed their full potential.

Burgundy 2000: the year of the whites, with Chablis and Mâconnais leading the way

In Burgundy, 2000 played out in complete contrast to Bordeaux. A cool and wet July, followed by a milder August, produced a generous harvest in which the whites are the standout asset. Favoured at key moments, Chablis and the Mâconnais produced ripe and flavoursome wines; in the Côte de Beaune, the whites proved more uneven. The reds, lighter in style, were made for near- to medium-term enjoyment.

At the top, selection makes all the difference on the great terroirs of the Côte d'Or: the finest climats of the Côte de Nuits have aged better than expected, and a few exceptional reds — such as La Tâche from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti — rank among the most accomplished wines of the year. This is a Burgundy vintage best approached first through its whites, targeting terroirs that have retained tension, without overlooking its greatest reds.

Rhône Valley 2000: the south shines, the north a step behind

In the Rhône, 2000 presents a clear north-south asymmetry. In the south, a very hot and dry summer — tempered at just the right moment by some rainfall — yielded healthy, thick-skinned grapes and full-bodied wines: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas and Vacqueyras rank among the great successes of the year. In the north, quality is real but remains a notch below the 1999 vintage, as high yields diluted some syrahs.

The finest wines of the northern Rhône come from the highest-quality hillside sites: M. Chapoutier elevates Hermitage to its peak with the cuvée Le Pavillon, while the great syrahs of Côte-Rôtie and Cornas confirm the north's potential on its finest terroirs. A Rhône vintage of two faces, then, where the south offers the most immediate pleasure and the north its few exceptional bottles.

Champagne 2000: the millennium vintage, variably declared

In Champagne, 2000 is a year saved by a sunny month of September following a contrasted season. Not all houses declared the vintage, but those that did produced fruity, supple cuvées, now at full maturity. The symbolic significance of the turn of the year 2000 naturally prompted several major houses to release a prestige cuvée that year.

The Champagne house Deutz illustrates this generous and accomplished profile, from the William Deutz cuvée to the Amour de Deutz, conceived as a vintage champagne ready to drink. This is a year chosen as much for its symbolic resonance as for its immediate pleasure.

Buy a great 2000 wine from SoDivin

Choosing 2000 means targeting above all the great Bordeaux reds — Médoc, Graves and the Right Bank —, now entering their prime after years of patience, while not overlooking the successes of the southern Rhône or the whites of Burgundy. To compare this vintage with neighbouring years and find the right bottle, refer to the SoDivin Vintage Guide.

Read more