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Affordable 2000 Red Bordeaux? |
| All too often, many of us looking for affordable red wine rule out Bordeaux. We seem to identify this region only with its most famous labels like Lafite Rothschild, Margaux, or Haut Brion that go for hundreds of dollars a bottle—especially in prime vintages like 1982 or 2000. Indeed, even the “super-second” growths like Cos d’Estournel, Leoville Las Cases, or Pichon Lalande can fetch phenomenal three-figure prices. Another reason why some of us bypass this region seems to be a certain intimidation factor: either the names of the wines are too difficult to pronounce or we can’t quite navigate our way through all the information on the label. Finally, an amalgamation of these reasons can also make us hesitate to pick up a bottle of Bordeaux, especially when it sports a $10 price tag. “How good can it be,” we think, “when other wines from the region are twenty or thirty times the price?” The fact of the matter is that there are loads of great affordable red Bordeaux out there, and finding the best values among these great blends, based primarily on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, is simply a matter of doing a little research. Because 2000 was such an extraordinary vintage, there’s been a lot of press devoted to it. In addition to entire feature stories being devoted to it in wine publications like The Wine Spectator, The Wine Advocate, or The Wine Enthusiast, the vintage has received a lot of attention both in national and in local newspapers. Recent reviews of this vintage in the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal are worth seeking out, as is the wealth of information available on the Internet. In fact, The Wine Spectator’s “Bordeaux 2000” feature provides not only in-depth coverage of this vintage but also contains a plethora of good basic background material on the region. I especially recommend the menu item “Bordeaux Basics.” If you’re totally new to Bordeaux or have just never really gotten the hang of it, I cannot recommend a better place to start learning about it than the official site of this region, Bordeaux.com. Especially helpful are the site’s “Define” and “Refine” menu items. If labels are a problem for you, be sure to check out their guide to reading a label. Possibly the best reference source available, however, is a reputable and knowledgeable wine merchant. One who knows his or her stock and understands what you’re looking for. If, even after doing a lot of research, you’re still lost amidst an array of undecipherable labels, tell your wine dealer what you’re looking for in a Bordeaux: dry or slightly fruity; medium or full bodied; ready to drink now or two or three years down the road. While wine writers, critics, and merchants may all serve as great places to start, the ultimate judge of the wines you enjoy is your own palate. Reading and advice can give you the information you need to shop for these wines, but only by tasting them will you be able to discover what you like. Some serving notes: Since the 2000 vintage is relatively young, I recommend that you give these wines adequate breathing time before serving to enjoy them at their fullest. Uncork, pour off an ounce or two, and let the bottle stand, away from any heat, for a couple of hours. In fact, you might also decant the wine, without any fuss, by simply pouring it rapidly from a height into a glass pitcher. Doing so should allow the nose to develop and may even, to a degree, soften any tannins. If tannins are a problem for you or one of your guests, check out vintage charts and guides. They will sometimes indicate which vintages have particularly firm tannins. Finally, if you've chosen a dud, as we all have on occasion, be sure to have some great cheese and crusty bread on hand. You'll understand better the old wine-merchants' maxim "Buy on apples; sell on cheese." For this tasting, we lined up fourteen bottles that were recommended either by our wine merchants or by a distributor. Now, given the fact that all these wines are priced below $20, we did not expect to find a great deal of complexity or age worthiness. Instead, we were simply looking for wines that were ready to drink now or over the next few years, and that would be the perfect beverages to accompany a meal. I am happy to report that none of them disappointed us; in fact, a few truly surprised us with their intriguing noses, breadth of flavors, and outstanding structure. As is our custom, we tasted the wines first on their own and then selected our favorites to sample with the food, which for this tasting was grilled strip steaks and baked potatoes. The wines are listed in the order in which they were tasted.
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| TableWine is a personal website and does not sell any wine. However, many of the wines we review are purchased from our local wine merchants, Wine & Spirit World in Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ and The Wine Seller in Ridgewood, NJ. The Wine & Spirit World website may help you locate a good number of our selections. You might also use the database of quality wine merchants at Wine Searcher.com to help find wines that are difficult to locate. Finally, if your local wine store does not carry a wine that you've read about here, don't hesitate to ask them to order a bottle or two for you. For imported wines, you may need to supply them with the name of the importer or distributor. |
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