I am now on bottle three of the six 2000 Bordeaux that we’ve pulled from our cellar to drink. At this point I have a current favorite, and it’s this one, the 2000 Chateau Pontet-Canet from the Pauillac region of Bordeaux, France. Looks like we paid about $55 and it’s doubled in price at auction, like all of the others I researched.

So why did I like this one, the least expensive of the bunch so far? See my notes, it may guide you to try and find it too!

2000 CHÂTEAU PONTET-CANET

Tasting Notes 

Color: Dark garnet with a brown edge (indicative of age), a cross between a ruby and tawny port.

Bouquet: Stewed prunes, worn suede, earth, cigar, black cherry, crushed dry leaves, blackberry, sage, grilled mushrooms.

Flavor: Blueberry, blackberry, black pepper, raisin, very lush mouthfeel – gave me the sense of a rich pulp – tannic, dry, long finish.

Pairing: We had this with a Porterhouse steak made Oscar style which means it was topped with crab, asparagus and Béarnaise, and on the side was a twice-baked potato and cole slaw. The pal that created the dinner admitted that it all was deli bought except for the steak. It helped to know this as…it didn’t matter what we paired this wine with, in my humble opinion it was a stand-alone wine. The kind of wine we like to have without a big to-do about what to pair it with. So for me, it was all about the wine once I had that first taste of it.

97 Eve pts.

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Wine Spectator magazine notes

CHÂTEAU PONTET-CANET

Pauillac 2000

Score: 92

Release Price $55

Current Auction Price $103

Country France

Region Bordeaux

Issue Web Only – 2016

Tasting Note

A lovely lead-in of singed cedar and vanilla notes gives way to slightly taut, racy red and black currant fruit flavors that drive nicely through an iron-edged finish. Rather sleek and tightly focused, relying more on minerality than power.–Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2023. 22,917 cases made.

–JM

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits. You can also seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com