Tight and muscular, with a solid core of fruit and racy tannins. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins, yet silky and refined. This is very, very toned and serious. A wine for long-term aging. Best after 2010.

At first taste, this wine seems more new world than Bordeaux. But then the subtle, perfumed aromas and structured fruit show through, along with the clean acidity and black tannic fruits. Give this wine at least 12 years before opening.

While the bottled 2000 still reveals a certain sternness in addition to tough tannin, it is sweeter and more expansive and flavorful. The dark ruby/purple color is saturated and impressive. With coaxing, notes of lead pencil shavings, black currants, earth, cedar, and spice box emerge from a relatively closed, firm, medium to full-bodied wine or, as the French would say, a classic vin de garde (for long-term cellaring). Although austere, it is a classic, authoritatively flavored effort that requires patience. I would like to see sweeter tannin and more flesh built into the mid-palate, but there is no denying the classicism and purity of this 2000. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025.