A knockout wine that competed for the bottle of the tasting. At 24 years old the tannins still place you firmly in Pauillac, as do the lush cassis and grilled blueberry fruits, and the layers of liqourice root, cigar, campfire, and sandalwood. 50% new oak. Harvest September 21 to October 9. Owned in 2000 by May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, who had been in place since 1978 and remains at 98 years old one of the great figures of Bordeaux. Thomas Doh Chi Nam was technical director, as he was from 1992 through to 2011. It's been three years since I last tasted this vintage, and it's even better than it was then, really a wine to celebrate.

Of all the 2000s tasted in the line-up, this was the one that was most evolved, with melted tannins and exotic saffron spice notes. It’s a beautiful wine, very classic Pauillac, full of tertiary hints of truffle, soft menthol and undergrowth - signatures of an older Bordeaux wine that is wonderful to drink now. It’s probably the most perfect of the five for cracking open over the next few years but may not have the staying power of the others. Interesting to note how much higher the pH is here (3.85) than Leoville (3.5) considering it’s practically next door. 10% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Harvest 21 September 21 to 9 October.

In the right place, at the right time.... With 2 hours of decanting, this really came alive. A complex earthy, tobacco and fruit filled nose, silky textures and a long, lush finish really hits the spot. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2000&wine=Chateau%20Pichon%20Longueville%20Comtesse%20de%20Lalande

Sitting next to my former colleague, Pierre Antoine Rovani, at one of the tastings, he commented that he didn’t like the striking green note in the aromatics of this wine, which I didn’t detect at all, and a subsequent bottle at another tasting did not reveal it either. I do think there is a hint of bay leaf and a meatiness to it. In short, I find this to be a spectacular Pichon Lalande. Dense purple in color, with loads of coffee, mocha, creme de cassis, and chocolate notes, this is a somewhat unusual blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, and a whooping 10% Petit Verdot, with a little bit of Cabernet Franc. The Petit Verdot certainly gives the wine more of a tapenade, floral note, which I think can be interpreted by some as herbal. This is a rich, opulent, stunning Pichon Lalande that is beginning to drink beautifully, yet should continue to improve for at least another 10-15 years and last 30 or more years.- RP

Madame de Lencquesaing's estate has produced a stunner in 2000. The perfumes, delicate and sensuous, give it class, style and make it very memorable. It is delicious now, but there are tannins there, and deep, intense fruit flavors, waiting to develop slowly and surely. ROGER VOSS

The 2000 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has a strong minty bouquet that perhaps slightly overwhelms the terroir expression. I believe this comes from a high proportion of Petit Verdot (14%) that would have probably been eschewed nowadays. The palate is medium-bodied with intense black plummy fruit mixed with graphite and sage. This is a muscular though enjoyable Pichon, dense and almost brawny toward the finish, but what is missing is a sense of elegance and precision. Just a touch of greenness shows on the finish (in a positive way). A forceful Pauillac that will benefit from decanting. -- Neal Martin

(17.5/20) Bluer than the Pichon-Longueville by quite a margin. A hint of herbaceousness. Pretty. Not excessively ripe. Neat and vibrant but it may disappoint those looking for mass and ripeness? Certainly very 'fresh'. Maybe just a bit too much so for expectations of this vintage and this appellation.