Lot 46
Y2K – The Bordeaux Way

3 – 1.5 Liter 2000 Château Péby Faugères St. Emilion Grand Cru
24 – 750ml 2000 Château Pavie Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
12 – 750ml 2000 Chateau la Fleur de Gay
12 – 750ml 2000 Chateau Angelus Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
6 – 750ml 2000 Chateau Branon Pessac-Léognan
6 – 750ml 2000 Magrez Fombrauge Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
12 – 375ml 2000 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port

Remember the austere predictions? The Y2K hysteria? Panicked, the masses set about hoarding canned goods, canceling airline trips, withdrawing oversized piles of cash and printing their most important documents on paper in light of the inevitable, worldwide technology debacle that would take place at 12:01 A.M., January 1, 2000. Planes were supposed to drop from the sky, the stock market would plummet, bank records would freeze and the planet would come to a screeching halt.

Ah, if only time WOULD stand still. Then maybe every year could be savored as much as the year 2000 in the French wine country. Were Jim Croce alive today, he might say: “If we could save time in a bottle, the one place where we’d like to be is surrounded by vines, drinking fine Bordeaux wines as we start a brand new century.” If the millennium has produced anything even close to perfect, it’s this lot.

According to Robert Parker, Jr., the Pavie IS perfect, with a score of 100. In his words, “it is unquestionably one of the most monumental wines Bordeaux has ever produced.” The bouquet offers up notes of liquid minerals, blackberries, cherries and cassis intermixed with spice box, cedar and white flowers. The aromas of crushed blackberries and cherries, with wet earth, mineral and mint stopped time for James Suckling of Wine Spectator when he tasted the Angelus. “Out of this world…full bodied with fantastically refined, silky tannins and a long, long finish. Terrific. Greatest Angelus I have ever tasted.”

The year 2000 was the debut of the Branon; its first vintage of 650 cases is “undoubtedly the real deal,” “a marvel” and “a shocker in terms of its extraordinary essence of richness,” as declared by The Wine Advocate. Just as impressive is la Fleur: “The 2000 is a blockbuster.” Not to be outshone, the Péby Faugères earned raves like “one of the superstars of the vintage,” “provocative” and “spectacular.”

The most auspicious finish to a remarkable year - the Taylor Fladgate. Wine Spectator gave it 98 points, making it one of the highest scoring vintages of this legendary port in decades. Robert Parker, Jr. waxed poetic, calling it “wonderfully floral…with loads of violets and crushed fruit…full bodied and chewy with a long, long finish.”

Have no fear. Y2K was an historic year for port and Bordeaux!

DONOR: Eileen and Joe Small