Chateau La Vieille Cure 2000

Having trudged through enough exam prep to warrant a reward I decided to open a 'nicer' (i.e. more expensive) bottle tonight and decided on this nice little wine from the great 2000 vintage in Bordeaux (although now overshadowed by the 'best ever' vintage of 2005). The wine was a bit closed upon first opening the bottle but opened up to reveal notes of tar, ash, and smoke. I smelled a bit of coffee on the nose initially, but that dissipated pretty quickly. After about 30 minutes the flavours developed to include a refreshing mintyness in the finish. The best way I can describe the fruit of this wine would be 'brambly'. It was slightly tannic, but pleasantly so.

I initially thought decanting was supposed to open a wine to reveal its best side. However, I came across a wine writer a while ago that really changed my perspective. He wrote that while decanting can help to bring a wine to its peak, he rather liked thinking of wine as a flower growing from bud to full bloom. That a wine evolves as you drink it can be, and is for me, a huge part of the pleasure drinking it. It's part of the living character of wine and helps to make it much more than just boozed-up grapes.

On that note, I will conclude by saying that while I really did like this wine, it is just way too expensive in BC to justify its purchase. If I were able to pick it up in the US for roughly $20-$25 (which is what it goes for down there) then it'd be a steal. As it is I probably won't get it again just because there is always so much more to explore.

Very Good
$50 at BCLDB