The 2000 La Tâche Grand Cru is showing extraordinarily well, and I can only assume that the comparatively parsimonious appreciation it has received from other wine critics is owing to insecurity concerning awarding a high score to a wine from an "off vintage." Soaring from the glass with a deep and complex bouquet of wilted rose petals, sweet wild berry fruit, exotic spices, orange rind and violets, it's full-bodied, sensual and enveloping, with a deep and layered core of fruit, melting tannins, succulent acids and a long, sapid finish. Fully mature, the 2000 is one of the most rewarding recent vintages of La Tâche to drink today. WK

The 2000 La Tâche Grand Cru is drinking just as well now as it was when I last encountered it two years ago. As deep and complex as ever, it evokes wilted rose petals, sweet wild berry fruit, exotic spices, orange rind and violets, followed by a full-bodied, sensual and enveloping palate that's suave and layered, with succulent acids and a long, sapid finish. Served side by side, it's thicker and lustier than the more ethereal, haunting Romanée-Conti itself, but both bottles were showing brilliantly.

Good full medium red. Pure aromas of cassis, violet and minerals. Rich, sweet, suave and penetrating, with lovely mineral character and integrated acidity contributing to an impression of precision. Very primary, long and subtle on the back end. This makes the Romanee-Conti seem almost earthy by comparison. (While this bottle was a beauty, my first was plagued by a dusty note on the nose and a nagging dryness through the middle and finish, perhaps due to a slightly affected cork. The 2000 La Tache was bottled barrel by barrel.)

Quite deeply colored with the classic La Tâche nose of dried rose petals plus a fantastic array of aromas and spices too numerous to even try to describe that lead to fine, detailed and beautifully textured flavors and terrific length. This is not a La Tâche for the ages as it simply doesn't have the structure and density to enable it to age for two decades or more but it is remarkably complex and has sneaky finishing intensity. I like this a lot for its superb style, grace and penetrating minerality but those who expect the usual level of power and structure won't find it in the 2000. This is actually approachable now though it should age for at least two decades simply on the incredible balance that it displays. A terrific effort for the vintage but this clearly does not have the freshness and precision of the 2001.

Interestingly, I have found some bottle variation apropos of the 2000 La Tâche Grand Cru, something that chimes with Stephen Tanzer's note from back in 2003. Some bottles have come across rather lean and excessively ferrous. This particular bottle is one of the better examples, simply because that ferrous note is less accentuated. Featuring predominantly black fruit on the nose, it develops scents of stewed black tea, bay leaf and gravel with time. The palate is open-knit with slightly raw tannins. This is not a La Tâche imbued with its usual finesse, but there is more depth and fruit toward the finish compared to previous bottles and the ferrous element is tangible but not dominant on the finish. Not bad at all, but not a great La Tâche in the scheme of things.