Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre 2000 (750ML)

94+ Points, Zachys Buying Team: "Tasted in Margaux during the 2018 Bordeaux barrel tastings, it is one of those wines that made us forget about en primeur and remember how there remain some great off-the-path finds in Bordeaux with age. It is one of those old-school finds that grabbed us by the nose hairs and pulled us in - you might say, the aromatics alone were well worth the price of admission. With a little airtime, this wine screams fennel, baked earth, leather and mushrooms. On the palate, you can expect to find similar notes intermingled with a touch of red and black fruit, citrus peel, baked earth, tobacco, Indian spices and graphite. This is a leaner, more finessed style of Bordeaux - certainly more old school. The alcohol level in this warm vintage is just 12 percent, and you get the feeling that if Bruno Clair, Quintarelli or Biondi Santi produced Margaux, this might be what you would get. It is a Bordeaux find that recalls elements of another Zachys favorite find, the extinct 1998 La Tour Haut Brion - this is truly a rustic wine that can satisfy the claret enthusiast and Burghead - even those that appreciate Brunello with age. A different side of Bordeaux that we do not see much of today." 4/18

93 Points, Neal Martin, Vinous: "The 2000 Bel-Air Marquis d'Aligre is like the 1986 on the nose: backward and broody, demanding coaxing from the glass. There are moss-like, undergrowth scents, a touch of morels emerging with time and then, after an hour, the nose blossoms and finds its groove. The fruit belatedly surfaces and you find yourself bewitched by the bouquet. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. This is not a complex millennial Margaux however there is a beguiling sense of effortless class and poise that plenty of its Margaux colleagues crave. Towards the finish there are subtle notes of tobacco and terracotta that lend another layer of complexity. I just love this wine - one of the best vintages from Jean-Pierre Boyer. Tasted at the Bel-Air Marquis d'Aligre dinner." 5/18

93 Points, Neal Martin, Vinous: "The 2000 Bel-Air Marquis d'Aligre is like the 1986 on the nose: backward and broody, demanding coaxing from the glass. There are moss-like, undergrowth scents, a touch of morels emerging with time and then, after an hour, the nose blossoms and finds its groove. The fruit belatedly surfaces and you find yourself bewitched by the bouquet. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. This is not a complex millennial Margaux however there is a beguiling sense of effortless class and poise that plenty of its Margaux colleagues crave. Towards the finish there are subtle notes of tobacco and terracotta that lend another layer of complexity. I just love this wine - one of the best vintages from Jean-Pierre Boyer. Tasted at the Bel-Air Marquis d'Aligre dinner." 5/18