Domaine du Cayron Gigondas 2000: A few years on since last tasted, this wine still shows a good depth of colour, and it still has a surprisingly youthful, deep red pigment at the core, with red dominating right out to the rim too. The nose is surprisingly reticent considering the wine's age; there are little nuances of smoky, gamey, well-hung meat, of cherry, and of other less easily defined aromas; cola, warmth, charred wood, burnt grass. The palate kicks off with a fairly generous texture, and it reveals a full, sappy structure in the middle with ripe tannins and a slightly gritty feel in the midpalate, with gentle acidity. There is a little disjointedness to it (again as previously noted), as there is whisky-like alcohol peeping out from behind the fruit, and there is a hardness to it despite that nice texture at the beginning. This is a decent wine, but the totality lacks expression and charm. 15.5+/20

Chateau de Saint-Cosme Gigondas 2000: This wine still has a very deep colour, with a matt red-black core and a maturing red rim. The aromas still speak of youth, with ripe blackberry and raspberry fruit, overlaid with smoky garrigue, and then later game, and a sweet, tarry, floral perfume. This is very appealing. The palate is rich, with a creamy texture, but with a lovely, savoury element to it as well, and a stony freshness to the fruit which keeps it from going overboard. There is still plenty of firm substance to this wine, plenty of extract, plenty of ripe, mouth-coating tannins too, although they only show towards the end of the palate, and they are so ripe and yet also polished that they bring only pleasure. The acidity is a touch muted, but this is still a delicious wine. Very impressive. 17.5/20

Domaine des Sénéchaux Châteauneuf du Pape 2000: I really enjoyed the 1998 vintage of this wine; although rather light when young, it morphed into something flavoursome and balanced. This wine also has a very good quality. The nose is marked by the aromas of roasted liquorice, gamey meat and coarsely fragrant thyme. The palate kicks off with a similarly punchy array of flavour, riding a wave of weight and texture which lies on top of a seam of ripe, sweetly toothsome tannins. There is concentration and creaminess here, but also a bright and firm, peppery character which gives some really good backbone. It finishes with a roll of tannins, and it has length too. Really, this is very enticing, and will yet improve. With time I think it will surpass the 1998. 17+/20

Domaine Font de Michelle Châteauneuf du Pape 2000: A fine and mature colour, oxblood red at the core, and a wide, paler rim. The nose has plenty of open and overtly mature fruit, sweet and slightly high-toned, with violets, cooked cherries and hot, slightly funky, animalistic, caramelised meat. The palate is fleshy, but with firm underpinnings, plenty of meaty extract, and a lovely tangible substance to the wine. There's a good seam of ripe and smoky tannins, rather firm acidity although this sits quite well within the overall substance of the wine. A nice wine, broad and spicy, with plenty of forward character and a little suppleness, and a little length too. Good wine. 17/20

Domaine la Roquette Châteauneuf du Pape 2000: A wine from the Bruniers, best known for their work at Vieux Télégraphe, this has a maturing hue, with good, gamey, spicy aromas on the nose, with element of stewed meat, a touch of violet and strawberry fruit too. The palate carries a nice weight, with a creamy-polished texture but with a stony freshness. It has a nice substance, a dry extract at the core, but it is ripe, with a little touch of sweetness and attractive midpalate power. Mature, pickled fruit aromatics, a touch rustic, complete the picture. This is appealing, but is a touch foursquare, and certainly not elegant or ethereal. Nice wine though, fresh, alive and with some good potential. 16+/20

Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Grenache 2000: A dark and maturing hue here, bricking, but still with plenty of fine, red pigment though. The nose is delightful, fresh, with savoury charred meat and dark liquorice, with more lifted elements, rather like dark garden mint, or twiggy herbs, thyme and maybe even rosemary? The palate doesn't disappoint, starting off with a nicely polished roundness, but maintaining a rather tight and balanced composition in the midpalate which gives so much more pleasure, thanks to its fine delineation and mineral edge. Then it shows a little more fat, but nothing over-the-top, before a crashing wave of tannins rolls in towards the finish, never totally dominating but certainly making their presence felt, It makes for a firm, grippy but thankfully substantial finish. Overall, a delicious wine. 18/20

Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf du Pape 2000: This wine still has a very rich and pigmented colour, and the nose is similarly characterful. It has rich fruit aromas on the nose, with bright but roasted herb nuances, and a little meaty character to it as well. The palate is quite fine, showing a very cool texture on entry, before revealing more substance in the midpalate, plenty of burnt-cherry fruit, good weight and depth, and rather a burnt and sooty but nevertheless enjoyable tannic grip. The finish remains very solid and charcoaly, but it has a fine length that goes on and on. An impressive and enjoyable, fresh and structured wine. Very good. 17/20

Clos des Papes Châteauneuf du Pape 2000: Not the densest of colours when poured, although it has an appealing dark cherry hue, with a fading rim. The nose is really rather muted at first, before it develops some horsey aromas, and a stewed, slightly grassy-tinny, sticking plaster kind of fruit. There is Brett here for sure, and it dominates in this bottle. The palate has a good texture and weight, there is a little sweetness to it, but also a rather sour character, and a sharp structure, especially at the finish. This is surely not a representative bottle, so a second was opened - and this was better. It took a little while to open up, but it revealed admittedly muted aromas of wild and savage fruit, animalistic, but it has a different, much more appealing style than the first bottle, together with notes of hot stones and hung game. On the plate, veering towards monolithic at first, all texture without any generosity, but then brighter, more defined, showing a little more vivacity with deeply characterful fruit with just a gamey, meaty tinge, backed up by lots of polished extract and substance. This is still a very youthful style, and there is a lots of unresolved spice and tannin in the finish. Yes it is drinkable now, and there are many good points, but it is certainly a wine still on the way up. I have scored on the basis of the second bottle alone, hoping that this was just bad luck rather than a systematic issue with variation or Brett. 18+/20

Domaine Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf du Pape 2000: A strong hue of maturity here, matt oxblood tones cutting through the deep red pigment. The nose is also mature, a combination of slightly sweaty roasted fruits, a little barnyard and baked liquorice. The storage for this bottle has been beyond question, first a respected retailer than a cellar with favourable temperatures. The palate has good substance and holds onto its sweet slightly grainy tannins, although there is a slightly raw and youthful side to it. Good fruit, showing a mature and open style, and in the mix a good but slightly disjointed acidity. It is only the finish where there is any real concern, showing here a more tertiary character, meaty and mature. It is five years since I tasted this; it has certainly moved on during that time. 17.5+/20

Chateau de Beaucastel Châteauneuf du Pape 2000: A couple of years on since I last tried this, and it still has a dense hue, although with perhaps a little more maturity creeping in at the sides now. The nose is explosive and characterful though, showing a deep array of scents, more complex and intricate than I recall. We still have the cherry element, although it is presented in a richer, darker, macerated black cherry style, and behind this there are notes of polished, minerally stone, flowers, alongside more muted sweet and yet animally elements. Pure, rich and yet well defined on entry, with creamy substance but fresh acids and good balance, this wine is still certainly on the way up, as evidenced by a kick of tannins at the finish. Fine, scented, with dried black olive flavour, yet also substantial, this is excellent wine with bags of potential yet, but it is drinking very nicely now if you like wines that lie on the cusp between primary and secondary characteristics. 18.5+/20

Prieuré de St Jean de Bebian Coteaux du Languedoc 2000: The first bottle is sadly very obviously corked, and not subtly so; this is more the sort of aromatic fault that fills the room the instant the cork is pulled. The second bottle is thankfully much cleaner. It is, however, really quite tight and closed down on the nose, more so than I expected. There is a dark, brooding, sweet-edged layer of fruit, with a very slightly ripe and roasted feel to it. Later it shows meat and iodine, with hot spices. Then comes a lovely texture on entry, one that persists all the way through the palate, matched by a rather forceful, raw structure. The texture is sweet still, there is ripe, substantial extract and a weighty, almost chewy element to it. A good wine, but the fruit seems too plump and soft-focus, albeit in a mature style, and the structure too raw to be truly great. There is time yet for some improvement though. 16+?/20

Mas de Daumas Gassac (Vin de Pays de l'Herault) 2000: I was uncertain whether to include this wine, as it is so different in style, this being largely Cabernet Sauvignon in contrast to the Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah of the Rhône and Languedoc. In the end it was something of a disaster, but not for the feared reason. The first bottle was rank, farmyardy and mousey, seemingly heavily tainted by Brett, curiously later showing toffee and burnt sugar character. A second was opened, which turned out to be corked. Thankfully a third was just fine; in the glass it shows a bright ruby red with little maturity, and on the nose classic youthful Mas de Daumas, firm and gravelly with tightly bound fruit, and a burgeoning perfume over the top. I have often said that tasted blind Mas de Daumas resembles a St Estèphe more than any other commune, and on the basis of this tasting I wouldn't change this opinion. A firm palate, with good substance and texture, and lots of ripe structured tannins coming right through the core and coating the whole mouth on the finish. This third bottle is lovely, but still very primary, tannic and full. Lots of development time here before this one is at peak, which if you know Mas de Daumas will come as no surprise I am sure. 17.5+/20