In the glass, the contents of this bottle, consumed on 24 October 2019 after a nine-hour decant, presented the eye with enticing, semi-opaque, chestnut-burgundy hues crowned with a clear rim. The nose was somewhat restrained although earth, minerals, floral notes, stewed red fruits and spice were all discernible with sufficient effort. Alas, the wine proved to be somewhat unassuming in the mouth, the dominant characteristic being the heat which gripped the fore-palate and, from that point, would not let go, leaving space for only the briefest hints of raspberry and minerality. The warm finish was long and affable, notwithstanding its simplicity.
The wine was well balanced and, in keeping with what would appear to be the Delaforce style, a touch on the dry side. As might be imagined given its relative youth, the 2000 Delaforce has not likely peaked, or so suggested the gentle, unresolved tannins. One suspects that this wine may be in the process of exiting a closed phase in its development; if this assumption is correct, it ought to be a touch better in short order, with a peak likely to be reached at the middle of this decade. The aforementioned noted, if this bottle was representative the 2000 Delaforce seems unlikely to live up to the sort of early promise identified by no less a luminary than Roy Hersh.
-88 points