One of the finest wines I have recently drank from the legendary 2000 vintage:

Clos Badon – Thunevin

This wine (with the cock in top hat, sporting a cane…I LOVE THIS LABEL) is a right-bank from Saint-Emilion, so it is predominately Merlot. It kept evolving as it was open over a couple hours and kept on showing me different things. If you recall in Sideways, Miles rails against Merlot. He then ends up drinking a Cheval Blanc (1961) that he had been saving out of a styrofoam cup. Cheval Blanc is mostly Merlot, people! Some of the greatest wines made in the history of the world are mostly (or 100%) Merlot. (See also the Montiano from Falesco in Italy; wow is that a great wine.)

Thunevin was one of the first “garage” wine-makers, who started mostly around Saint-Emilion. The sterwotype of these wines is that they are overly-oaked fruit bombs made to appeal to an international style.

I am here to say that this is not true in the case of this wine. I wish I could have drank it forever. If you can still get the 2000, get it. Get two. Drink one now and another in about 5 years.