>>In particular, they rated Lafitte, latour, and leoville Las Casas as perfect 100s. <<
Quite true, yet the '96 lafite is rated 100 as well and sells for half of its 2000 counterpart. Even robert parker (who i respect much more than suckling from the WS) has said not all 100 point wines are equal and to that extent the '96 lafite is among the very best 100 pointers he's ever tasted.
>>As to waiting for another 15 years before trying any of the 2000s, what if I laid down a small collection of several of the 2000s but didn't survive for another 15-20 years? <<
Kind of morbid, but an appropriate qustion nonetheless when investing gobs of $$ into the 2000s. To that extent I will admit I purchased too much '00 bordeaux as i like my bordeaux with significant age and under optimum storage conditions I really don't think the latours and lafites are going to be anywhere near ready to drink for the better part of 30 years. So, yes I feel I'm paying a large premium just to have these wines sit in my cellar and finally stopped buying them altogether at the suggestion of my wife who said why don't you invest this money into something we'll actually drink? Good point, and we did just that, consider a case of '00 cheval blanc will set you back about $7k now and you'll need to cellar it for 20-30 years until it begins to peak. I purchased a case of '52 cheval for $5k and was able to enjoy now. Similarly even a case of '86 mouton (another 100 pointer) will set you back $3600 which is every bit as tannic as the '00 yet 14 years ahead in its evolution and the '00 commands smiliar pricing, perhaps even another $1200 more. '86 gruaud is an amazing wine and just begining to hit its stride and sells by the case for $800 and I think it's a better wine than its '00 counterpart, currently selling for $900 a case.
>>You are suggesting that If I don't survive for another 15-20 years, it be better never even to try any of them (at 10-12 years, after an hour or so of breathing) in the first place? <<
No, I'm not saying that. Some people enjoy young bordeaux (i'm not among them) and the '00s are quite delicious now given on average a good 24 hours of breathing time at least. Still, in my opinion they are a far cry from what they will one day become as all you can discern now is lush fruit, strong tannins, and some semblance of the wines structure. If you have the patience and good fortune to be alive 25 years from now, you'll not only find the tannins have subsided, but all the secondary nuances will be more prominent. The oak will have faded and aromas of tar, leather, flowers, chocolate, lead, gamey flavors, fruit, etc, will all come together in balance and the finish on the better wines will last and last and the color of the wines will fade from a dark purple to a sleek red and in my opinion the wine truly comes alive.
If I were you, I'd use half the money you have allocated for the purchase of '00 bordeaux to buy '00 bordeaux and the use the other half to buy the same chateaus wines from 15-20 years ago at auction and see what you think? It will certainly be a good learning experience if nothing else and help you gauge where to allocate your future dollars towards wine. Online aucitons like winebid.com carry a large selection of older bordeaux at GREAT pricing (much better than retail) and you can pretty much figure adding 20% to your bid amount to pay the auction fees and shipping of the wines to your door. enjoy