Pétrus 2000

This has a pretty jam-packed core of blackberry, plum and boysenberry confiture notes inlaid with ample charcoal-edged tannins and carrying through a robustly tobacco-coated finish. But even with that density and power, there is a really beguiling backdrop of incense and black tea flavors waiting to emerge further. It's all there, but this seems a touch more backward than the rest of the field, so hold on here. -- Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Best from 2018 through 2035. 2,500 cases made.

While the first impression with Pétrus is the wood, it is the fruit which gradually shows itself. It is extraordinary, this dense fruit, which simultaneously manages to float with elegance. There is layer after layer of fruit, sometime black, sometimes smoky, sometimes spicy. The wine is not yet totally integrated, still intensely young, with decades to go. But what a development it will be

Concentrated plum colour, medium-full intensity and star bright. Powerfully complex aromatically with waves of dark berry fruits - blackberry, black cherry and bilberry. Still fairly young in expression, although it slowly unrolls to show campfire smoke and liquorice notes. With time in the glass, a more animal, liquorice bud note arrives, and the retro olfaction brings waves of violets. Exceptionally good quality and nuanced, finishing with black pepper and a hit of spice alongside black chocolate shavings. The tannic structure remains muscular and closed, suggesting this is just at the beginning of its drinking window and will age for many decades to come. From previous experience of this wine, this particular bottle seems entirely in keeping with a Petrus 2000 and is a beautiful example of this particular vintage and estate. Tasted as part of the Space Cargo Unlimited experiment, this bottle remained on earth while another sample was tasted that had returned from space.

Dark ruby with a black tinge. Rich and with minerals and a strong, pungent note that reminds me of fireworks. Very rich and explosive. Much more impact than Le Pin. Very long and gorgeous. The most exciting wine here!! Very rich and complete. (JR)

Bright ruby-red. Knockout nose combines mulberry, raspberry liqueur, toffee, iron and minerals. Silky and thick on entry, then extremely dense and backward in the middle palate, with superripe notes of liqueur, game and truffle. A remarkably impressive, rather wild Petrus in an almost late-harvest style. Finishes with big, thoroughly ripe tannins and gamey merlot flavors of roasted meats, truffle and red berry liqueur. Like the 2000 Trotanoy, this wine may not match the 1998 for sheer class, but it's a massive, flamboyantly rich wine with a good 30 to 40 years of development ahead of it.

Oh My God! (If I wanted brevity, I could have left it there, as that truly said it all.) This was the real deal. The non-stop perfume explosion reminded me of what Hendrix sounded like at Woodstock! This was thrilling! Chocolate, black raspberry, assorted fresh flowers, herbs, spices, truffles, earth, plums and black cherry could have been enjoyed from across the room. This powerful, concentrated, deep wine filled every nook and cranny of your taste receptors with endless waves of decadent, flawlessly ripe fruit. Purity, velvet, silk, balance and length are the hallmarks of this wine. If I never see it again, (Like Bogart and Bergman, who will always have Paris) I will always remember tasting that bottle. 100 Pts

Harvest begins on September 18. Lavish aroma of ripe fruit, cassis.

Extremely dark color, no notes of evolution, violet and black at the core. An irresistibly full bouquet: red cassis, candied fruits, ginger, lemon thyme, liquid chocolate. On the palate, it’s sublime, with an opulent flow; everything is perfectly integrated, lots of Bounty-like notes with coconut and pralines in the long finish. For now, more a world-class Merlot than a Pétrus. Masseto sends its regards!

01: Barrel tasting on the morning of 2 April at 10:00 a.m. at ETS Moueix in Libourne. Why do I mention the date so explicitly? Primeur tastings are always at the end of March/beginning of April, which unfortunately means that, since her birth, my little daughter Melanie Margaux has had to do without her dad’s personal birthday wishes. I know Melanie is very understanding about my job, but sometimes I do wonder how much wine my life really needs. Even if, in between hectic tastings, I call her on her phone to sing a very heartfelt “Happy Birthday”, my little girl is over the moon and, when I apologise for being in Bordeaux yet again, she always says: <div style="font-style:italic;color:#990033">That’s okay, Daddy!</div> Sorry, Melanie, and thank you, Melanie! Tasting note for Pétrus 2000 (19/20): Deep, dense purple with violet and ruby highlights; at first glance it seems to show only medium colour intensity, which could also be due to the barrique influence. Dense, seductively sweet, almost creamy bouquet; plenty of lingonberries and mulberries; the typical blueberry, even black-berry tones are unusually far in the background; instead there are roasted raspberry seeds, with hints of caramel and almond. Juicy, velvety, seamless character; the fruit is ripe, the oak outlines show a fine coconut and piña colada touch, a gianduja note and seductively sweet sandalwood. A Pétrus of a feminine, juicy style with a finesse like a Chambertin—yet the perfection of a ripe, straight, precisely timed Merlot harvest is of course still there. Only on the finish do the supporting, rich, but also muscular tannins emerge. Should one rate it— in terms of fat and flesh— as a Pétrus that turned out a little too light or not concentrated enough? The sum of its aromatics and its beautiful style nevertheless point to a truly, truly great Pétrus vintage. 02: A few days before bottling at the end of June, I tasted the finished blend from the stainless-steel tank at Château Pétrus: an absolutely crazy, expansive bouquet; a kind of mix between the soft 1997 (finesse and elegance) and the bombastic 1970 (fullness and arrogance), with lots of elderberry, blackcurrant, candied fruit, coconut and buttery caramel. On the palate, pure breed and length; the ripe Merlot contours are on the edge of jammy, giving the whole body an opulence second to none. Anyone lucky enough to enjoy this wine in ten years’ time will sway back and forth between what is class and what is eroticism. I assume this Pétrus will enchant its fans one after another in almost every phase of its life to come (19/20). At the great Merlot blind tasting in February 2004: extremely dark, deep garnet with ruby reflections. Sweet, intoxicating bouquet; mulberries, stewed forest berries, a hint of candied orange peel, angelica, red cassis, coconut nuances, with something dusty behind. A full-bodied palate, finely distributed but intense astringency; wonderful interplay between red and blue berries; lots of sweetness in the elegantly radiant tannins; only in the aftertaste does the dramatic astringency really come through, with an enormously concentrated fruit drive on the finish. Unfortunately, the palate play is also accompanied by a dull note. Based on that impression, we opened a second bottle, which showed even less clean. Half of the tasters present were convinced it was cork; the others suspected a certain uncleanliness inherent in the wine itself. How many bottles of Pétrus 2000 does one have to open to experience again what it showed right up until shortly before bottling? A wine friend I know in Germany also recently opened “a few 2000 Pomerols”: there too, Pétrus 2000 presented with a “certain veil” in the bouquet???. Potential rating: 19/20. 2009 – 2035 Dark, rich garnet, fine rim at the edge. Ripe bouquet: candied fruit, angelica, chopped citron, mint, coconut, with truffle notes underneath indicating depth. Rich, rounded palate, caressing on the outside while still showing plenty of tannin within; red-berry fruit with a hint of cassis; powerful finish with a chocolate-coconut Bounty note reminiscent of what one could experience in the youthful phase of the 1970. Merlot power with sex appeal and great potential. In its full drinking window it can reach the maximum score. (19/20). 11: Extremely dark colour, no signs of maturity, violet and black at the core. Stunning bouquet: red cassis, candied fruit, ginger, lemon thyme, liquid chocolate—an enormous fullness on the nose. On the palate, pure noble wine cream, sublime with an opulent flow; everything is perfectly integrated. Anyone seeking an easily understood Merlot perfection should look for a sip like this; lots of Bounty notes with coconut and pralines in the long finish. It is actually (at least for the moment!) more of a world-class Merlot than a Pétrus. Hello, Masseto! (20/20). 15: The darkest colour of all three Pomerols, though more in the ruby range. Showing a full, finely powerful fruit note— not only glorious cassis, but also ripe mulberries and coconut nuances, plus a touch of seductive vanilla; erotic and moving from the very first moment. On the palate almost like a sweet, carrying an untamed, erotic sweetness. The Merlot feels silky, delicately creamy, with incomparable balance. Unlike the almost oversized vintages 1998 and 1989, this is a Pétrus that has inherited the charm and juiciness of the 1990. Here, there’s nothing left to wait for. Except the next opportunity. That was a super-super delicacy!!! 15: Incredibly dense colour, rich purple with almost black reflections. The nose is extremely concentrated and initially lets through only a few aromas. After about 10 minutes, the bouquet truly explodes, delivering an exuberant berry cocktail: ginger, candied fruit, coconut, caramel, pralines. On the palate, an essence of densely coated fabric—tight-knit, with an all-encompassing astringency. In truth it was far too young, but with this Merlot sweetness, you didn’t feel guilty for a single sip. This experience was worth far more to me than getting the money this magnum would have fetched at auction. 20/20

Creamy, dense, fresh, powerful, fruity bouquet: Linzer torte, mint, pralines, After Eight. Concentrated, creamy, full-bodied palate with sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannin, a gently opulent structure, a complex, concentrated aromatic profile, and a very long, fresh finish with many sweet lingering notes. 20/20 drink through 2050.

How could this not make it to my Wines of the Year list? Tasted back in March, when I became the only journalist at what has to be the wine event of the year - the unveiling of a bottle of Petrus that had spent 438 days on the International Space Station. We compared it against the same bottle that had remained on Earth, and in the interest of actually suggesting wines you might be able to get hold of, this tasting note comes from the terrestrial version. It's a wine that feels like an occasion in itself, so nuanced and effortlessly impressive. Still young even at 21 years old, although now showcasing the waves of rose petal, violet and peony aromatics that only really come out in Petrus once it has had serious bottle age. The palate is pure velvet - blackberry, black cherry and bilberry fruits penned in by muscular but welcoming tannins, all finishing up with black pepper and a hit of spiced chocolate shavings. 50% new oak.

Highly complex, refined and velvety, the 2000 is one of the greatest petrus of recent history. Its intensity and structure come through with far more force than in previous vintages, with the exception of the remarkable 1998.

This wine is incredibly youthful, with very pronounced fruit, showing notes of ripe Merlot and a hint of menthol. Sumptuous texture and full-bodied, with a freshness on the finish that balances it perfectly. Still far from its peak—best kept in the cellar.

Logo on the cork: an upside-down T (Trescases) Dark colour, slightly evolved. A fine nose: fruity, fresh, with notes of liquorice and a creamy touch. Hints of tar, flowers and Merlot on clay. A very fine, full-bodied attack on the palate, then the wine unfolds with complexity on a firm, particularly flavoursome texture, aromatic and noble. It melts through the mid-palate and finishes both delicate and powerful, with remarkable length and refined tannins. Wow!

A prodigious Petrus, this wine has that extra level of intensity and complexity that is monumental. The magic is clearly Petrus, and the 2000 will always be an interesting vintage to compare to another legend in the making, the 1998, or more recently, of course, the 2005, 2008, and 2009. Extremely full-bodied, with great fruit purity, an unmistakable note of underbrush, black truffle, intense black cherries, licorice, and mulberry, the wine seems to show no evidence of oak whatsoever. It has a sumptuous, unctuous texture, plenty of tannin, but also vibrancy and brightness. This is a remarkable wine that seems slightly more structured and massive than the 1998, which comes across as slightly more seamless, as if it were haute couture. This wine needs at least another 5-10 years of cellaring and should age for 50+ years.