"Still the preeminent expression of Merlot by which all others must be measured, the 2000 Chateau Petrus is a fully ripened and very outgoing wine that is simply brimming with sweet red cherries and immense oak, and its complexing accents of olives, smoke and violets bring dimension rarely seen elsewhere in the varietal. It is as big and rich on the palate as its voluminous aromas suggest, but it runs into considerable tannins at the finish and reminds that however much pleasure in might deliver now, it will only build to better with cellar time."