My all-time favorite vintage of Tertre-Roteboeuf, the 2000 should age much more consistently than the rather irregular 1990 or the top-notch 1989. The 2005 should give it a run for its money down the road, but at present, this wine is performing fabulously well. It boasts a dense ruby/purple color along with notes of kirsch liqueur and licorice. This St.-Emilion could pass for a great Chateauneuf du Pape or top-notch Musigny, although it has more power and depth than a burgundy, and none of the peppery/garrigue characteristics of a Rhone. Nevertheless, there is a sweet character from the high glycerin level as I suspect the alcohol content exceeds 14%. Velvety textured and full-bodied, but surprisingly youthful, this stunningly rich wine can be drunk now, but promises to last another two decades.

Tasted blind at Bordeaux Index’s 2000 tasting in London. A lighter colour than its peers, the nose much more Merlot dominated, very polished, lactic at first with touches of chocolate and espresso lacing the opulent, gourmand-like red-berried fruit. Quintessential Tertre-Roteboeuf. The bouquet subsides and mellows with aeration, gaining more clarity, with more wild strawberry, vanilla, ripe Satsuma and apricot developing. It has a swagger, this wine, gaining complexity all the time, that gourmand quality (so Francois Mitjavile) ensuring that I could guess its identity blind. The palate is rounded on the entry, slightly lower acidity, fine tannins, good backbone here but cloaked in ripe, rounded, smoke and chestnut-tinged, meaty, red-berried fruit. Lush and sensuous on the finish. Lovely. Drink now-2025. Tasted March 2010. www.robertparker.com

(bottled in August of 2002) Bright ruby-red. A cocktail of roasted berries and cherry on the nose, with superripe notes of espresso, truffle and spices. Sweet, dense and very deep, with voluptuous flavors of red berries, black cherry, chocolate, meat and spices. Pliant and extremely generous wine with lovely fruit. Finishes with huge, ripe, mouthcoating tannins and intriguing notes of minerals and torrefaction.