As I often say, it's the texture you notice most. And there is no exception here. Luscious, opulent and akin to exotic silks and velvet, the fruits are ripe, sweet and fresh. The truffles, dark cocoa, thyme and myriad of plums with black cherry accents remains on your palate, while the wine expands. Still young, but in a good place, if you are lucky enough, or rich enough to have a few bottles stashed away, you can drink them, or wait for further nuances to make their way into the wine. Tasted July 2017

There’s not many 2001s I know of that will compete with the 2001 Chateau Petrus. Still youthfully ruby in color, it offers an incredibly complex perfume of blackcurrants, forest floor, white truffles and Asian spices. These give way to a full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, opulent, hedonistic, yet also elegant 2001 that has loads of sweet tannin, beautiful mid-palate depth, and a great, great finish. Drink it anytime over the coming 2-3 decades.

The 2001 Petrus has always been winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet’s favourite vintages. It has developed a truly exquisite bouquet that is both svelte and sensual without any sense of being overbearing. It is almost unaware of its beauty. It gradually opens with tinctures of dried blood merging with ebullient and disarmingly pure red fruit with brilliant delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly grainy tannin, quite forceful red fruit gripping the senses and then letting go, allowing a subtle savory/cooked meat note to flourish towards the finish. Maybe this bottle was a touch more foursquare than previous ones that I have encountered although that will melt away with time. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at the Épure restaurant in Hong Kong. Sept 2018

Quality 942 | Brand 997 | Economics 969 | buzz brand
Quality: Predicted life of 20 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group, which averages 9 years Brand: #3 Most sought after wine globally, with 69,502 searches on Wine-Searcher per month Economics: More traded at auction than its peers, its top 5 vintages having seen 1,584 75cl equivalent bottles traded in the past year Production: Higher yields than its peer group average of 35 hl/ha

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

The 2001 Petrus (2,160 cases produced) exhibits more depth and richness than any other Pomerol I tasted. Its deep saturated ruby/plum/purple color is accompanied by a tight but promising bouquet of vanilla, cherry liqueur, melted licorice, black currants, and notions of truffles and earth. Rich, full-bodied, and surprisingly thick as well as intense, there is plenty of structure underlying the wealth of fruit and extract. Give it 3-6 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following two decades as it promises to be one of the longest-lived wines of the vintage, not to mention one of the most concentrated.

Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #153, Jun 2004)

98+ points Hedonist's Gazette - August 2012
We finished the Bordeaux flight with the 2001 Petrus, which was much softer and more evolved than the 2000 Petrus. The 2001 revealed lots of caramel, coffee, black plums and black cherries in a full-bodied, opulent, surprisingly approachable style.

Bright, deep red. Sappy, highly perfumed aromas of red cherry, mulberry, licorice, iron, minerals and sandalwood. Extremely suave on entry, then tactile and firm in the middle, with pungent flavors of berries and spices. Tightly wound, cool and reserved, with a restrained sweetness and obvious class. Finishes very long and very subtle, with strong lingering spice character and excellent grip. As of early April, Christian Moueix expected to bottle most of his 2001s a month or two later than usual, and noted that Petrus might not be bottled until September of this year.

This is a tannic, closed, difficult to evaluate vintage for Petrus. Last year the 2001 was weighty in the mouth, and of impeccably high quality, but young and unevolved. Tasted ten months later, little seems to have changed. The color remains a healthy dark ruby/purple, and the wine is full-bodied, with hints of charcoal-infused cherry and mulberry fruit intermixed with touches of licorice and truffles. The tannins remain excruciatingly hard, and the wine is big, massive, and impressive, but lacking charm and suppleness. Certainly there is a lot here, but this 2001 needs at least a decade of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2030+. NOTE: The passing of a legend. Jean-Pierre Moueix, 1913-2003, passed away the weekend of March 29-30. A noble and erudite man, he single-handedly established the reputation for Pomerol. Founding his negociant firm in Libourne in 1937, he developed a marketplace in Belgium and northern Europe for many of the area's greatest wines. His success led to the purchase of many of the better vineyards, most renowned of which were Trotanoy (1953), La Fleur-Petrus (1953), Magdelaine (1954), and Petrus, partially owned until its outright acquisition in 2002. Jean-Pierre Moueix and his two sons, Christian and Jean-Francois, were the cornerstones of my early education of the wines of Pomerol. As a beneficiary of his wisdom and generosity, I shall always remember him as a visionary as well as a great man. His death symbolizes the end of an extraordinary life and era.