Ruby-red. Reserved nose hints at bitter cherry, Cuban tobacco and game. Rather powerfully structured but a bit dry-edged, showing more game and tobacco than primary fruit and lacking verve. Finishes a bit dry. As with the 2001, this sample may not be fresh.

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After several less than stellar performances, the 2000 has turned out well. Aromas of sweet kirsch liqueur intermixed with blackberries, underbrush, and plums jump from the glass of this opaque ruby/purple-colored 2000. Full-bodied, moderately tannic, dense, and structured, with a certain kinky/exotic earthiness, this is the finest Certan de May produced over recent years.

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Aromas of chocolate, berry and flowers follow through to full-bodied palate, with firm and velvety tannins and a long, long finish. This is a muscular wine that slowly builds on your palate. Slightly funky, but I like it. Needs lots of bottle age. Excellent Certan de May.

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Wow, this was fantastic (to be expected, considered it's one of Petrus' closest neighbors). Super-concentrated and well structured, with generous, deep Merlot fruit. And, at the tender age of 12 it's already beginning to show such tertiary flavors as licorice, fennel and minerals. Yet, all of those flavor compounds are in balance and the wine seems multi-dimensional. Whoever decided which varietals should be grown in this clay soil covered by a layer of gravel really knew what they were doing. The result is a deep, profound, earthy wine that stuns the senses, and could probably be kept until at least 2020. And, at less than $80 a bottle, it's a steal (kind of a mini-Petrus). Well done!