($150-$175) Saturated ruby-red color. Knockout nose combines perfumed red berries, licorice, tar and chalky minerality, along with some exotic roasted notes. Sweet, fat and thick, with slightly roasted flavors of black raspberry and game. A large-scaled, impressively lush wine that comes off as distinctly more vibrant than the 2001 Pavie-Decesse. From the outset this wine has shown a compelling balance of sugars, alcohol and acids. Very long, mounting finish features firm but ripe tannins and complex notes of raspberry, stone, tobacco and woodsmoke.

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Richly enveloping nose. Borderline overripeness. Hot chocolate! Thick and sweet and sort of carved out of stone. Quite porty but with some freshness of fruit. Exaggerated but pleasurable. Drying tannins on the finish. Pretty luscious.

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One of the candidates for wine of the vintage ... again, the 2001 Pavie, from a magnificent south-facing vineyard planted primarily on limestone soil, is a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. After a six week maceration, it spent nearly 24 months in new oak prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered. Some Bordeaux brokers think it might be even better than the 2000 Pavie, but I do not agree. The inky/ruby/purple-colored 2001 exhibits a tight but promising nose of crushed stones, a liqueur of blackberries, cherries, and black currants, and subtle smoke and licorice in the background. Powerful, with impressive elegance, fine harmony among its elements, a multi-layered texture, it has a finish that lasts for 50+ seconds. There is considerable tannin, but it is well-integrated. Give it 3-4 years, and drink it over the next two decades. A profound effort for the vintage, it is an example of a perfectionist proprietor pushing the envelope of quality.

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Powerful, with loads of smoke, vanilla, berry and chocolate character. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long, caressing finish. Modern and rich. Well-done. 7,500 cases made.

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Had this at Blanc Haru in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney. Closed on the nose and on the palate on first pour but opened up after about 1 hour. Big powerful wine. Lots happening in the glass. Earthy, barnyard on the nose at first then moving to floral, menthol notes. On the palate cassis, berries, toast, almost jammy and chewy. Decent weight. Lovely.