Petrus Price

Deep, dark ruby-garnet, opaque core, violet highlights, delicate lightening at the rim. Delicate floral undertones, candied violets, black forest berries, hints of raspberry pulp, orange blossom through to black truffle, a touch of licorice, an incredibly seductive, multifaceted bouquet. Juicy, extract-sweet, ripe plums and cherries, extract-sweet core, fresh structure, melting tannins, mineral and lingering, precise and lingering for minutes, potential for decades.

Peter Moser, Gerhild Burkhard, Benjamin Herzog, Dominik Vombach, Ulrich Sautter, Othmar Kiem, Simon Staffler, Irene Forni, 100

The purity of fruit is really impressive on the nose. It’s rich and flamboyant, giving aromas of black olives, rose stems, blackberries and some blueberries. On the palate it delivers an intense and refined structure with open-grained tannins that keep it fresh and lively, There is the structure of a great past year, but then the flamboyance of aromas and richness.

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 99.5

A wine of remarkable density and persistence, the 2025 Petrus shows huge potential, unwinding in the glass with brooding aromas of sweet cherries, berries, violets and spices. Full-bodied, deep and layered, it's elegantly muscular, with prodigious levels of concentration, lively acids, sweet tannins and a long, palate-staining finish. It's a legend in the making that recalls the intensity of flavor of some of the great post-war Petrus vintages.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 99

This shows a different depth and construction from many in the appellation, and here you truly see the impact of terroir. Intense aromatics, crushed red rose petals, so perfumed, then a pillow like texture with underlying grip and tension. On the palate expect dusted cocoa beans, cherries wrapped in chocolate, mint leaf, slate, crayon, olive pit, graphite, utterly delicious. All the elements that make a great Petrus are right here. 3.55ph, 20hl/h yield. 190 kilos of berries to get 100l of juice, compared to 135 kilos traditionally. Harvest started on August 28 on the young vines, then stopped and started again September 5, and finished September 11. Olivier Berrouet winemaker.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux, 99

Strong scents of violets kick off the aromatic profile before discovering the wealth of chocolate, black cherries, black raspberries, spice, and truffles in the nose. The fireworks, however, are on the palate. Seductive, hedonistic, creamy, intense, and also vibrant, it is impossible to to be moved by the depth, concentration, and weightless energy in the fruits. The silky, freshness continues allowing you to enjoy the long, velvety finish that sticks with you for over 60 seconds. The tricky part to create the 2025 was finding the perfect dates to harvest for their Merlot on clay. Harvesting took place for the young vines August 28. September 5 - September 11. 14.5 ABV%, 3.55 pH. Yields were only 20 hectoliters per hectare. The wine is produced from 100% Merlot.

The Wine Cellar Insider, 99

The purity of fruit is very beautiful, showing raspberry and blueberry pulp as well as orange peel and hints of spice. Medium-bodied, this has soft, velvety tannins with green olives, wet earth, oyster shells and crushed stones. Long, flavorful finish. Like a new rendition of the 1985.

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 97.5

A beautiful wine, the 2024 Chateau Petrus offers classic Petrus notes of ripe black cherries layered with subtle graphite, damp earth, and violets. It's medium-bodied, with a supple, layered mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and outstanding length. This is a terrific 2024 that offers plenty of upfront charm, and while it will be more accessible than some past vintages, it still delivers the depth and class you expect from this chateau. As always, it's 100% Merlot, aging in 50% new oak, and it reached 13.3% alcohol.

Antoine Petrus, 95

The 2024 Petrus has impressive ripeness on the nose in the context of the growing season, with scents of blackcurrant, blueberry and iodine. Its aromatic profile touts a little more flamboyance and sensuality than those of some of its fellow Pomerol estates. Cashmere tannins and perfectly judged acidity frame the harmonious and poised palate. Whilst it does not contain the profound complexity of the 2022 (for example), the 2024 does retain the essence of Petrus. There is a little more flesh and just a hint of spicebox towards the finish. At 13.3% abv, this is just a delicious Pomerol.

Neal Martin, 95

The 2024 Petrus is a gorgeous, well-proportioned wine, with an equilibrium that decidedly favors finesse over power or volume. Rose petal, lavender, spice, mint and blood orange confer aromatic intensity. Silky tannins provide the backdrop for an absolutely beautiful Petrus. The 2024 is pure and total sensuality. Technical Director Olivier Berrouet added that he might reduce rackings during elevage. Today, the 2024 Petrus is exquisite.

Antonio Galloni, 95

This feels like it is operating on a different plane from many, clear from the first aromatics. Showcasing latent hidden power, sappy, savoury but in this case not overly slim, just full of muscular goodnesss and black fruits. Small yield because of flowering, as you see everywhere in Pomerol, 50% new oak for ageing, although winemaker Olivier Berrouet expects to do a slightly shorter ageing than usual. Around 80% of production is in this wine. 3.6ph. Harvest Sepember 24 to October.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux, 95

Intense blackberry and chocolate aromas with plenty of ripe pips and spices. Medium body with fluidity and a sense of wonder to it. The quality of the tannins is so good as to be imperceptible. It has 30% more tannin than the 2022, but then it grows on the finish. pH 3.65 and 14.5% alcohol.

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 99.5

A serious, powerful Petrus, the 2023 Chateau Petrus sports a deep ruby hue as well as classic aromatics of black cherries, roasted herbs, cassis, graphite, and smoky tobacco. Brought up 16 months in 50% new French oak, it's medium to full-bodied, with rock-solid concentration, ripe, integrated, yet classic Petrus tannins, and a great finish. It's a beautifully balanced, layered, seamless 2023 that reminds me slightly of a more dense version of the 2019. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following two to three decades. Drink 2030-2063.

Antoine Petrus, 99

Flowers, chocolate, dried raspberries, cherries, spice, citrus, and a background note of truffle create the aromatic profile. On the palate, it is interesting to note the viscosity, coupled with freshness, length, and purity. There is an elegance that allows the purity in the berries to already express themselves. The velvet-textured finish, with its spices, chocolate, plums, and cherries stays with you for at least 60 seconds. The wine is perfectly balanced, seamless, and well, prefect. The success of the vintage is due in large part to waiting for the right moment to harvest, as well as taking their time to pick. With their deep, blue clay, they harvested September 11 - September 20, 14.5 ABV%, 3.65 pH. It is interesting to note that even though the wine has 30% more tannins, the wine feels soft, and silky.

The Wine Cellar Insider, 99

The 2023 Petrus has a deep garnet-purple color and a pH of 3.65. It bursts forth with ready-to-go notes of ripe, juicy blackberries, black cherry preserves, fresh plums, and crushed violets, leading to waves of scents of star anise, cardamom, and cinnamon stick. The medium to full-bodied palate vibrates with energetic black fruit and exotic spice layers, framed by velvety tannins and beautifully integrated acidity, finishing long and so, so seductive.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, 99

Perfumed and harmonious, the 2023 Petrus unwinds in the glass with aromas of rose petals, dark raspberries, mulberries, cassis and flowers, lifted by nuances of violet and iris. Medium- to full-bodied, layered and finely textured, it is seamless, built around a vibrant core of fruit, with powdery, velvety tannins and impeccably integrated acidity, extending into a long, seemingly endless, floral finish. Fully confirming expectations, this is a singular, crystalline Petrus, perfectly aligned with both the vintage and its terroir.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 98.5

I am amazed by the freshness and blue fruits here in such a hot year. So much crunchy forest-fruit character like strawberries and raspberries with fantastic peaches and orange peel. Black olives and cloves. Full-bodied yet framed and formed with extremely silky tannins and great beauty. Superbalanced and incredible for the vintage. The ethereal quality of this wine is truly wonderful. Best after 2029.

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 100

The 2022 Petrus has turned out even better than I anticipated en primeur, displaying breathtaking purity and integration. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of mulberries, minty cherries, rose petals and violets, it's full-bodied, dense and layered, with huge depth at the core, sweet, powdery tannins and a long, resonant finish. This is a profound Petrus in the making that exemplifies controlled power. Olivier Berrouet opted to shorten the time in barrel by a couple of months to preserve vibrancy.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 99.5

The 2022 Petrus has a gorgeous bouquet, very pure and brimming with energy, with exquisite delineation and poise, yet you get the impression that it is holding something back for later. The palate is framed by filigree tannins, pitch-perfect acidity, with real weight and depth towards the finish but absolutely no heaviness. This is a supremely gifted Pomerol. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.

Neal Martin, 99

The 2022 Chateau Petrus is a powerhouse as well as one of the most concentrated wines in the vintage. Harvested on September 1 (the earliest harvest since 2003), this deep purple-hued beauty offers an inward yet layered bouquet of ripe black cherries, currants, woodsmoke, chocolate, and truffly earth. This carries to a quintessential Petrus offering full-bodied richness and depth as well as flawless balance. There's no shortage of structure, and it has a dense mid-palate, ripe, building tannins and a gorgeous finish. It gains purity and freshness as it sits in the glass, but this a wine that demands a solid decade, if not more, of bottle age and will be just about immortal.

Antoine Petrus, 98.5

Deep purple-black colored, the 2022 Petrus features fantastically fragrant notes of rose oil, star anise, lilacs, and cinnamon stick, giving way to a powerful core of preserved plums, blueberry compote, and raspberry preserves, plus wafts of Sichuan pepper and iron ore. The full-bodied palate delivers layer upon layer of black berry and mineral inspired flavors, injected with an electric backbone of vibrant red berry sparks and seamless acidity, textured by super-plush tannins, finishing with epically long lingering ferrous and aniseed notes. Magic. The alcohol is 14.5% and the pH is a healthy 3.63.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, 98

Beautiful length and depth here for the vintage, with blackberry, raspberry and blueberry character. Cloves and sandalwood, too. Full and layered. Ripe and ample, yet balanced and fresh. Crunchy and very bright.

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 98.5

The 2021 Petrus was picked from September 30 until October 9 and aged in the usual 50% new oak. It has a completely different aromatic profile compared to the previous vintages, a return to the Petrus that I know at this stage. It made me think of the 2008, possibly the 2014: cool and linear, refined, very complex, offering lightly spiced red fruit with a small pinch of Chinese five-spice. The fresh, focused palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, good depth and fine tannins, and as usual, it opens exquisitely with aeration, becoming linear and very saline. Long and sustained toward the finish. This Petrus represents one of the few 2021s that will rank alongside the 2019 or 2020.

Neal Martin, 96

A luminous, compelling and memorable Petrus, one of the absolute standouts in 2021. Expressions of dark crimson berries, damson, plums, raspberries, redcurrant fruit, blackcurrant, touches of blood orange zest, cherry perfume and pink flowers on the nose - I could go on..! The aromatic intensity is exceptional and just so beguiling. This has such a seamless continuation of flavours and aromas from start to finish - a consistency, all flowing gracefully - neat, clear and pure. You're not going to find the most rich, dense or exuberant of wines here, that's obvious given the vintage conditions, but this is such an excellent wine from Olivier Berrouet working with the vintage. There is a taffeta quality to the fine and layered tannins that coat the mouth and give an aerial sensation. Juicy and succulent, the acidity comprises part of the structure and carries the expression of the red berry and stone fruit and salty minerality that appears on the finish. Structured with backbone, this is confident in its intensity and momentum but still so refined and finessed. Sublime in its delicacy and grace giving a gentle energy.

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Pierre Mansour, 96

From barrel, the 2021 Petrus was decidedly muscular and introverted, but elevage has certainly tamed it, delivering a result that's much more sensual and charming than I could have imagined. Offering up aromas of ripe cherries, mulberries, rose petals, licorice and violets, it's full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a suave, seamless, lively profile and a bright, perfumed finish. This wine, which was racked out of barrel two months earlier than usual, will offer an unusually broad drinking window. In style, it reminds me somewhat of the estate's 2011.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 95

Unquestionably one of the standouts in the Moueix stable is the 2021 Chateau La Fleur-Petrus, a beautifully balanced, medium to full-bodied, elegant Pomerol that readers will love. Vivid purple in color with lots of cassis and darker berry fruits, it has classic Pomerol graphite, damp earth, and chalky minerality, some background oak, perfectly integrated tannins, and a great finish. It's already hard to resist and is going to drink nicely right out of the gate.

Antoine Petrus, 95

The 2020 Petrus is deep garnet-purple in color. It erupts from the glass with a fragrance bomb of fresh black raspberries, preserved plums, wild blueberries, and candied violets, plus suggestions of cinnamon toast, molten licorice, and tilled soil. The rich, dense, full-bodied palate is completely coated in decadent black fruit preserves and exotic spicy flavors, lifted by red berry accents and floral notes, and supported by firm, grainy tannins, finishing long with the mineral sparks coming through. This is an epic.<br /> <br />

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, 100

The transparency and complexity in the nose is wonderful, with so much floral character like violets and roses with some fresh spices. Dark berries, too. Sandalwood. It’s medium-bodied but then it just opens and unfolds with incredible depth of fine tannins and great length. It goes on for minutes. It opens like butterfly wings. What a wine. Superb. Drink after 2028.

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 100

A seriously impressive Petrus in 2020. Less hedonistic and instantly emotional than 2019, more sultry, almost shy and reserved but with definition, weight, succulence and suppleness that shines through. It has a silky tannic tension and clear power but not heft, only a soft muscular expansion that comes with a grip and chew to the black fruits with medicinal, liquorice edges and mouthwatering acidity. Understated yet utterly captivating, it takes its time to come out of its shell - a little serious right now but at the same time it’s stylish with a bright, lifted finish reminding you of the juicy freshness that’s possible even in such warm vintages. A shining star that will be magnificent in time.

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Pierre Mansour, 100

As I observed to Olivier Berrouet, it's hardly very original to find a wine critic extolling the virtues of this Pomerol reference point; and yet, whether one likes it or not, there's no denying that the 2020 Petrus is a brilliant achievement and indeed one of the very finest vintages at this address over the last two decades. Unwinding in the glass with a deep bouquet of dark berries, cherries and cassis mingled with hints of exotic spices, violets and vine smoke, it's full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with huge depth at the core, exquisitely refined tannins and a youthfully reserved, even restrained profile despite its power and size. This serious, classically proportioned Petrus is a monument in the making.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 100

The 2020 Petrus is a wine of pure and total sensuality. Silky, creamy tannins wrap around a core of dark red and black fruit. A wine with explosive depth but no hard edges and mind-blowing balance, the 2020 is so alluring, even in the early going. Time in the glass brings out lifted floral top notes that add freshness. What strikes most is the elegance of the tannins. I don't think I have ever tasted a young Petrus like the 2020. Technical Director Olivier Berrouet gave the 2020 a bit more time on the skins than is normal. Aging was 17-18 months in oak. Let's cut to the chase. The 2020 Petrus is profoundly great.

Antonio Galloni, 99

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 Petrus unfurls very slowly to offer glimpses at licorice, fragrant earth, crushed rocks, and cinnamon toast hints over a core of juicy blackberries, black raspberries, and crushed violets with a subtle waft of dusty earth. Full-bodied, rich, decant and unashamedly flamboyant, the palate has super firm, super velvety tannins and amazing tension, delivering slow releasing exotic spice and black fruit layers, finishing very long, opulent and incredibly impactful. Tuck it away for another 6-8 years, at least, and then count on it transforming magnificently over the following 50-years+.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, 100

The 2019 Chateau Petrus is a behemoth, and I can't imagine a better marriage of sexy, opulent fruit with purity, precision, and length. Always all Merlot from a single parcel of clay soils, it takes time to unwind in the glass (I followed this bottle for multiple days) and offers a powerful, primordial style in its black cherries, mulberries, smoked tobacco, damp earth, and chocolate, as well as a beautiful floral component that emerges with air. Dense, concentrated, and incredibly rich on the palate, it has a multi-dimensional mouthfeel and sweet yet substantial tannins. Despite plenty of glycerin and opulence on the palate, which certainly makes it fun to taste today, it has a very straight, classic feel that will demand bottle age. It probably needs to be forgotten for 8-10 years and will deliver the goods over the following 50 years or more.

Antoine Petrus, 100

A dense, structured Petrus that is full of naturally fleshy but concentrated blueberry, blackberry, cassis and loganberry fruits that feel both fully ripe and fully subdued and closed-in on themselves right now. As ever with Petrus, you have to be patient, as everything just slows down and takes its time. The tannins are juicy, with great aromatic persistency, allowing touches of smoked caramel, black truffle, black chocolate and pencil lead through as it opens. As it uncurls things turn spicier and more profound, with edges of mint leaf, fennel, aniseed and eucalyptus. This is a wine with so much to say, and it is in no hurry to go anywhere. 50% new oak.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux, 98

Olivier Berrouet turned out a fabulous Petrus in 2019. A gorgeous, expansive wine, the 2019 opens beautifully over time. There is a feeling of radiance in the 2019 that is impossible to miss. Hints of rose petal, lavender, mint and cinnamon meld effortlessly into a core of red/purplish fruit. At 14.8%, the alcohol is high, but not intrusive. &quot;We worked very hard to extract as gently as possible,&quot; Berrouet explained. Readers lucky enough to own the 2019 should plan on cellaring it for a decade or more.

Antonio Galloni, 98

A seductive and sensual nose full of ripe and sweetly-perfumed cherry and blackcurrant notes - which are even more expressive and abundant after an hour in the glass. This is such a beguiling wine, changing in texture and fruit profile several times from a first sip of smooth and streamlined, chalky tannins to one filled with bright acidity and succulent juiciness then shifting another gear delivering a palate full of concentrated dark fruits edged with liquorice and black pepper. The tannins are abundant and clearly present, Olivier Berrout director of Petrus says he’s never produced a vintage with such high tannins, but they are wonderfully consistent and well integrated with a lovely powdery element to them. You really feel the structure develop in the mouth, building in complexity and layers with a beautiful perfume and wet stone minerality lingering on the long finish. You have to wait for the reticence and reservation of Petrus in its youth to subside before you see the power and energy here but it’s giving a tantalising glimpse of what its long life holds in store.

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Pierre Mansour, 98

The 2018 Petrus has retained its opaque purple-black color after bottling, foreshadowing the seemingly frozen-in-time glacial pace at which this wine is proceeding. It opens very reluctantly, requiring considerable air with vigorous swirling and doggedly demands a few hours before it offers glimpses at this slumbering giant of a wine. As it eventually unfurls, it slowly morphs into a powerful, fantastically pure nose of preserved plums, blackberry preserves and blueberry compote, followed by nuances of molten licorice, dark chocolate, black truffles, iron ore and, still later, floral notions of lilacs and rose oil come through. The full-bodied palate is taut, muscular and oh-so-tightly wound at this stage, revealing peeks at many, many layers of perfectly ripe black and blue fruits, exotic spices and earthy notions for which words simply fail. The texture is at once rock solid and fantastically plush, with impeccably knit freshness, finishing so long you really can't taste or think of anything else for the rest of the day. Here is a heart-stopping titan that puts paid to all those naysayers who contest that perfection in wine cannot exist. It will require a good 8-10 years to hit its stride, then it is very likely to outlive us all, but you will want to make certain you drink this one before you go.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 100

This wine leaves me speechless. It has so much intensity and density with fantastic ripe fruit with spices, dark berries and walnuts and hazelnuts Currants and licorice. Violets and earth. Full-bodied, very, very tannic yet polished and beautiful. Lasts forever on the palate. Reminds me of the great 1998.

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 100

The 2018 Petrus is a magnificent wine. There is not much else to say. From the very first taste, the 2018 Petrus is simply magical. Dark, sumptuous and beautifully resonant on the palate, the 2018 offers superb richness, aromatic depth and intensity. Blueberry, spice, black pepper, licorice and earthy notes open up in the glass, but it is the wine's vivid beauty and extraordinary harmony that stand out most. I don't think I have ever tasted a young Petrus with such silky, suave tannins. "We lowered the canopies and left more leaf cover to protect the fruit," Technical Director Olivier Berrouet told me. "The berries were especially small. Cuvaison was a bit longer than normal, but we chose to extract more gently."

Antonio Galloni, 100

The 2018 Petrus has a deep garnet purple color. It skips out of the glass with lifted scents of Morello cherries, redcurrant jelly, and fresh mulberries, plus suggestions of black olives, truffles, and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is very firm and taut with ripe, grainy tannins and muscular fruit, finishing long and earthy. Typically for this vineyard, it will require patience!

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, 100

The 2018 Petrus is a brilliant wine that has perfection written all over it, and it’s unquestionably one of the most powerful, opulent wines in the vintage. As always, it’s 100% Merlot and offers a heavenly bouquet of cassis, smoke, earth, graphite, and beautiful liquid violets. Full-bodied, deep, and opulent on the palate, I must have written “huge wine!” three or four times in my notes, and despite all its power and richness, it’s seamless, light on its feet, and already hard to resist. Possessing terrific mid-palate depth, sweet tannins, and a finish that ranks with the greatest wines out there, Merlot or any wine for that matter, doesn’t get better. If you’re lucky enough to have a few bottles of this elixir, do your best to give bottles 7-8 years in the cellar, and I suspect it will keep for 40-50 years.

Antoine Petrus, 99

Truffle, Cuban cigar wrapper, exotic spice, licorice and lilacs create the complex set of aromatics. Powerful yet poised, rich and fresh, dense and velvety, the finish remains with you for close to 60 seconds. The end notes deliver spicy, silky, creamy tannins, ripe, dark plums and darker red fruits that fill the palate. The wine is structured with all the right stuff to age for decades. Produced from 100% Merlot, the harvest started September 8, finishing September 28. The wine reached 14.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.6 . This is the wine of the vintage

The Wine Cellar Insider, 99

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Petrus comes galloping out of the glass with bold, expressive notions of Black Forest cake, blueberry preserves and Christmas pudding with nuances of molten chocolate, Chinese five spice, candied violets, licorice and kirsch plus wafts of roses and cinnamon stick. Full-bodied, rich, spicy and fantastically concentrated, the palate has compelling freshness and a solid base of wonderfully ripe, velvety tannins, finishing very long and opulent. The aromatics at this youthful stage are atypical for Petrus and quite stunning, this 2017 is a bombshell! Furthermore, it is a unique style for this estate and one avid collectors should seek out!

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 98.5

I love the aromatics to this with crushed berries, violets and black olives. Hints of vanilla and some caramel. Decadent. Full-bodied and round with very creamy tannins that melt into the wine. It starts off slowly and and then kicks off a few seconds later. The tannins are extremely polished and refined. Hard not to drink now, but wait. Try after 2025.

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 98

This delivers a torrent of pure, unadulterated raspberry fruit that extends effortlessly through the finish, while hints of incense, mineral and rooibos tea glisten tantalizingly throughout. Shows terrific cut and precision, with eye-catching detail. Drink now through 2040.

Gillian Sciaretta, 98

One of the very few in the vintage where there is actual flesh on the bones, and lots of it. The danger in dry years is that tannins can get too angular, and the overall feeling too austere, but here they have successfully managed to maintain juice and aromatics. A three week harvest at Petrus, a long window for this property where the terroir is so even. There is an awful lot to recommend here, and is easily one of the best wines of the year. The aromatic side is extremely enjoyable, touches of fresh hay, lovely gentle spice, tons of dark fruits, cinnamon and complexity. Extremely charming, with lots to say for itself.

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Pierre Mansour, 97

This is very fleshy and deep with so much texture and richness. It’s full-bodied yet fresh. The tobacco, white truffle, licorice and dark fruit are so impressive. It’s so exuberant and wild. It just goes on for ever. Spellbinding. Very muscular and powerful. Agile and energetic. Please give this time. Needs eight to ten years. Try from 2029.

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 100

Deep ruby in color, here you find truffle, dark chocolate, coffee bean, cigar box, black cherry and dark plums. Full bodied, elegant, velvety, opulent, sweet and fresh, the presence on the palate is silk and velvet in the texture with purity and sweetness to the fruits. The wine is hedonistic as well as intellectual, and a little bit firm. There is serious aging potential. The wine really sticks with you, for over 60 seconds in the finish. Give this at least 15 or more years in the cellar to develop before popping a cork.

The Wine Cellar Insider, 100

Opaque purple-black colored, the 2016 Petrus slips effortlessly out of the glass with sanguine, seductive notes of kirsch, warm black plums, blueberry compote, red roses, Ceylon tea, violets, dark chocolate-covered cherries, licorice and cinnamon stick with wafts of iron ore, pencil lead, unsmoked cigars and crushed rocks. Full-bodied, profound and absolutely edifying on the palate, the densely packed, beautifully perfumed red and blue fruit layers possess a charge like defibrillators stimulating your heart to beat faster, each delivering achingly subtle floral and spice sparks, perfectly framed by very firm, very grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing with incredible length and taking you to depths that extend to a provocative ferrous undercurrent. Stunning.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 100

The 2016 Petrus is magnificent. There is a sense of total completeness in the 2016 that is hard to capture with words. A regal wine of total presence, the 2016 simply has it all. Beautifully layered in the glass, with stunning aromatics and endless, layered fruit, the 2016 is utterly captivating. Once again I am struck by the wine's purity and total class. Technical Director Olivier Berrout and his team turned out a magnificent Petrus in 2016. Total time in barrel was 19 months, with 50% new oak.

Antonio Galloni, 99

One of the top wines in the vintage is unquestionably the 2016 Petrus, which is, as always, all Merlot aged in just over half new French oak. It's more reserved and subtle compared to the 2015, yet it’s unquestionably in the same ballpark, offering a deep ruby/purple color as well as a classy bouquet of creme de cassis, black cherries, graphite, smoke tobacco, spring flowers, and subtle spicy oak. This is a wine that builds with time in the glass and delivers a full-bodied, multi-dimensional texture, present, ripe tannins, perfect balance, and a finish that won't quit. It’s haute couture at its finest, and as I wrote multiple times in my notes, simply pure class. Hide bottles for at least 7-8 years (10-15 would be even better) and it will keep for half a century.

Antoine Petrus, 99

When I asked winemaker Olivier Berrouet about his greatest challenges in 2015, he replied, “Our biggest challenge is to avoid all the temptations you can have in the vineyard and in the cellar. You can go too far. With our job, if you go too far, you can’t go back. Little steps are best.” His comments eloquently explain the immense pressure of handling a seemingly pressure-less vintage like 2015 in Pomerol. But, with the devil in all the many details that are involved in the pursuit of wine perfection, if anyone has that devil by the horns, it is this incredibly talented young winemaker.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 100

Violets, lilies and the wrapper of a fine, Cuban cigar appear without the asking and fuse expertly with black and blue fruit, smoke, incense and damp earth. On the palate, this wine is pure eroticism in texture, royal, arousing yet discreet and with an exotic, cherry liqueur, dark chocolate and licorice presence in the finish. There is length, intensity and a deep, decadent endnote that must last at least 60 seconds. Produced from 100% Merlot, the wine reached 14.6% with pH 3.7. The harvest started September 14, finishing September 29. What made this vintage extraordinary for Petrus was the extended hang time, which for most years is close to 45 days. But with the 2015 vintage, the hang time during the harvest took between 50 and 60 days.

The Wine Cellar Insider, 100

The aromas to this are a reference for Pomerol with truffles, black olives, black licorice and dark fruit. Even brown sugar. Full-bodied, layered and multi-dimensional. Chocolate underlines the character above. The perfect tannin texture, length and balance make you think you're dreaming. All about harmony and beauty. Love to taste it now but needs at least five or six years.<br />

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 100

This is like drinking liquid black currants and blackberries. The wine has great intensity and richness from the superbly generous Merlot. The wood aging shows as a hint in the background, with the bold black fruit and ample acidity dominating. Drink from 2026.

Anna Lee C. Iijima, 100

There is so much going on with Petrus in 2015 that you should just pull up a chair and relax, don't expect to be going anywhere soon. Aromatic persistency keeps reaching in, pulling you further alongside. There is a soft quality to the tannins that allows the black fruit to be both juicy and sweet. High alcohol is balanced by freshness - a pH of 3.5 is relatively rare on these sticky clay soils - unleashing waves of flavour, including bergamot, smoky tea, black olives and rich cherry. The persistency is crazy - I had to get my notes back out two or three times to take down additional flavours because it just kept giving something more. And it makes you smile! What more do you want? Bottled in June, but will not be sent out to customers until April 2018. 50% new oak.

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Pierre Mansour, 100

A wine evincing true enlightenment. It’s floral on the nose and also shows blackberries, stones, minerals and cedar. Full-bodied, yet its so fine-grained and tight. So, so long. It builds like a waterfall on the finish. The tannins are powerful yet superbly integrated and harmonious. Needs four to five years in bottle. Drink in 2023.<br />

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 98

The color of red gems with the quintessence of black raspberry, tiny French lilies, cocoa bean, pink peppercorn and charcoal, this wine is all about the finesse and sublime purity found in the fruit. The silky, sweet cherries in the end note remained etched in the finish. Produced from 100% Merlot, the wine reached 14.5% with pH 3.6.

The Wine Cellar Insider, 96

The wine is a velvet glove in an iron fist. The smooth surface of ripe fruits and rich blackberry flavors, masks the dense tannins that will allow this very great wine to age for many, many years. The acidity and the rich fruit combine with the fine dusty tannins. The wine will surely not be ready to drink before 2027.

Anna Lee C. Iijima, 96

This has lush, fleshy layers of blackberry, fig and black currant confiture rumbling through, pushed by notes of charcoal and warm tobacco leaf. Ganache hints fill in on the finish. Bass-driven, with a serious knot of tannins that have yet to stretch out, but the core of fruit is way too serious to doubt.

Gillian Sciaretta, 95

Former winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet likens the growing season to 1978. But 60hl/ha then; 30hl/ha today. Classical and fine with the Merlot providing a Cabernet-like presentation of tannin. Very natural and unforced. Lovely texture and fruit. Persistent finish.<br />

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Pierre Mansour, 95

Very fine and structured with ultra-fine tannins. Medium bodied with beautiful density and texture. It has length and grip for the vintage. Better in 2020.<br />

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 94

his has excellent energy for the vintage, with a brambly, well-embedded spine that clearly drives the core of raspberry coulis, bitter plum and bright cherry preserves. Ample spice flickers through the finish, with a judicious hint of singed apple wood for nuance. This fleshes out steadily in the glass too, showing rare depth for the vintage. A great effort.

Gillian Sciaretta, 92

(100% merlot): Bright, dark ruby. Captivating, extremely pure aromas of fresh blackcurrant, mocha, gunflint and violet. Precise and multilayered, with small dark berry flavors given clarity and cut by lively, harmonious acidity. The finish is complex and very long. Lighter than usual but extremely pure and perfumed, this knockout wine has silkier, smoother tannins than any other 2013 Bordeaux. When I visited Petrus in July 2013, the horrible growing season had Olivier Berrouet fretting like I had never seen before, but he can be proud of what he has achieved in this difficult vintage. Making a great Petrus in outstanding years like 2009 or 2010 is expected, so in some respects this is Berrouet's best wine yet.

Ian d'Agata, 91.5

The 2013 Petrus possesses lovely depth and density for the year. Dark red stone fruits, tobacco, smoke and graphite all blossom in the glass. Underlying beams of firm tannin support the fruit nicely. Violets, game, plums and new leather wrap around the finish. Today, the tannins are a bit firm, especially within the context of the vintage, but the wine retains solid balance and has plenty of potential to grow, even if it isn't especially flattering today.<br /> <br />

Antonio Galloni, 91

The 2013 Petrus was bottled in June 2015, a month before I visited the property to taste with winemaker, Olivier Berrouet. The idea was to not push too much, he told me. We didn't use too much wood - around 45% new oak. It would be 55% in a good vintage. The pH is 3.55 and it has 13.5% alcohol. It has quite a deep colour for a 2013, very clear and lucid. The nose is undeniably very attractive, gently unfolding with black cherries, iodine, pot pourri and a touch of bilberry. The aromatics are gentle and unassuming, yet still very Pomerol and still very Petrus. The palate is medium-bodied and for a 2013 it is certainly well structured, the tannins imparting a grainy mouthfeel. At the moment it feels saline in the mouth, fresh and with absolutely no sign of greenness. It is a successful wine within the context of the 2013 vintage and I appreciated the sharpness on what you might call its clinical finish. There is not so much in the way of persistence here and it departs out the exit door swiftly rather than abruptly. No, it is not the best Petrus ever made, not by a long chalk, nevertheless it is undoubtedly better than off-vintages in the past such as the 1986 and 1996. Tasted July 2016.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 91

This shows fabulous length with a chocolate, berry and mineral undertone. Licorice and currants too. Full body yet refined with seamless tannins. Goes on for minutes. It shows such amazing length and elegance. Depth. Phenomenal structure here, especially for the vintage. Reminds me of the 1998 or 1971, which were structured yet very fine.<br /> 98

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 98

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2012 Petrus needs vigorous swirling to uncover notes of plum preserves, kirsch, and blueberry compote with hints of crushed rocks, truffles, licorice, and dried roses. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is laden with spicy black fruit layers and superbly ripe, rounded tannins, giving just enough freshness to lift the long earthy finish. A stunning achievement for this vintage, give it another 5-7 years in the cellar and drink it over the next 25 years+.<br /> <br />

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, 98

Tasted blind at the Southwold 2012 tasting, the 2012 Petrus demonstrated a forward, fruit-driven, ripe raspberry and wild strawberry bouquet underneath which lies graphite and forest floor aromas. It seems refined, understated, nonchalant even. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly savory opening, as if there was a tiny drop of Cabernet Franc. The tannins are fine but firm, the red fruit infused with cooked meat, black pepper and sage notes, although I was anticipating a finish armed with more body. That may well develop in time, yet it remains a regal Pomerol that will probably merit a higher score with bottle age, hence the plus-sign against the score. Tasted January 2016.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 96.5

This has some serious muscle, with rivets of graphite studding a beam of dense, gravelly grip that holds the core of steeped plum and raspberry notes together. Very long, with superior cut. A graphite note powers through the finish, while the fruit drips on and on.

Gillian Sciaretta, 96

The 2012 Petrus has a slightly higher-toned bouquet than its peers: scents of brambly red fruit and briary, liquorice and dried herbs. This gains complexity in the glass, and a second bottle at Bordeaux Index's 10-Year-On, given two hours to open, develops some gorgeous pure plummy fruit. The palate is medium-bodied, fleshy, ripe and harmonious with pliant tannins and a little more obvious oak towards the sensual finish, white pepper and thyme lingering on the aftertaste. Wonderful. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.

Neal Martin, 95

This is tight and firm, with blueberry and blackberry character, and hints of sweet tobacco. Some wet earth, too. Black olives. Full body and very tight, with ultra-fine tannins and a fresh finish. Powerful and muscular. Try after 2023.<br />

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 95

A dense ruby/purple-tinged color and restrained but intriguing aromas of kirsch, raspberry jam, wood spice, and mulberries are found in this full-bodied Petrus. An undeniable success in 2011, it is rich, layered and pure with light to moderate tannin, but seems slightly less muscular and tannic compared to its stablemate, Trotanoy. Forget it for a few years and drink it over the following 25 years. Made from 100% Merlot, it tips the scales at 13.5% alcohol. In short, it is typically open-knit and already showing very well. This is quite opulent.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 95

The 2011 Petrus has plenty of fruit on the nose, elegant and floral, redcurrant and raspberry fruit, a touch of crushed stone and pressed rose petal. The palate is medium-bodied with a rich and quite extravagant style of the finish, lightly spiced with a rounded, velvety-smooth and quite dense finish. Maybe it just conveys a little more winemaking that the terroir at the moment? Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.

Neal Martin, 92

This sports sweet spice, bitter cherry and light briar notes, with lively, pebbly tannins guiding the finish. Slightly high-pitched notes of blood orange and red currant fill in as well. Delivers range and length, yet lacks the depth of the top wines in this vintage.

Gillian Sciaretta, 91

This a Petrus with extraordinary balance and depth. It shows such elegance in the nose with complexity of black olives, dark fruits, and flowers. The palate is full and ultra-velvety yet there is a cashmere quality to the texture. It takes your breath away. There's almost a Burgundian quality in the mouthfeel meaning it takes you deep into the soil and captivates your attention. Greatest modern vintage of Petrus ever?<br />

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 100

Deep garnet colored, the 2010 Petrus opens a little broody, with gentle crushed rocks, cast iron pan and fragrant earth notions giving way to a core plum preserves, baked blueberries, licorice and Black Forest cake plus wafts of pencil shavings, garrigue and violets. Full-bodied, the palate is beautifully poised with a firm line of exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins and fantastic freshness bolstering the generous fruit, finishing very long and very, very classy. Collectors fortunate enough to have a few bottles of this vintage are advised to be patient and allow it a further 7-10 years to loosen-up and emerge gloriously from this rock-solid structure.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 100

At close to 14% alcohol, (which is high for Petrus) the wine offers intense aromas of chocolate, truffle, minerality, earth, blackberry essence, plum liqueur, blueberry, flowers and black cherry liqueur with kirsch accents. Offering a beautiful sensation of lift and purity along with decadent textures, polished, dark berries, plums, bitter chocolate, fresh cherries on the palate. Seamless and expansive, everything was balanced and in harmony. The finish remains in your mouth for one full minute! There were 3, polished spit buckets in the room. This was Petrus. I did the right thing and put that wine right where it belonged.<br />

The Wine Cellar Insider, 100

Fully saturated ruby. Knockout aromas of fresh black cherry, blackcurrant, exotic herbs, coffee and menthol, plus a hint of minerality. Juicy, fruit-driven flavors of dark berries and cherry are complicated by cocoa, vanilla and graphite and given laser-like precision by vibrant, harmonious acidity. Manages to be both fleshy and acidic at the same time, demonstrating uncanny depth and complexity of flavor. This strikes me as deeper and longer than the already magnificent 2009: it may well turn out to be the wine of the vintage. These two wines from Petrus make for an outstanding, back-to-back pair of vintages.

Stephen Tanzer, 98.5

The 2010 Petrus has an extraordinary bouquet, ineffably complex with brambly red fruit, sous-bois, dried blood and wild mint aromas that unfurl magically from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fleshy and generous, yet amazingly controlled with such tension and grace on the silky smooth finish. This is a fantastic Petrus, one of the greatest in recent years. Tasted from an ex-chateau bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.

Neal Martin, 98

Truly flavoursome, the blackberry, raspberry puree and rich black cherry fruits here are dense, generous and fully ripe, but manage to retain a savoury rosemary, coffee bean and black olive edge. It makes you smile involuntarily, in that way that great wine does. You almost want to forbid people from eating anything with this wine, at least for the first glass, and certainly forbid them from putting it on a table with other trophy wines where its impact will be softened. It demands - and should receive - full concentration. Textured slate runs through the mid-palate and brings a jolt of minerality through the finish. You could drink this today after carafing but you just know that it's barely out of the starting blocks.

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Pierre Mansour, 100

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2009 Petrus gives up glorious scents of preserved plums, redcurrant jelly, dried rose petals, blackberry compote and mulberries with touches of licorice, Chinese five spice and fragrant earth. Full, rich, plushly textured and oh-so-decadent, it reveals layer upon layer of spice box, black fruit and ferrous notions, finishing long and fragrant.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 100

2009 Petrus is deep ruby with purple tints at the rim of the glass. Spice, plums, blackberries, and blueberries, with cinnamon, clay, mint, mocha, and kirsch, make up the complex perfume. From a blend of 98% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the wine is rich, concentrated and packed with surreal levels of glycerin. This viscous, thrilling treat provides a seamless, intensely pure finish of spice, jammy cherries, and chocolate.<br />

The Wine Cellar Insider, 99

This offers a beautiful balance between its two sides: dark fig, roasted plum and toast flavors versus racy raspberry, cassis and perfumy black tea notes. Silky overall, but with terrific latent grip and a mouthwatering minerality that drives through the finish, pulling out extra fruit paste and charred spice hints. Very, very impressive range.

Gillian Sciaretta, 99

Tons of truffle and chocolate make this lush and fleshy Pomerol very seductive. The power and concentration are impressive, but right at the opulent and silky finish there's just a hint of warmth from the alcohol. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 99

Wow what a bruiser of a wine! Drunk next to the ‘06 and direct from Petrus, this wine was decanted three hours prior to enjoyment. I was expecting a very young and austere wine. While certainly young, this was also just plain delicious. It has a huge nose and a matching palate that screams its grand cru lineage. With even more time this will continue to gain points.

97 points, 2026-03-07

This is not a delicate wine, though beautifully balanced, full, round and rich. Mouth-coating & lush with cherries and raspberries, plums and a bit of chocolate. Some earthy notes. Perfect provenance from the chateau. Still a youngster, it's not likely to truly hit its stride for a decade.

95 points, 2024-11-15

6 Vintages Le Pin vs Petrus vs Lafleur vs Other Pomerol: All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story. TN: Intriguing nose with a strong herbal component, dark berries, ripe red fruits, some cola notes. The palate is wonderfully creamy, paired with superb freshness embedded in a fine tannin structure. Very balanced and round but probably only medium+ complex with layers of dark and red berries, crushed rocks and herbs. The only real downer is, that I also had some alcohol heat on the nose and palate. I’m very sensitive to these notes and don’t like it all and hence, this is not in the 95-100pts category for me. 94 pts. A bottle 3 years ago didn’t had that problem and was drinking on a 96 pts level. Decanting: My guess is that 2, 3 hours in the decanter are needed to bring more out.

94 points, 2022-05-15

Petrus vs. Le Pin vs. Lafleur 2004-2011, blind (Fribourg): Lots of wild berries here on the nose, dark cherry as well. Then on the palate, lovely herbal elements come into play. Rich finish. Could be a bit fresher but very nice overall. 96+

96 points, 2022-05-11

Petrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin (Fribourg): 6 vintage face-off (2006-2011) Petrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin vs alternating Pomerol pirate. The wines were served in vintage flights of 4 and not decanted. Main observations were: 1/ Le Pin knocked it out of the park coming in first in 4 out of 6 vintages while Petrus came in last with not a single vintage win (Lafleur came in best in two off-vintages, 2006 and 2008), 2/ The best overall vintage was 2009 (runner-up 2010) while 2006 came in last (scoring range 85-92), 3/ best bottle was Le Pin 2009 (99), followed by Petrus 2010 and Le Pin 2010 (98 each), 4/ best pirate was Clos L’Eglise 2009 (97). List of wines per score included in the tasting story. Tasting note:Dense and concentrated bursting with sweet and sexy red berry fruit, blue berries, a bit of coffee, mocha, chocolate, mineral notes, earth and leather. On the palate fireworks from attack to finish, bold yet elegant, fresh and in perfect harmony. One of the highlights in the tasting and only bested by Le Pin of the same vintage!

98 points, 2022-05-09

It is hard to call Petrus a “sleeper of the vintage,” but the 2008 will merit more attention than most consumers would think. Low yields of 30 hectoliters per hectare resulted in only 25,000 bottles of this beauty. A wine of great intensity (possibly the most concentrated wine of the vintage), this 100% Merlot boasts a dark purple color as well as a sweet perfume of mocha, caramel, black cherries, black currants, earth and forest floor. Deep, unctuously textured, full-bodied and pure, it will benefit from 4-5 years of cellaring and should drink well for 25-30+ years.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 97

The 2008 Petrus has a classic Pomerol nose, perhaps darker fruit than other vintages, blackberry and briary, a touch of truffle and minerals. I love the definition here, the cool restraint. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, a fine bead of acidity, chalky and tensile with moderate depth. There is a sense of composure, maybe even conservatism attached to this Petrus that sports a mineral-driven and (at least for this Pomerol) almost austere finish compared to the 2009 or 2010. But it is a lovely wine that is only just beginning to open. Haunting. (Tasted at BI Wine & Spirit’s annual 10-Year On tasting.)

Neal Martin, 96

Deep ruby-purple. Captivating aromas of blackberry, black cherry, flowers, licorice and Oriental spices are lifted by hints of white pepper and soy sauce. Rich and concentrated yet suave on entry, then sweet but with outstanding grip in the middle, with harmonious acidity providing terrific lift and definition to the multifaceted, opulent flavors of dark berries, mocha, iron and spices. This massive, exotic wine coats the entire palate without conveying any impression of weight; its remarkably smooth finish lasts for minutes. One of the top three wines of the vintage, and a remarkable Petrus.

Stephen Tanzer, 95.5

Medium-deep ruby. Exotic, perfumed aromas of dark cherry, spicy plum, soy sauce and Oriental spices. Full and voluptuous on the palate, this boasts exceptionally ripe, decadent red cherry flavors lifted by soy sauce and cinnamon nuances. Very long and silky, with unbelievably fine-grained tannins. With its texture of liquid velvet, this should make a memorable Petrus. Le Pin.

Ian d'Agata, 94

There's so much floral and berry character on the nose and palate here. It's full-bodied and very dense with lots of fine and delicate tannins. Winemaker Ol iver Berrouet calls it a classic Bordeaux in style and I have to agree with him because of the fine tannins, fresh acidity, and beautiful reserve fruit. Lovely sweet berry and chocolate finish to the wine. Try in in five to six years.

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 94

A story yet to be written.Still a baby from what is a very underrated vintage. Outshone the 07 and 12 by quite some margin at this stage. Sure, it is slightly tight, brooding and slightly muted but what potential.Rich, ripe dark fruits with some earthy and truffle notes. Certainly, some floral when stirred. Linear, long, and grainy to fine tannin, it has the potential to go a long way. Lovely mineral and chalky finish and so balanced. Very different to 09 but if you prefer a thinking wine, this is the one to go for.Drink from 2028 to 20+ years beyond. An elegant and lovely wine....

96 points, 2025-03-31

Salon Focofi Paris walkabout and dinner, so no detailed tasting notes. Had this from teo bottles, the first one was overripe and oxidative, the second better. Rich wine, feels young still.

95 points, 2022-12-05

Petrus dinner (Restaurant Sinck, Amsterdam, NL): Double decanted. It reminds me of 2012 in the sense that it has a lighter and more transparent style, floral and pure, and that it expresses its vintage with great precision, but the terroir adds a grace and charm which few wines are capable of. On the nose the tannins are ever so slightly dusty, and on the palate they provide more grip than in the 2012, they are firm and very finely grained but not drying, the texture is silky and fresh, there is a lot of power that needs more time to unfold, the finish has lovely energy and length. Lovely now, has much to gain.

97 points, 2022-11-17

6 Vintages Le Pin vs Petrus vs Lafleur vs Other Pomerol: All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story. TN: Over-extracted, a bit of heat, very ripe fruit, very extracted, slightly drying. This doesn’t warrant 90 pts but on the other hand it showed quite complex, especially on the palate with a beautiful minerality backbone. Some said this to be slightly lactic and faulty, I didn’t get that but still, no winner.

90 points, 2022-05-15

Petrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin (Fribourg): 6 vintage face-off (2006-2011) Petrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin vs alternating Pomerol pirate. The wines were served in vintage flights of 4 and not decanted. Main observations were: 1/ Le Pin knocked it out of the park coming in first in 4 out of 6 vintages while Petrus came in last with not a single vintage win (Lafleur came in best in two off-vintages, 2006 and 2008), 2/ The best overall vintage was 2009 (runner-up 2010) while 2006 came in last (scoring range 85-92), 3/ best bottle was Le Pin 2009 (99), followed by Petrus 2010 and Le Pin 2010 (98 each), 4/ best pirate was Clos L’Eglise 2009 (97). List of wines per score included in the tasting story. Tasting note:This was very extracted, still leaving you with a flavor profile of red berries, a bit of leather and mineral notes, but completely overpowering. Palate not much better, lacking harmony and wooden. Quarin thought this was brett and didn’t seem to mind that much, but the broader consensus in the room was pretty underwhelmed.

88 points, 2022-05-09

This Petrus is solid for the vintage with bright and pretty fruit. It’s full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a berry, Indian spice, and cinnamon character. Long and intense. Better than most may believe. Still needs some time but who can wait?<br />

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 94

Tasted at BI Wine & Spirits' 10-Years-On tasting, the 2007 Petrus has a sumptuous bouquet with ample mulberry, truffle and pain d'epices aromas that are beautifully defined. It just seems to gain more and more volume in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, plenty of leather-tinged red fruit, clove and black pepper, a Pomerol with quite a sturdy finish that should see it age with style. This Petrus just seems to be coming into its own now. This is excellent. Tasted February 2017.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 93

This offers pure, subtle fruit, with blackberry, sliced mushroom and blueberry notes. Full-bodied and balanced, with silky tannins, a pretty finish and just the right amount of wood. Powerful for the vintage.

Gillian Sciaretta, 92

The 2007 Petrus is certainly one of the over-performers in an otherwise mediocre vintage, although you still have to pay through the nose for a bottle. Served alongside the 2009 and 2010, it has impressive fruit concentration with a mixture of red and black fruit, those traits of black truffle and pain d’epices still evident as displayed on previous bottles. And likewise, the 2007 Petrus does respond to aeration, gaining a little weight and girth in the glass, even if it must lie in the shadow of the 2009 and 2010 (an unfair comparison in many ways). This is probably beginning to drink nicely with 11 years on the clock and should drink well for another fifteen. Tasted blind at a private dinner in Hong Kong.

Neal Martin, 92

Bright red-ruby. Scented nose offers violet, minerals, menthol, tobacco leaf and pipe tobacco. The palate displays lovely subtle intensity and inner-mouth perfume, with precise flavors of red fruits, minerals and mint expanding and rising on the firm back end. Finishes with fine-grained tannins and a light touch. With 24 hours in the recorked bottle, this showed a somewhat darker, deeper fruit quality, with the menthol and mineral notes coming to the fore. Should repay a few years in the bottle but shows the fairly soft structure characteristic of the year.

Stephen Tanzer, 92

Bold, pronounced nose. Clearly a wine that means business. It’s all the better for the terrible vintage - it shows some restraint, too much of this would be too much of a good thing. Black pepper on cherries with cognac and blood orange. Caramelised prune. Wood polish like Madeira. Long enough to luxuriate in.

95 points, 2026-07-18

Petrus night at Meyerise. Drank in 3 rounds over 2+ hours, didn't change all that much. Drank in Spiegelau Bordeaux Definition.Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour with garnet rim. Legs.Nose medium+ and at times even pronounced leaping out of the glass, with aromas of moist old earth, light chocolate, expensive cigar, black cherries, elegant blackberries, dark red cherries. Developed.On the palate, dry, high acidity, meidum alcohol (13.5%), very soft liquid silk tannins that feel comletely resolved, medium body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of light chocolate with mint, cigar, blackberries, black cherries, dark red cherries, bit of blueberry. Unfortunately medium flaccid finish.Best mouth-feel of the field, but lacking in layered complexity and the finish. Feels like drink up sooner rather than later.

93 points, 2025-05-17

Petrus dinner (Restaurant Sinck, Amsterdam, NL): Double decanted. More weight than I had expected from this vintage, ripe Merlot fruit, just a hint of green on the nose, fresh and well balanced, light structure, lighter tannins continue to provide grip, nice volume, silky, ever so slightly short on the finish, dried fruit indicates maturity. Charm without much power or weight. Completely ready.

93 points, 2022-11-17

ungt men anda en doft sa djup att det slar gnistor om det och en smak som aldrig tar slut, valdigt rent och snyggt. ett vin man garna provar igen. stort.

96 points, 2018-03-06

Wonderful mature expressive Bordeaux. Decanted 3 hours prior to a retirement dinner.This actually outshone the companion 2000 Petrus served alongside.Brilliant nose of black cherry, raspberry and spice.Everybody agreed Parker's 93 seemed too light by far.If a date, this was a 25 year old lingerie model finishing her masters in English literature.

96 points, 2017-10-28

Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London. The 2006 Petrus now seems to be evolving more slowly than the 2006 Le Pin: the fruit darker with raspberry coulis, mulberry, hints of marmalade and crushed rose petals coming forth. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, gently gripping the mouth and demonstrating admirable weight and complexity. You might almost think there was some Cabernet Franc towards the finish thanks to the subtle peppery notes coming through. It is probably ready to drink now, but the substance here suggests that it will age for another decade and continue to offer pleasure long after. Tasted January 2016.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 96

This displays green coffee bean and raspberry aromas, with a leafy undertone. Full-bodied, with refined tannins and a pretty finish. Very silky and classy. Lasts a long time on the finish.

Gillian Sciaretta, 94

A gorgeous and beautiful Pomerol showing finesse and tension that underlines the perfumes and subtlety of this great wine estate. Medium body, firm and silky textured tannins and a long, bright finish. Linear and long. Look for the complexity here.<br />

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 94

Bright medium ruby. Reticent but complex nose opened with air to display an almost roasted ripeness to the aromas of dark berries and licorice. Sweet, deep and lush, showing brooding dark berry and black cherry fruit sexed up by an exotic chocolate liqueur quality. A hugely rich but rather inscrutable wine. This was much deeper in pitch than the Trotanoy I tasted next to it, and missing that wine's ineffable mineral high notes, inner-mouth perfume and impression of harmoniousness. Is this simply too young to assess today? Time will tell.<br /> <br />

Stephen Tanzer, 93.5

Drunk next to the ‘09. For the majority at the table ‘09 was clearly superior but there is a lot to enjoy from the ‘06. Well balanced and young but fully approachable with deep black fruit and mocha. Petrus wines have so much richness and intensity of flavor that the ‘06 delivers.

95 points, 2026-03-05

2006 Bordeaux 20 years on tasting (Fribourg): Mature and advanced nose. Malty notes, tobacco and a receding fruit which is increasingly making room for more balsamic and beef juicy notes. The palate already leaning heavily towards acidity, makes you pull a grimace if you hold the sip longer than half a second. In rapid decline. The crows are already circling.

78 points, 2026-03-02

27x Bordeaux 2006: All wines tasted blind. Not decanted. A few observations: 1) 2006 is not a good vintage and, with an overall average of 86.6pts, the weakest horizontal I’ve done so far beside the 1994s. Many wines lack depth, mid palate substance and true balance, and far too many bottles already show signs of decline. 2) The Left Bank (88.8pts average) struggled with fruit and charm, with oak frequently masking a lack of substance. With proper decanting, many of the Left Bank wines would likely have shown more pleasure than they did today, as additional air could have coaxed out more fruit to soften the structural austerity. That said, this feels like a vintage to drink rather than to hold. 3) The Right Bank (average score 86.0pts) offered more fruit and sweetness. However, too many wines already appear to be over the hill, suffering from the typical 2000s Right Bank problem where excessive ripeness and extraction have rendered Merlot driven wines vulnerable to premature oxidation. 4) Overall, this tasting does not inspire confidence in the long term trajectory of the vintage, especially on the Right Bank, and even the better Left Bank wines raise questions about ultimate ageing potential. TN: Oxidative tones on nose and palate. Substance is discernible beneath but compromised. Technically alive yet no longer pleasurable.

82 points, 2026-03-01

Thanks to dad for saving this bottle for me. It’s very very smooth, seamless, dark fruit, still a slight bit of tannic bite. Initially I thought it had little to offer in terms of complexity, but after 3 hours of air it blossomed. Such a harmonious concoction of intense fruit, leather, mocha, and a luscious long finish. Started around 93 but ended up being 95-96. There’s still life ahead and it was an absolute pleasure to have drank it. Please give it plenty of air for it to fully express itself.

96 points, 2025-12-23

Dinner Maison Pavlov March 22 2023. Way too young to drink now IMHO, should be probably double decanted / let slow ox for 5-6 hrs min. Lots of fruits and lacking in smoothness IMHO.

90 points, 2023-03-22

A sleeping giant. Dark ruby in color, showing aromas of blackberry, cepe and green olive, with a hint of mineral. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and a supercaressing mouthfeel. Turns to coffee, dark chocolate and berry. Chewy yet balanced. Very, very long in the mouth. The finish is absolutely breathtaking.

Gillian Sciaretta, 100

As so often, Petrus has the ability to charm and impress, to seduce and overwhelm. This 2005, one of the greatest vintages from this great chateau, is massive and concentrated, with flavors of ripe black figs, chocolate and dark plums. Put that all together and the result is the utmost deliciousness, freshness and elegance. A major wine.

Anna Lee C. Iijima, 100

The 2005 Petrus is dazzling. Rich, ample and explosive, the 2005 possesses magnificent density from start to finish. An exotic melange of cedar, blood orange, spicebox, mint and dried flowers leads into a core of deep, concentrated fruit. All the elements meld together seamlessly in a Petrus that simply has it all. Readers fortunate enough to taste it will find a statuesque, monumental Petrus that is both powerful and refined. The 2005 continued to improve as I tasted it into the second day. It is without question one of the standout wines of 2005.

Antonio Galloni, 100

The bottle of 2005 Petrus opened at the Pomerol Comparative Exploration tasting was unfortunately corked however, I was able to re-taste the wine at a private dinner a few weeks later. It continues to be blessed with a crystalline bouquet, spell-binding purity with ebullient, vivacious red berry fruit struck through with minerals and subtle floral scents. The palate is intense but not full-bodied, quite ferrous as it has been since I first tasted it from barrel. The structure is backward and perhaps broodier, more introspective than I expected and therefore afford this behemoth a few years in bottle, maybe even around 15 years, before reaching for the corkscrew. Maybe say a little prayer that it is not corked!

Neal Martin, 98

Offering pure black cherry and blackcurrant fruit, the inky ruby/purple 2005 Petrus is still very young and unyielding, but super-concentrated, powerful, full-bodied and primordial. It is much more backward than the likes of Lafleur, Trotanoy or Hosanna. Nevertheless, it is super-rich, extracted, beautifully balanced and pure. Forget it for another 10-15 years, and drink it over the following half-century. This may well be among the longest-lived wines of 2005.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 97.5

Tasted as part of a right bank evening at hedonism wines. For me, this is an 8/10 in every category (aromas, mouthfeel, length etc.), but doesn't blow me away. There's nothing wrong with the wine at all, and maybe that is a strength in itself. If it was served blind, I wouldn't have been able to guess its price tag at all. No doubt a great bottle of wine, but putting aside its prestige and history, would I rather buy 1 bottle of this or 20 bottles of l'eglise clinet? It would be an easy choice for me.

95 points, 2026-04-09

This 2005 Petrus was bold, structured and powerful. I decanted it for 2hrs in advance; but I think one more hour would be even better. Huge tannins and alcohol concentration, also some fresh but not intrusive acidity. The floral and fresh scent of beautifully made Merlot was very noticeable, pleasant and impressive. This 2005 vintage was masculine and dense/concentrated, tasted dark chocolate and plum. Very rich and jammy in mouth, and the nose/taste lingered on forever. What a great wine!

97 points, 2025-06-06

Decanted 6 hours but needed more and another 10 years. Very apparent sitting in a flight of other 2005 left bank first growths. Big ripe dense and spicy with refined tannins and silky palate.

96 points, 2025-05-24

Wine Group Dinner #179, Harvey's Restaurant, Brisbane. 2005 Right Bank Major Growths. The 2005 Petrus remains quite backward yet vigorous decanting and time in the glass reveals a deeply coloured wine with a nose of both dark and red raspberries, blackcurrant and redcurrants with touches of truffle and jasmine. The palate reflects the same breadth of fruits wrapped up in a tight tannic structure that clearly is very fine and intense but that screams leave me alone for another 5-10 years. Impressive, pure and enjoyable yet perhaps just glimpses of its true potential.

98 points, 2020-09-30

Wine Monuments Man Chapter 2 (Berens am Kai 1 star Restaurant): Alle Leute hatten uns gewarnt, die Petrus so jung zu trinken. Sie hatten Recht. So viel Power hatte ich nicht erwartet. Den 2005er hatte Thomas schon am Vorabend dekantiert. Der 1990er wurde sechs Stunden vorher in die Karaffe gepackt. Aus diesem Grunde war es extrem schwierig, die 15 Jahre Autersunterschied zu erkennen. Diese Konzentration und "Fruchtsuße" habe ich selten bei einem Wein erlebt. Beide noch zu jung, um sie abschließend bewerten zu konnen. Anhaltspunkt, 98+ fur 2005, 97+ fur 1990. Vielleicht konnen wir es in 20 Jahren noch einmal probieren. Danke Thomas und Philipp, dass ihe diese Weine mit uns geteilt habt.

98 points, 2017-03-17

Deep medium red. Subtly complex aromas of mulberry, red cherry, toffee, caramel, iron and flowers. A bit narrow on entry, then expands in the middle palate without any loss of focus. A very firmly built, vibrant and classy 2004 with a tight mineral core and ineffable spice character. This is by far the most backward 2004 in the Moueix portfolio. Finishes with terrific aromatic persistence and subtlety. This will surely evolve in the direction of toffee and truffle and may ultimately merit an even higher rating.<br /> <br />

Stephen Tanzer, 93.5

The 2004 Petrus is not one of the strongest wines of the decade, though it remains a fine Pomerol. The bouquet does not hold back with splendid fruit concentration: floral top notes with pressed violets and shaved black truffles, traits I observed in previous bottles. The palate is gracefully moving into its secondary phase with touches of tobacco and warm gravel infusing the red fruit. However, there is a conservative element to this Petrus that opts to play it safe. You do not feel as if it will evolve into something more, which begs the question whether you should continue cellaring it? I see no harm in pulling bottles now, larger formats later.

Neal Martin, 92

The 2004 Petrus is a vintage that I had not tasted for a while and whilst it is an exemplary Pomerol, it does not rank within the top tier of wines from the iconic estate. Nevertheless, it has a wonderful, quite powerful bouquet with kirsch and crushed flowers, violets and truffle, perhaps even a seam of cinnamon in the background. The palate is gently moving into its secondary stage of evolution. The fruit is darker than the 2004 Cheval Blanc tasted (blind) alongside, fine structure, a little broody perhaps but with satisfying depth. Perhaps like the 2004 Haut-Brion, it ticks all the boxes but does not quite deliver the personality or the charm of other vintages and as such, it has never quite achieved the promise it showed from barrel. My comments are begrudging given the quality. But this is Petrus. Tasted September 2016.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 92

First timer with petrus. What a treat. Dense ,intense yet balanced , tannins are like cotton balls wrapped in high grit sand paper. They linger but aren't intrusive. They compliment the wine. Finish is strong and long. I wish I had a great vintage to try cause if this 2004 is this good what would the 82 taste like ?????? Still a young wine in my opinion. If I could go back in time I would hold it longer.

97 points, 2025-12-04

Organized a blind tasting dinner event. 7 2004 Right-Bank Bordeauxs: Angelus, Ausone, Chavel Blanc, Lafleur, Le Pin, Pavie and Petrus. Supposedly, the Petrus would stand out. But sadly it did not. Tannins and structure are there, dry and powerful. Nose and taste of wood and dark berries.

94 points, 2025-01-28

Vertical wine. Guessed initially left bank and 2005 which maybe goes to show the firm vertical structure of this wine. With air you get your tell tale chocolate-notes, there is a good acuidity here, black berries and iron. Very young indeed - but great nevertheless;2004 is underestimated.Thanks, Fritz, for generously bringing this.#lunch#H&N&Co

94 points, 2023-01-22

6 Vintages Le Pin vs Petrus vs Lafleur vs Other Pomerol: All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story. TN: I didn’t like this wine that much. On the nose and palate the wine showed not well integrated but especially with lots of oak and too much extraction. There is some substance and a good creaminess, but I can’t help but think that they tried it too hard in 2004. 88/89 pts in my book but others liked it a bit better than I do. Decanting: Maybe a long decant would have helped here.

89 points, 2022-05-15

Petrus vs. Le Pin vs. Lafleur 2004-2011, blind (Fribourg): Tertiary elements here as well, forest floor, a bit riper than the other wines in this flight. It felt sunnier, almost a bit artificially so, pushed for the vintage, the Trotanoy and Le Pin were more balanced.

94 points, 2022-05-11

Extraordinary nose of berry, chocolate and flowers. Amazing, jaw-dropping quality. Full-bodied, with supersilky, seductive tannins and a finish that lasts for minutes. Out of this world. Best after 2014. 2,000 cases made.

Gillian Sciaretta, 98

($1; 500-$2,000) Deep, healthy red-ruby color. Multidimensional aromas of mulberry, plum, smoked meat, leather and mocha are at once vibrant and slightly wild. Then sweet, densely packed and powerful, and showing little or no sign of the excesses of the vintage. This has a wonderfully tactile texture and great breadth on the back end. The tannins are sweet but firm and serious, giving the wine outstanding grip-even a touch of youthful austerity-for a 2003 from the right bank. This really coats the mouth. I'd keep my hands off this wine for at least seven or eight years.<br /> <br />

David Schildknecht, 93.5

An early September harvest in this hot year produced a 2003 that has reached full maturity. It offers notes of roasted coffee, melted chocolate, figs and black cherry jam. There are some rustic tannins in the finish, but this expansive, rich Petrus displays far more intensity and complexity than most expected given the difficulties in Pomerol in 2003. It should be consumed over the next 4-6 years.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 93

The 2003 Petrus was born in a difficult vintage for Pomerol, although its blue clay a.k.a “smectite” soils probably gave Christian Moueix and Jean-Claude Berrouet a slight advantage given its propensity to retain moisture and prevent hydric stress. That said, I would not mark it down as a top tier Petrus. After a timid opening it settles down with attractive mulberry, wild strawberry and clove scents, quite rich but not overpowering. I would argue that it is not as detailed as other vintages. The palate is very well balanced and surprisingly well defined considering the heat of that summer. Rich and opulent for Petrus (maybe the most opulent that Jean-Claude Berrouet ever made) and yet it retains a sense of symmetry and freshness on the finish that I think is unique to this Pomerol. Who says there is no such thing as terroir? Tasted in London with a Bordeaux merchant.

Neal Martin, 92

Petrus is one of those wines which is so rarely tasted properly, not as a thimble-full glass but as a bottle that is simply sat with, its evolution followed in the decanter over many hours (I think it’s particularly helpful, too, if you want to say something meaningful about a vintage so recent and so difficult as 2003). Despite having had the chance to do that, perhaps I’ve come away with more questions than answers, but at least those questions come from the ability to look at the wine from all angles.Petrus takes an age to drink and for the first hour and a half, the 2003’s nose is sullen and withdrawn though the palate offers some insight. Yet with an hour and a half of air, the nose opens to show a pretty, sappy, succulent candied red cherry and red licorice profile, complemented by a little venison and milk chocolate. The palate gives a fuller look at the vintage; this is a lush, voluptuous Petrus and despite being labeled at 13.5% ABV, the alcohol is quite conspicuous. And yet, there’s a surprising freshness to the violet-tinged fruit which comes as a surprise given the warmth found in the vintage and in the wine. I wonder what the berry weight was; this is shockingly tannic. A lingering finish - and a lingering wine, seeming to gain over the evening and indeed still fresh and articulate 18 hours after opening. If you’re looking to praise this, you’ll find something - if you’re looking to damn it, you’ll find something too. What’s sure is that it doesn’t show all of its cards in one glass. There’s something to be said for the resilience of this great terroir in an extreme year, but also something to be said of Merlot’s vulnerability to excess technical ripeness. Clearly this isn’t among the great Petruses, though it’s a very good wine and illustrates what it was like to encounter the vintage conditions with the sensibilities of that era. What has the team at Petrus learned from watching the 2003, I wonder? As alcohol levels seem to creep higher and higher for Merlot, has Petrus found a way to retain its character and equilibrium? Is heat in vintages like 2018 managed differently and more effectively than in 2003? Perhaps this was a valuable inflection point at the property, shaping attitudes and practices in the two decades which have followed - two decades in which climate extremes have become increasingly frequent. I look forward to finding out.

94 points, 2025-01-18

Served blind. Rich, creamy, generous showing plenty of fruit, classic tobacco/chocolate notes, the warm vintage is handled well, yet this falls well behind the 2004 tasted recently. Seems more or less ready, yet might benefit from more cellartime, maybe adding complexity - maybe.#IB

91 points, 2023-09-26

Bordeaux 2003, 20 Years On, 33 Reds: All wines tasted blind, not decanted (some wines would have needed it). Observations: 1) 2003 is not a good vintage. The wines don’t have the depth and elegance of good years. But I was positively surprised, that while it’s clearly a hot year, there are less overripe, over-extracted and prematurely dying wines than in 09/10. Still, there is no comparison to how Chateauxs handle hot years today. 2) Compared to five other vintage retrospectives, the 2003 came in last place (lower average score than 2011), with just Chateau Margaux reaching a group score above 95pts. 3) Margaux wines showed best, with the typical immediate charm, while St. Estephe and Pauillac have potential but will need more time (and/or would have needed more air). 4) Right bank wines did not show as good with some alcohol showing and a few wines being on a downhill path. I would not chase 2003 right banks. TN: Quite inviting ripe dark fruit nose, some herbs and minerality. Fine dark blue fruit, quite fresh, minerality. Compared to many other right banks, this showed not too much ripeness but it didn’t show much much complexity either. What I didn’t like at all is that it was a bit disjointed and drying from mid palate on. No balance here. This was one of the weakest wines of the tasting and rightly so. While CT doesn’t show much love for this wine I still hope that this was just a weak bottle. Decanting: - Group average: 88.8 ptsGroup rank: Shared 26th out of 29 reds

86 points, 2023-05-07

Grand Bordeaux 2003 horizontal tasting (Fribourg): Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.Tasting note:An overly mature aroma profile. Ripe dark cherry but without much delineation, dried leaves and earth. Un-exiting palate with heavy-handed tannin and an acidic finish, the only positive was a certain lightness to it which vaguely hinted at the grandeur that could have been there.

88 points, 2023-03-20

Decadent for sure but not overdone despite the vintage. What Petrus is about basically.

94 points, 2022-09-17

Gorgeous subtle aromas of crushed raspberries and light vanilla, with hints of spices. Medium- to full-bodied, with wonderfully seductive, silky tannins. Beautiful slinky finish. Petrus is very fine indeed in this vintage. Not overdone, all in the right place. Best after 2009. 1,665 cases made. -JS

Gillian Sciaretta, 93

Good full red. Red plum, minerals, coffee, cocoa powder and sexy oak on the nose. Densely packed and round but cool, with rich, full red fruit flavors spreading out to saturate the entire mouth. Just a hint of austerity to remind the taster of the vintage. Finishes with excellent length for 2002 and good, ripe tannins.

Stephen Tanzer, 92

The 2002 Petrus is poured from magnum but even the larger format does not quite elevate what is essentially a rather ordinary Pomerol, at least by this cru’s standards. It has a pleasant, well-defined nose that is just missing the complexity and “je ne sais quoi” of other vintages. The palate is balanced with plenty of dusky red fruit laced with cedar and tobacco, just a little tapering towards the finish with modest length. It is a perfectly decent Petrus, although it just leaves you wanting more. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at the Epure restaurant in Hong Kong.

Neal Martin, 91

Very rich and long and gorgeous. Spicy and long - really gorgeous. OK, a bit inky, but with such energy! It seems as though I somehow did not manage to taste this en primeur so this is my first tasting note on this impressive wine. No problem with excessive acidity here. <br />

Samantha Cole-Johnson, 90

A relatively strong effort for this vintage, but hardly one of the profound examples of Petrus, this wine exhibits a dark plum color and a somewhat monolithic, foursquare personality with notes of plums, black cherries, licorice, and some herbs and damp earth. Medium-bodied, muscular, and tannic, but lacking some charm and sweetness, it should age nicely for 12-15 more years and possibly be even better than my score. Readers who buy it should not even attempt opening a bottle for at least 4-5 years.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 90

This 02' Petrus was the finisher amongst 4 reds during our lunch at the Polo Bar. The 2 DRCs (Grands Echezeaux and La Tache) initiated our noses and palates beautifully. Then the 06' Le Pin kind of paved the way and preped the "switch" to Merlot varietal. Then this Petrus came, with the near-perfect balance and finesse. Decanted for 1.5hrs. Lovely floral and woody and smokey nose. On palate, it felt smooth and refined, with great balance of mid tannins and alcohol level. Hints of plum and cherry were present. Not the best vintage for a Petrus, but it kept all the unique characteristics of this fine producer. Loved it!!

94 points, 2026-03-05

2002 Bordeaux 20 years on tasting (Fribourg): 2002 Bordeaux 20 years on tasting. Key takeaways: 1/ 31 out of 32 wines were in flawless condition which indicates either luck or less bottle variation in the vintage, 2/ On average still early days with the fruit predominantly primary, 3/ solid hedonistic quality with only few laggards, but also no blow-outs, 4/ structures built on both tannin and acidity, but common mid-palate weakness, 5/ best wines were Valandrau, Palmer and a surprise underdog Lagrange (all 95), 6/ biggest disappointment was a cooked Figeac (87). More comments and full list of wines included in the tasting story. Tasting note:Black coffee, red and blue berry fruit, just hints of sous-bois and mineral notes. A juicy palate with vibrant acidity but also with mouthcoating, grippy tannin.

93 points, 2022-10-03

First Petrus, half a glass a the WFFT annual auction last night. A touch closed, it was very smooth with plum, currant, herb and leather.

93 points, 2015-04-11

AAP lunch (Jackson Room): Rich and lush. Excellent effort from an unimpressive vintage.

91 points, 2011-01-07

restrained nose, very seemless on the palate with fine tannins. a very feminine wine, subtle tobacco and plum. can't imagine this will improve much with cellaring.

91 points, 2009-07-07

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.

Antoine Petrus, 97

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 Epure restaurant in Hong Kong.

Neal Martin, 97

This is very youthful, almost like a barrel sample. Some might say it is still in a dumb stage, yet there's plenty of body and richness, with blackberry and toasted oak character, verging on coffee. Very long. A beauty.

Gillian Sciaretta, 95

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.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 95

Medium red-ruby. Very ripe but subdued nose hints at mulberry, caramel, toffee, iron and nutty oak. Very ripe, broad and deep but quite closed today; lush and full but classically dry and light on its feet. Red berry and mineral flavors coat the palate. Builds impressively on the very long, gripping finish. I would not be surprised if this very suave Petrus merited a higher score a decade down the road.<br /> <br />

Stephen Tanzer, 92.5

My 60th birthday gift for myself.A great wine that took over 3 hours in the decanter to open up.I have enjoyed many other, much better wines. But, that matters not.This bucket list item was cleared in the best of ways.

96 points, 2026-04-14

pnp still very young. The color is still deep garnet, very fruity, too fruity for my liking. There is still hint of tannin with long finishes. Lacks the balance even though the acidity is there. I think is a good time to drink now

94 points, 2024-10-19

Outstanding wine. Didn't decant but could have. The 2000 may be better but hard to understand how and for the difference in price this is your go to. Has decades to go.

98 points, 2024-08-19

Dinner with RJ (Hilton Head Island - Charlie's Coastal Bistro): Surprisingly youthful opaque color. Expressive nose displaying super concentrated black fruit, blackberry concentrate, blackberry pie, lavender, ink, a hint of licorice, dark milk chocolate, a hint of cedar, sweet spices and mineral. Exceptional concentrated, layers upon layers of perfectly ripe concentrated black fruit, rich and opulent but also silky and harmonious, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, fine tannins, and a long concentrated black fruit driven finish with dark milk chocolate at the end. I am amazed by how concentrated and youthful this wine is. Excellent wine that can definitely improve.

97 points, 2024-07-27

1.5 hours of decanting opened it up. Rich, opulent, black currant, cedar, chocolate on the nose, mocha, autumn leaves. Red berries, forest floor, tobacco, currants, wet wood on the palate, chocolaty finish. Dark, powerful yet so balanced and well-behaved. Incredibly long and velvety. I loved it.

97 points, 2023-03-14

Oh My God! (If I wanted brevity, I could have left it there, as that truly said it all.) This was the real deal. The non-stop perfume explosion reminded me of what Hendrix sounded like at Woodstock! This was thrilling! Chocolate, black raspberry, assorted fresh flowers, herbs, spices, truffles, earth, plums and black cherry could have been enjoyed from across the room. This powerful, concentrated, deep wine filled every nook and cranny of your taste receptors with endless waves of decadent, flawlessly ripe fruit. Purity, velvet, silk, balance and length are the hallmarks of this wine. If I never see it again, (Like Bogart and Bergman, who will always have Paris) I will always remember tasting that bottle. <br />

The Wine Cellar Insider, 100

Logo bouchon : un T renverse Couleur sombre et legerement evoluee. Nez fin, fruite, frais, reglisse, cremeux. Note de goudron, de fleur et de merlot sur argile. Tres belle entree en bouche ample puis le vin se developpe complexe sur une texture serree, particulierement savoureuse, aromatique et noble. Il fond au milieu et s’acheve delicat et puissant a la fois sur une tres grande longueur a la tanicite raffinee. Wouha !

Jean-Marc Quarin, 100

A prodigious Petrus, this wine has that extra level of intensity and complexity that is monumental. The magic is clearly Petrus, and the 2000 will always be an interesting vintage to compare to another legend in the making, the 1998, or more recently, of course, the 2005, 2008, and 2009. Extremely full-bodied, with great fruit purity, an unmistakable note of underbrush, black truffle, intense black cherries, licorice, and mulberry, the wine seems to show no evidence of oak whatsoever. It has a sumptuous, unctuous texture, plenty of tannin, but also vibrancy and brightness. This is a remarkable wine that seems slightly more structured and massive than the 1998, which comes across as slightly more seamless, as if it were haute couture. This wine needs at least another 5-10 years of cellaring and should age for 50+ years.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 100

While the first impression with Petrus is the wood, it is the fruit which gradually shows itself. It is extraordinary, this dense fruit, which simultaneously manages to float with elegance. There is layer after layer of fruit, sometime black, sometimes smoky, sometimes spicy. The wine is not yet totally integrated, still intensely young, with decades to go. But what a development it will be

Anna Lee C. Iijima, 98

How could this not make it to my Wines of the Year list? Tasted back in March, when I became the only journalist at what has to be the wine event of the year - the unveiling of a bottle of Petrus that had spent 438 days on the International Space Station. We compared it against the same bottle that had remained on Earth, and in the interest of actually suggesting wines you might be able to get hold of, this tasting note comes from the terrestrial version. It's a wine that feels like an occasion in itself, so nuanced and effortlessly impressive. Still young even at 21 years old, although now showcasing the waves of rose petal, violet and peony aromatics that only really come out in Petrus once it has had serious bottle age. The palate is pure velvet - blackberry, black cherry and bilberry fruits penned in by muscular but welcoming tannins, all finishing up with black pepper and a hit of spiced chocolate shavings. 50% new oak.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux, 98

HDH: Tasting the Top 2000 Vintage Bordeaux Reds (Four Seasons - Chicago IL): Walkaround tasting, all open 3-4 hours in advance and double decanted. The clear WOTN for me. Sensationally spiced with a sexy allure, this seems to bat its eyelashes at you while you taste. Great already with more to give in the future.

97 points, 2025-11-04

On opening, the 2000 Petrus shows a slightly reserved but appealing nose of mocha, espresso, mineral, and plum in a supple - almost unctuous - form on the nose, contrasting with a certain electricity which builds over the first couple of hours. Acidity balances the textures and this is pretty civilized in the mouth with regard to tannin, though a bit more time will be required for the oak to integrate fully. Followed for about 8 hours, this never really suggests greatness for today or for the future though it is enjoyable throughout. Revisited blind after about 3 hours of air amidst three other right bank 2000s, it doesn't stand out as much as I might have expected it to. Revisited the following day, the details seem a little smudged. Neck fill, perfect cork, single owner - bottle variation, perhaps, but you couldn't ask for the odds to be stacked much more in your favor.

95 points, 2025-03-24

200 Burgundy Grand Crus from vintage 2000, 4-day blind tasting (Singapore): Pirate flight and most of us called it out as Bdx. This was very Bordeaux in the best sense with oak, dark fruit, classic forest aromas, aromatic, great claret, lots of dry extract, very convincing. Top showing. 98+

98 points, 2022-09-11

Deep garnet color with brick edge, looked great for 21 years. Medium bodied, with integrated tannins and a fresh acidity. Did not decant and looking back I think decanting may have proved fruitful. As it sat out, it turned back the clock and became younger and darker by the minute. Aromas of coffee, spice box, and roses. Plentiful Blackberry and plum fruit, with tertiary forest and black tea. Lengthy finish. The tannins firmed up as it found new vigor, and I believe this wine will have a long life ahead. Highly recommended and still a special occasion wine…in this case Christmas dinner with my family.

98 points, 2021-12-19

Decadent, rich plummy fruit. Needs a lot of time, but probably merits higher score down the road.

96 points, 2019-12-19

This wine is turning out much in the style of such wonderful Petrus vintages as 1967 and 1971. Although not as outstanding as either the 1998 or 2000, it displays beautiful intensity and finesse in a more evolved style than one normally expects from this estate. The wine has a dense, nearly opaque ruby/purple color, sweet black cherry, mulberry, truffle-infused fruit, full body, low acidity, admirable purity, and sweet tannin. It should be ready to drink in 5-6 years, and will last for two decades. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030. Only 2,400 cases were produced.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 94

The 1999 Petrus was made by Jean-Claude Berrouet (his son Olivier was training at Haut-Brion at the time) and harvest was in early September. This has the best aromatics of any Pomerol that I have tasted alongside Lafleur, featuring lovely red berry fruit and black truffle, almost Burgundian in style and beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with plenty of freshness and definition, touches of black truffle and sage infusing the red fruit. Perhaps the limitations of the growing season impinge upon the finish, which feels a little conservative in style, but this still ranks among the better Pomerols of the vintage. “Fine and delicate,” Oliver Berrouet remarked during the tasting, and I concur. Tasted from an ex-chateau bottle at the estate.

Neal Martin, 92

Full ruby-red. Cool, brooding aromas of blackberry liqueur, violet, smoke and minerals. Concentrated, densely packed, minerally and precise; brisk acids contribute to the impression of coolness. Firm, youthfully austere finish. Not as lush or open today as the Lafleur, but this is longer on the aftertaste. I'm not sure I would have picked this blind as a '99.

Stephen Tanzer, 92

A pretty, fruity red with beautiful tobacco, berry and cedar. Medium-bodied, with good soft tannins and a pretty finish.--Petrus non-blind vertical.

Gillian Sciaretta, 90

Extrem elegant mit seidigen Taninen, viel reifer als erwartet, schone Tertiararomen

96 points, 2025-10-02

Tour de France Dinner for Hans (Chef Huang, NYC): It doesn’t shout. You expect it to, with the pedigree, the price, the pressure, but it doesn’t. It just... is. The nose rises gently with warm plum skin, damp mahogany, and the kind of earthy sweetness that smells more like memory than fruit. Nothing out of place, nothing trying too hard. The palate is where it gets strange, not strange in flavor, but strange in how completely it avoids the normal architecture of a wine. There’s no tension-and-release, no buildup to a finish. It’s just seamless. Glossy. The tannins are more like a mood than a texture. There’s presence but no weight. It's easy to mistake that for underwhelming, until you realize how long you’ve been holding the glass, not drinking, just thinking. It’s not a wine that seeks to impress you. It’s a wine that already knows it doesn’t have to.

95 points, 2025-05-01

Nose: raspberry jam, dark fruits, nuts, hints of spices, hints of mint Notes: 13.5% ABV. Upon opening the wine displayed an incredible jammy nose with plenty of fruits. The aftertaste is quite flavorful with a long finish. Needless to say more breathing time will be required to bring out the true potential of this wine but we all finished it too quickly. One thing I noticed about this bottle/vintage is the fact that it's quite ripe and very fruit forward, as a result I do feel that more cellaring is required. Drink: 2030+Rating: 91

91 points, 2025-04-08

Deep garnet and clear in colour. Pronounced nose with red fruits, violet, flora, toast, spices, vanilla. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin.The wine is of outstanding quality. It has pronounced intensity from the tertiary notes and complexity on the palate. Long finish. Decanted 4 hours. Bottle condition is pristine. The wine is suitable for drinking now and it has many years of prime drinking window ahead.

100 points, 2024-08-20

Drank at 67A full deep palate still fresh and strong. Could be mistaken for a Paulliac

94 points, 2024-04-15

Stunning. So deep and characterful yet refined and subtle. It shows aromas of wet earth, mushrooms and dark fruits. Dry black olives come out as well. Full body, firm tannins and bright acidity. Very fresh and just opening up now. Walnut and chocolate character. So youthful. Decant two or three hours before serving.

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 100

Richly scented like you wouldn't believe; earthy truffle, black olive and rosemary fill the glass and don’t let up right through the palate, providing waves of first aroma then flavour. The vintage plays to all of Petrus’ strengths; a classic Merlot year that here combines velvety soft-edged tannins, caressing and cushioning the abundant black cherry, blackberry and bilberry fruit. Traces of campfire, mocha and liquorice are shot through every mouthful, and this is just so good. A small yield meant just 2,400 cases [of 12].

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Pierre Mansour, 100

The greatest wine produced at this estate since the formidable duo of 1989 and 1990 is the 1998 Petrus, a magical bottle that is a lot more complex and expressive today than was the case only a handful of years ago. Bursting with aromas of dark berries, pencil shavings, violets, licorice and black truffle, it's full-bodied, rich and seamless, with incredible depth at the core, beautifully refined tannins and a long, resonant finish. Even though this is probably the richest, most textural wine of the vintage, the 1998 isn't quite as broad and concentrated as the 1989, but if anything, it's even more precise and delineated.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 100

Green olives and blackberry jam, with hints of vanilla and Indian spices. Some dark chocolate too. Complex nose. Very full-bodied, with dense, dark fruits and a licorice undertone, yet the huge tannin structure is polished and almost seamless. A massive and powerful wine, yet balanced and refined. Fantastic.

Gillian Sciaretta, 99

The 1998 Petrus never fails to deliver. This is a fabulous example that confirms it is a true tour de force. It has a compelling bouquet with mineral-rich black and red fruit with unerring purity. In this bottle, I notice a hint of hickory not observed previously. The palate is medium-bodied with silky smooth tannins, perfect acidity and a sense of tension that counterbalances the sheer power and ambition of this, the best Bordeaux of the vintage bar none. I was not quite moved to give this a perfect three-figure score, but it flirts with perfection. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at Hide restaurant in London and at Epure restaurant in Hong Kong.

Neal Martin, 99

Could this be a candidate for perfection with more aging? Why not? There is so much to like here; it is hard not to be captivated by its intensity, purity, depth, opulence, and velvet-textured tannins. The non-stop layers of perfectly ripe, black plums and cherries with loads of chocolate to finish, let you know, this is a very special wine. Drink from 2026-2060.

99 points, 2026-01-07

Plummy nose with dried prunes and ripe figs. Old leather, earthy spices and seasoned cedar wood complete the impression. Palate echoed the nose. Medium-bodied. Tannins are still prominent with the aromatics taking a back seat for now. Finish is clean but chewy. Need more time for the tannins to fully integrate into the structure if the fruits hold.

94 points, 2024-01-06

Slightly tighter than recent bottles. Nonetheless similarly plush, sensuous, balanced.

96 points, 2023-09-09

It is out of my price range, but if you have the coin or friends with the bank, if you are seeking a Petrus with some age that is really hitting all the right notes, 1998 is the wine to buy. The wine is loaded from start to finish with chocolate-coated cherries, truffles, flowers, plums, smoke, touches of blue fruits, and a mild touch of menthol. Full-bodied, rich, opulent, silky, and fresh, the wine is polished, refined, intense, and palate-coating with purity and length. Drink from 2023-2050.

99 points, 2023-09-01

Clean, black fruit aromatics with polished palate veering toward red fruit. Give it more time though.

98 points, 2023-05-23

This is a forgotten Petrus. Good dark color, with lovely plum and light raspberry aromas. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a fresh, fruity finish. A beauty. Fresh and long. Slightly better than when I tasted it a few years back.

Gillian Sciaretta, 92

Deep red-ruby. Cherry, redcurrant, raspberry, toffee, minerals and iron filings on the nose. Opulent and deep, with a silky, mouthfilling texture and lovely caramel sweetness. Boasts outstanding length for the vintage. Suave and harmonious.

Stephen Tanzer, 91.5

The backward 1997 (2,300 cases produced) needs 3-4 years of cellaring. The dense plum/ruby/purple color is accompanied by a closed bouquet of mocha, dried tomato skin, and black fruits. In the mouth, it is one of the most muscular 1997s, exhibiting outstanding concentration, length, intensity, and depth, copious tannin, and a fine mouth-feel. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 91

Opened at Whale. P&P and enjoyed. Ex-Chateau. Probably a mistake to spontaneously open this without breathing beforehand, but it was one of those days. I really enjoyed this though - Petrus, but with perfect condition and just a bit of air to blow off some initial reduction, this was drinking really beautifully. Petrus in a good drinking window is characterised by a lovely balance, and this was no exception. This had a nice spectrum of fruit, good acidity in the background and a wonderful velvety mouthfeel going down that just made everyone wanting more. Really fun to share with friends and onto the next!

94 points, 2026-04-03

Opened at Whale in HK. P&P and enjoyed. Ex-Chateau.With this bottle, the evening became a ridiculous spontaneous mini Petrus vertical. Amazing condition bottle and luckily drinking at Peak, but unfortunately this bottle couldn't escape the weakness of the vintage, and was definitely not on the same level as the '93 enjoyed next to it. Still, a great bottle of Bordeaux and always a treat, and was very happy to share this with P & S!

93 points, 2025-05-21

This still would benefit from a decant. First time with Petrus. Exceptionally complex and regal with a long finish. Hard to believe this is from an average vintage. This is in or near its prime with a couple decades left. This was better then the 88 Haut Brion. Thanks FFTJR for this treat.

94 points, 2022-10-27

Classic Bordeaux on the nose. Slight pencil led, forrest floor and stewed dark and red fruit. On the palate it was inviting and fruit driven. However kind of one note. Very mature with fall leaves, tobacco and dark fruit. I really felt that it lacked some structure and backbone. A very soft wine with little to offer in the aftertaste. I really expected something more vibrant and fresh. But instead got something kinda dull. It’t hard not to be disappointed given the price. Bad vintage? Bad bottle? Who knows. The bottle might have been stored badly.

86 points, 2021-10-10

Cubs Playoff Wines (Lake Forest, IL): This was popped and poured. Initially, seemed good, but lighter in style and a bit herbaceous. However, this gained serous weight in short order and blackberry/black cherry really developed well. Quite impressive and special with more time. In the end, this turned out to be very good with the last glass simply delicious showing nice complexity and little to no herbaceous qualities. A wild ride.

94 points, 2017-10-09

Wild aromas of crushed fruit, forest flower and wild mushrooms. Full-bodied, with incredibly velvety tannins that go on and on. Lovely and exciting fruit. Gorgeous, seductive wine. Hard to resist now. Better than I remember.

Gillian Sciaretta, 94

Healthy red-ruby. Red fruit, espresso, iron, tobacco, brown spices and exotic oak scents on the nose. Round and silky in the mouth, but supported by solid structure. Already shows lovely perfume in the mouth. Compared to the softer '97, this has more penetration and grip. Finishes spicy, firm and quite long.

Stephen Tanzer, 92.5

Proprietor Christian Moueix's 1996s have turned out well in the bottle. The 1996 Petrus is a big, monolithic, foursquare wine with an impressively opaque purple color, and sweet berry fruit intermixed with earth, pain grille, and coffee scents. Full-bodied and muscular, with high levels of tannin, and a backward style, this wine (less than 50% of the production was bottled as Petrus) will require patience. It is a mammoth example. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2035

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 92

Tasted at Acker event, unable to record my tasting notes. Recorded only wine rating based on my preference.

96 points, 2025-10-23

Wow, really great wine. Only problem is that my wife thought the same and said “I like this, can you order a case please?”

95 points, 2024-08-09

Nose: wet earth, violet, black fruits, hints of red fruits, nutty, cedar, leather Notes: what Petrus is able to achieve is equipping all the attributes of a full bodied wine and packing it into a medium bodied wine yet maintaining the balance required for a nice smooth wine. Although I must confess Petrus has never been the most preferred style for me but this 1996 shows a good mix of earthy/leathery notes and floral notes . This is still very young and will take at least another 10 years to integrate. Had 3 bottles tonight with consistent notes, I wish I had more time to breathe the wine the result might have been different. Drink: 2033+Rating: 91

91 points, 2023-12-31

From Imperial I found this wine very impressive. Great combination of a well calibrated and good quality fruit core with very attractive secondary notes.

97 points, 2022-05-08

Been holding on to this wine for years to have on a special occasion. Beautiful ruby in colour. Notes of red fruit and floral. Very elegant tannins. Great wine, would I pay this again, probably not. Maybe my palate is not refined enough.

93 points, 2022-01-01

This is like a genie in the bottle. Fascinating yet subtle aromas of blackberry, minerals, fresh flowers and Spanish cedar. Full-bodied, with wonderful layers of ultrafine tannins. It coats your mouth and tantalizes your palate. A gorgeous thing all around.--'95/'96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2010. 3,200 cases made. -JS

Gillian Sciaretta, 97

The 1995 Petrus is one of the finest vintages of the decade, a silver medal behind the brilliant 1998. This bottle might well constitute the best that I have encountered. It has a beautiful, focused nose with hints of game and humidor infusing the black fruit. With aeration more red fruit becomes evident, allied with a touch of roasted chestnut. The palate is supremely well balanced, slightly gamey and with impressive grip. There is a bit of chutzpah about this Petrus, the way in which it fans out towards the finish. You could broach bottles now, although this example suggests that it is going to be very interesting to follow over the next 20 years. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at Hide restaurant in London.

David Schildknecht, 97

It is interesting how this wine continues to evolve. Unquestionably one of the vintage's superstars, the 1995 Petrus is taking on a personality similar to the extraordinarily backward, muscular 1975. This is not a Petrus that can be approached in its youth (i.e., the perfect duo of 1989 and 1990). The wine exhibits an opaque ruby/purple color, followed by a knock-out nose of pain grille, jammy black fruits, and roasted coffee. On the palate, it possesses teeth-staining extract levels, massive body, and rich, sweet black fruits buttressed by powerful, noticeable tannin. A formidably endowed wine with layers of extract, this is a huge, tannic, monstrous-sized Petrus that will require a minimum of 10 years of cellaring. Forget all the nonsense about Merlot producing sweet, soft, ready to drink wines, because low yielding, old Merlot vines made in the way of Petrus and other top Pomerols frequently possess as much aging potential as any great Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine in the world. Look for the 1995 Petrus to last for 50+ years. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2050.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 96

Very full and heavy and rich. Extremely rich actually. Almost porty, surely Petrus - but with heavy new oak influence apparent. Very jagged. Animal. Still quite raw. Lots of alcohol.<br />

Samantha Cole-Johnson, 87.5

28x Bordeaux 1995: All wines tasted blind. Not decanted. A few observations: 1) 1995 proved to be a highly disappointing vintage in this lineup, defined by structural severity rather than harmony. The overall average came in at a meagre 85.7pts. 2) The Right Bank was particularly brutal, with coarse tannins, sharp acidity and drying finishes dominating many wines. Fruit was often present in theory but rarely sufficient to create balance. 3) The Left Bank fared only marginally better. While generally less aggressively coarse, many wines were thin and watery on the mid palate, lacking depth and charm. 4) The central issue across both banks is balance. Even where fruit exists, it is frequently overwhelmed by structure, raising doubts about whether enough core material will remain once the tannins finally resolve. 5) Maybe decanting some wines might have helped here and there (not possible in this setting). TN: Muted and slightly green on the nose. The palate is marked by green notes, coarse tannins and imbalance. Little fruit expression. Disappointing

85 points, 2026-04-26

What an absolute banger. Popped and poured, this was a bit coiled on the palate initially. Cool blue fruit tones with some exotic berry notes, relaxed oak and some skin tannin remaining. What a beautiful wine at a lovely place in its evolution. I know that Petrus takes some flak for its QPR, but it’s at least the best right bank 95, or maybe 95 BDX in general that I’ve tasted. Fabulous bottle.

97 points, 2026-03-28

1995 Bordeaux Summit (Restaurant Schutzenhaus, Ludwigsburg): Glass: Spiegelau Definition BordeauxTasted blind. Bottle opened and double decanted a couple of hours before tasting.It was so nice to put this Icon wine into perspective of its Premier Cru cousins and to demystify it a bit.Clear, deep ruby-garnet color. Fine, elegant, deep and spicy nose, still very young.On the palate a gigantic step up from the Lafleur-Petrus. Changing in the glass, gaining complexity with every minute. Even the double decant might have not been enough. Weightless power, quite elegant, precise with a very good structure and texture. Long, lingering finish. Young. Clear upside potential, but for me not "great" in the sense of 95+. 94+Anyway, thanks to our generous host for this experience.

94 points, 2025-12-13

1995 Bordeaux 30 years on tasting.: Leathery aroma profile with green vegetal notes reminding me of fresh asparagus salad. The bouquet exudes a type of aging notes that feel slightly tiring. Dry tobacco and just a hint of fruit. The palate is unusually balanced for the vintage, even though the markets for both the acidity and tannin are not ideal, they keep each other in check from attack to mid-palate. A bit of fruit still left that breaths in some life. Unfavorably tannic finish, however, with leathery aftertaste.

88 points, 2025-12-01

Opened at Inda Bar in Geneve. Slow-oxed for several hours before enjoying. Ex-Chateau bottle. For me, this was somewhere in between the surprisingly gorgeous 1993 that I had a few months ago, and the 1997 enjoyed at the same time. Still had freshness and fruit coming through, though the palate was showing mature Bordeaux complexity with earthiness, truffles, hints of sous-bois, tea leaves etc. and drinking really well at this point in time. That being said, this doesn't strike me as a Petrus for the long haul, and I would encourage opening these sooner than later lest they become too tertiary. Thanks to T for sharing!

94 points, 2025-10-16

Saturated ruby-red. Brilliant nose features kirsch, dark berries, and iron scents, with an overlay of perfumed, spicy oak. Lush, sweet and fragrant in the mouth, with a sappy freshness; clearly made from low yields. Finishes with toothcoating but suave tannins and remarkable persistence; stains the palate with spicy bitter cherry and citric skin flavor. As with the '94, clearly the best wine in the Moueix portfolio on this day.<br /> <br />

Stephen Tanzer, 94.5

Saturated ruby-red. Brilliant nose features kirsch, dark berries, and iron scents, with an overlay of perfumed, spicy oak. Lush, sweet and fragrant in the mouth, with a sappy freshness; clearly made from low yields. Finishes with toothcoating but suave tannins and remarkable persistence; stains the palate with spicy bitter cherry and citric skin flavor. As with the '94, clearly the best wine in the Moueix portfolio on this day.

David Schildknecht, 94.5

Wonderfully rich and concentrated, with milk chocolate, berry and floral aromas, loads of fruit flavors and soft, round tannins. Full-bodied and has good length. A great wine for the vintage, but then, what do you expect from Petrus?

Gillian Sciaretta, 93

After several uninspiring efforts between 1978 and 1988, it is irrefutable that Christian Moueix and his flagship estate, Petrus, have rebounded with a vengeance, producing a bevy of extraordinary wines, even in rain-plagued vintages such as 1992 and 1993. Opaque purple/black in color, with a sweet vanilla, pain grillee, jammy cherry and cassis-scented nose, this full-bodied, densely packed wine reveals layers of flavor, and an inner-core of sweetness with huge quantities of glycerin and depth. A tannic, classic style of Petrus, with immense body, great purity, and a backward finish, this wine requires a decade of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2035.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 93

My first Petrus, have collected for some time but never tried. Very well balanced, really enjoyed it lived up to my expectations.

97 points, 2026-06-19

The battle of the ‘94s - with Chris, John, Justine, Marc and Liz (Colonial Court, Ngaio, Wellington, New Zealand): Drunk next to the 1994 Harlan Estate (this dinner was named the “Battle of the ‘94s”), I was expecting the Petra’s to be totally outclassed by the Napa wine from a great vintage. And while the Harlan is unquestionably the better wine, the Petrus was absolutely outstanding in its expression of place and vintage. Yes, it has cool climate elements, but the terroir really shows through, highlighting the red plum skin, earth, leather, but also a herbaceous not that marries extraordinary well with the oak elevage. It is a wine that absolutely transcends its vintage, and age 31, still feels like it has a lot to give. It absolutely has transformed into an intellectual wine that also delivers great pleasure. Slightly angular, and very tannic, the savoury nature of this wine really draws one in.

93 points, 2025-05-22

Bordeaux 1994 horizontal tasting (Fribourg): Part of a Bordeaux 1994 vintage horizontal. A tannic vintage with often unripe tannins and insufficient fruit. Right bank already in steep decline while left bank manages more alive, but little to offer. Snippets and takeaways in the tasting story. Tasting note:Mature nose that starts to feel tiring. Limited fruit even if fresher herbs keep this alive. Not sure if there’s already minor Maggi notes or just minor off-notes - but in any case they will arrive soon. Moving on to the palate, there were clear Maggi notes present, ultra-drying, disintegrated tannin, disintegrated and no mid-palate. Uff.

84 points, 2024-10-28

From magnum this shows very well and seems just about to hit maturity pkatform. Deep.

95 points, 2024-09-16

From half bottle. Tasted double blind. I really loved the superb minerality core here, that was the highlight. But there was still enough fresh fruit to create a beautiful balance. When revealed, I was surprised to see the 1994 vintage (and we were even discussing if this was Bordeaux at all). It might not be the most complex wine but a true success given the rather weak vintage. And in this half bottle it aged certainly a bit faster and adding one or the other additionally aroma layer which made it a great experience. 95pts in my book. TN: Intense chalky minerality and dark fruits on the nose. On the palate a beautiful fresh and pure dark fruit core but a more dominating slate and chalk minerality core, some tobacco and malty notes, and hints of intriguing floral aromas. The wine is very well-rounded and harmonious, quite long and without much hard edges.

95 points, 2023-04-22

A truly classic Petrus and comparable to the '88, '86 and '82. Showy and impressive with excellent use of new oak. It delivers loads of toasty coconut and chocolate flavors balanced by plum and blackberry notes. Incredible concentration for the vintage. Supple, long finish. Try after 2000. -

Gillian Sciaretta, 95

After several uninspiring efforts between 1978 and 1988, it is irrefutable that Christian Moueix and his flagship estate, Petrus, have rebounded with a vengeance, producing a bevy of extraordinary wines, even in rain-plagued vintages such as 1992 and 1993. A candidate for the most concentrated wine of the vintage, this 1993 exhibits a saturated purple/plum color, and a sweet nose of black fruits, Asian spices, and vanilla. Huge and formidably rich, this powerful, dense, super-pure wine is a tour de force in winemaking. For a vintage not known for wines of this immense richness and length, this brawny, splendidly endowed Petrus possesses low acidity and high tannin, suggesting that 8-10 years of cellaring are required. This should be a 30-year wine, as well as the vintage's longest-lived effort. Very impressive!

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 92

Opened at Troisgros. Decanted and enjoyed.This could have used a bit more air, but was drinking beautifully and shows that this is an underrated Petrus if you can find a good condition bottle. There's power and structure here, but also a softness and suppleness that you can't find in other Bordeaux, which just make this such an elegant wine and is the hallmark of Petrus for me. Assuming good provenance, these will easily keep ageing for another decade without losing freshness or declining. Really enjoyable to have this with friends, and already looking forward to the next one!

94 points, 2026-05-16

Opened at Whale in HK. P&P and enjoyed slowly. Ex-Chateau.Perhaps not quite as good as the previous bottle I had a few weeks before, but still performing excellently and super enjoyable. These ex-Chateau bottles are in their prime at the moment, and showing beautifully. Lovely combination of red, dark and blue fruits on the nose, some violet coming through, still lots of concentration and power but also quite loose and going down silkily. If these were not ex-Chateau, I'd be hesitant, but these really are in epic condition and showing so well right now. A real joy to share with K - his first Petrus as a right bank lover - and can't wait for the next one!

94 points, 2025-06-21

Opened at Whale in HK. P&P and enjoyed. Ex-Chateau.This was absolutely stunning, and beyond my expectations given the relatively weak vintage. Absolutely pristine bottle and drinking completely at peak: still fresh and vibrant, with bright fruit coming through, whilst also being resolved and showing off gorgeous Bordeaux earthiness. Epic and already looking forward to the next one. Great to share with P & S!

95 points, 2025-05-21

(C) Excellent fill level and colourPNP - The nose was delicate and intriguing, showing graphite, spices, blackberry and forest floor. It was surprisingly bright and juicy on the palate with fresh fruit and integrated tannins. After about 1 hour in the bottle, it gained weight and became a bit brooding with more graphite flavour on the palate. The nose was more interesting at this point displaying complex notes of blueberries, raspberries and savoury spices.3 hours later, the wine became more integrated and vibrant on the palate with a savoury mid palate and a grainy finish. It paired extremely well with the short ribs.

93 points, 2023-05-03

not blind, together with 1993Today the 89 didn't perform as it could be. I preferred the 1993.Missing length and concentration. The 1993 was more accessible and with more fruit and density. 96

96 points, 2023-01-22

The 1992 Petrus is clearly one of the two candidates for the wine of the vintage. The normal production of 4,500 cases was severely reduced to only 2,600 cases, resulting in an atypically concentrated, powerful, rich wine with a dark, saturated ruby/purple color, a tight but promising nose of sweet black-cherry fruit, vanillin, caramel, and herb-tinged mocha notes. Concentrated and powerful, with superb density of fruit and richness, as well as wonderful sweetness to its tannin, this is a brilliant effort for the vintage. The wine requires 3-5 years of cellaring and should keep for 15-20+.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 90

This is one of a very few wines that I posted notes for that did not come from my cellar. Generously shared with us by GP and JP at George. This bottle showed extremely well. Medium to deep garnet. Nose of red and black fruit buffeted by earthy forest and milk chocolate notes. Palate moderately intense and balanced, with fine soft tannins giving it structure. Elegance and finesse exemplified. Long finish. Still years left but not sure it will improve.

94 points, 2025-06-17

The nose is earthy, with loads of mint, cedar, tobacco, smoke, pepper, leafy herbs, and spicy plums. Medium-bodied, rustic, chalky cherries, cocoa, and dust is what you find in the finish. Considering the vintage, this is much better than expected. Drink from 2024-2030.

90 points, 2024-02-26

J'ouvre mon Petrus 1992 pour feter mes 30 ans !Rouge brique, nez tres fin sur les petits fruits rouges, encore assez primaire mais tout en delicatesse. le nez et la bouche me fait penser au Mouton 1990 qui etait lui aussi assez bourguignon. En bouche les tannins sont presents mais tres precis, c'est aussi sur les fruits rouges, acidite moyenne, longue finale bien fraiche. Un excellent vin peu bordelais au style mais delicieux. Ca vaut definitivement pas le prix sur le marche actuel mais je suis choyer d'avoir eu la chance d'y gouter !

93 points, 2022-06-15

Very light in color and in concentration. Texturally, the wine was soft, refined and the red fruits were still fresh. But there was not a lot left in the tank here.

89 points, 2020-09-18

Very pretty, nice resolved animalistic character, slightly thin but superbly clear. 94

94 points, 2020-03-07

The 1990 Petrus remains incredibly young, one of the least evolved wines of the vintage (along with Montrose and Beausejour-Duffau). This dense ruby/purple-colored effort is beginning to hint at the massive richness and full-bodied intensity lurking beneath its wall of tannin. The vintage’s sweetness, low acidity, and velvety tannins are present in abundance, and the wine is massive in the mouth as well as incredibly pure and well-delineated. I thought it would be drinkable by now, but it appears another 5-10 years will pass before it begins to reach its plateau of maturity. This wine is capable of lasting at least four more decades. An incredible achievement! Release price: ($5000.00/case)

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 100

This is a legendary Petrus that I have scored 100 points in the past. Today, it’s still showing its greatness with aromas of dark fruit, black olives, hot stones and wet concrete. It’s full-to medium-bodied and shows medium, velvety tannins that give the wine backbone and composure. It’s always changing in the glass, giving fruit and earth undertones all the while. A vibrant and vivid wine that talks to you.<br />

Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas, 99

That hasn't changed. A classy wine that's almost as great as the awesome '89. Expressive and sophisticated, with wonderful ripe fruit and vanilla aromas. The palate is extremely silky with superb flavor concentration. It's very muscular but refined and toned. Still too young to open.

Gillian Sciaretta, 98

The 1990 Petrus has a beautifully defined nose with potent red fruit aromas. To use a phrase employed in my previous note five years ago, this is "sensual and warm," once again, that eucalyptus tincture identified prior to the wine being revealed. The palate is velvety in texture and impressive in depth, with a little VA that gives this Pomerol lift. Extravagant but never brash, this is a glorious wine that you cannot help but love. Tasted blind at dinner in Pauillac.

Neal Martin, 97

Bright crimson. Surprisingly light nose when just decanted with a hint of putty. Something like woodsmoke ashes. Big, sweet and mouthfilling. Almost tarry. Much bigger and bolder than any other 1990. Massive constitution but some slightly dry tannins on the finish. A little bit more like an assault than a caress (compared to the Cheval Blanc 1990). Should be one of the longest living 1990s.

Samantha Cole-Johnson, 92.5

Opened at Forum in HK. Decanted for 2h before enjoying.I was skeptical at first whether this would need decanting, but chose to do so at the recommendation of the sommelier upon opening, and trusting that Petrus would have the concentration to hold up. Thankfully, this turned out to be a completely correct decision.This wine has an ageless quality: there's a freshness, vibrancy and wonderful intensity of fruit across the whole spectrum that makes it seem like it could age forever. Even though the wine is open for business and the tannins are resolved, it is youthful yet composed and everything is in balance, anchored by a precise acidity that hides itself well behind all the fruit and textural complexity. Absolutely gorgeous and the hype is very much real here - even if it may not be the case in some other (weaker) vintages. Undoubtedly one of the best Bordeauxs that I've ever had, and a pleasure to share with friends. In a prime drinking window now but could easily last another decade without moving much. Onto the next!

98 points, 2026-02-28

Top three wines of my life: absolutely incredible. It had depth, richness, impeccable balance, round tannins, rich dark fruit, and a finish that lasted for what seemed like an eternity. Simply flawless.

98 points, 2026-02-11

Tried this blind on a close friend's challenge. Impressive. Loads of black fruit, spice, and cedar on the nose. Full, rich palate, ripe tannins, great balance, and a long, lingering finish. Really shows the vintage. Super elegant wine

95 points, 2025-09-22

Great showing tonight. It had the regalness of this crown jewel. The length was simply relentless with great vibrancy and complexity. The voluptuous 90 Petrus outperformed the more restrained 89 Petrus tonight.

97 points, 2025-06-19

Needs more time. Decanted for 2 hours, and drank over another 2 hours. The last sip was the best. Don't think we did it justice, put away for another 10 years and it will rival the 71

97 points, 2025-03-21

I have always loved this wine. It's a giant, yet also sophisticated and reserved. Still dark-ruby colored, with beautiful aromas of fruits and spices. Full-bodied, with opulent fruit and a depth of flavor that lasts for minutes on the palate. Loads of tobacco and fruit.

Gillian Sciaretta, 100

The 1989 Petrus is consistent with previous bottles in the sense that it represents the apotheosis of not only the vineyard, but of Pomerol itself. It still provides that almost surreal cornucopia of aromas, red fruit melted with tar, tobacco, hints of camphor and ash, all delivered with astonishing precision. The palate is perfectly balanced, intense yet paradoxically weightless. This example is one of the finest I have encountered in terms of clarity and precision. Ethereal. If you want to taste a genuine 100-point wine then step this way. Magnificent! Tasted at the Petrus dinner at Hide restaurant in London and at Epure restaurant in Hong Kong.

Neal Martin, 100

How reassuring it is to see this wine, now the darling of international speculators, trophy hunters, et. al. perform so splendidly. My experience with young vintages of Petrus, particularly in the eighties, is that the wines often did not live up to their pre-bottling quality. That has not been the case with the 1989 and 1990. Both wines have consistently provided exhilarating tasting on the few times I have been able to take a look at them. I initially thought the 1990 may have been marginally superior to the 1989, but at present it is a dead heat. Both are enormously jammy, rich, super-concentrated wines that signal a return to the great Petrus of the pre-1976 era. The tannin is well-integrated, but the enormous texture, thickness, and impeccable balance are what make these wines so provocative. The 1989 is more backward and tannic, thus coming across as marginally more structured than the opulent and flashy 1990. Both wines are phenomenally rich and well-endowed, with that sweet inner-core of fruit that possesses layers of intensity. The colors are nearly opaque purple, and the noses are similar, with offerings of jammy black fruits, intertwined with scents of tea, overripe cherries, oranges, and an exotic coconut/caramel component. Both are massive and youthful, with the 1990 clearly more precocious, and for now, the most flattering to drink. The 1989 should hit its peak around 2005 and last for 25-30 years. For readers with the riches of a super-star athlete and, just as importantly, a shrewd wine broker who can locate these wines, these two vintages of Petrus will provide memorable drinking for another three decades. Two prodigious wines!

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 100

Koch bottle from auction. 3 hour decant.Literally the perfect Bordeaux wine. Not one thing I would change.Ideal color, nose, balance, acidity, tannins, fruit and finish. Two minute kaleidascopic finish.Nutz.

100 points, 2026-06-21

Decanted. Perfect harmony of cacao and leather. Soft with strength in disguise. 98+

98 points, 2026-04-18

Everything this wine could be it was. Out performed and outlasted every other wine on the table.

98 points, 2026-02-26

A brilliant example and WOTD for most of the group. Beautiful ruby, tuile edge. Extremely tight and clenched on both nose and palate when first opened but fortunately soon flourished in the cool Florida winter air. Blue, black and red berries. Firm structure, almost Medocain. Clean pure long finish. It lost its magic after about an hour in the glass but is easily resuscitated with a repeat pour from the decanter. A dream mature Bordeaux.

97 points, 2026-02-05

G-Max, Rayas, and the Silk of '89 (Private Residence, NYC): This isn't wine; it’s a custom-tailored tuxedo in a bottle. Most Petrus bottles act like they’re too good for you, but this '89 was finally ready to party. It’s pure silk and liquid velvet. It’s elegant, polished, and so refined that I felt like I should have checked my bank balance before every sip.

97 points, 2026-01-30

Subtle yet rich aromas of grilled meat, black olive and dark red fruits. Full-bodied, very soft and silky, with ultrarefined tannins. The finish lasts for minutes. The quality of the tannins is beautiful and the complexity of fruit, earth and spices is impressive. Drinking this is like listening to Mozart.

Gillian Sciaretta, 95

The 1988 Petrus is reassuringly outstanding, but it is not a prodigious Petrus. The healthy dark ruby/purple color is followed by a young, backward wine with high tannin levels, medium body, and an inner-core of sweet, ripe fruit. It needs another 7-10 years of cellaring.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 91

Served blind and certainly a classic Bordeaux-wine; one should have guessed 1988, the year of the know-it-alls. Vertical, smooth, perfectly mature, primary fruit still, chalky notes. No hurry whatsoever.#DetLyserødeHus#PrebenE

94 points, 2026-06-15

I opened the bottle and did not decanter it. I’ve come to the conclusion that with old wine, you get a chance to see the wine real character, the success or failure of the winemaker to have used their knowledge, talent and foresight to predicted what they needed to do to with the fruit all those years ago and make a great wine that will last over 20 years in the bottle let alone 35 years. Experience, good fortune that I’ve been able to have a great cellar and loving wine, that I over the years developed a routine of opening wines, pour it into a glass and spend the next 30 minutes or so, just swirling it around in the glass. With this method, excluding badly corked wines, the journey you go on with just nosing the wine very quickly tells you, this is going to open slowly (sign that it’s a great wine) or starts to fade in the glass very quickly - just drink because the palette will do the same.Well the 1988 Petrus didn’t fade, it’s grew in the glass, first a hint of dusty powder, then as we swirled it around for 5 or so minutes, the blueberries started to come through and subdued the dustiness. Slowly the tight wood character started to appear and grew stronger as it sat in the glass.There were only 6 of us so everyone had a great amount in their glass.The color or deep brick red with a very slight orange/brown ting on the edges was a bit worrying as it’s been a sign in the past that the wine is thin or even close to being off.Well, after about 15 minutes of enjoying the nose, people started taking their first sips. As smiles grew, yep, it was a good bottle. Once again, with old wines, you get to drink great bottles of wine, not the vintage.The nose told the palette what to expect - exactly, soft blueberries with a hit of cigar box on the side. Maybe it was imagination taking over but there was the smell of “fresh” brown leaves and an increasing intensity of the fruit - not like a young wine intensity, but a taste that just lingered for a very long time in the mouth and just grew - another sign of the quality of the fruit.We had a 1986 Chateau Margaux as well - that showed the difference of the appellations and highlighted the elegant structure of the Petrus.Truly a wonderful evening with very dear friends, great food and brilliant wines - one that I will always cherish.

98 points, 2026-05-02

Classic right-bank notes, with blue fruit, cedar on the nose. Palate has more red fruits and quite some structure still, shows as dusty. Tannins are quite felt. You don't get to try this wine every day, I was lucky today!

94 points, 2026-03-15

Amazing fruit freshness with beautifully handled oak showing cedar, spice and vanilla. There’s a touch of that classic dusty Bordeaux character, giving depth and savoury balance. Less sweetness than the 1983 drunk a week earlier, but wonderfully composed and refined.

95 points, 2025-11-16

Robe tuilee.Le bouquet est superbe d'intensite et de complexite.On est d'abord sur des fruits rouges tres prononces (framboise,grosielle) puis viennent des aromes de cuir,de prune,d'epices et de crasse de fer.C'est reellement envoutant.Helas,le palais ne generera pas le meme enthousiasme:on est sur une structure trop souple qui empeche d'atteindre le graal.Un ecart tres important entre le nez et la bouche !!!! Malgre tout,cela reste excellent mais ne peut pretendre etre reference comme un "grand" millesime du chateau.

95 points, 2024-12-26

The 1987, one of the most backward and full-bodied wines of the vintage, with a tremendous amount of tannic clout, yet excellent underlying power and body, remains closed. It is medium to full-bodied, with a reticent bouquet of vanillin, herbs, and sweet black fruit, and a long, firm finish. If you are a millionaire who wants to buy wine for a child born in 1987, this wine will still be in reasonable condition by the time he or she turns twenty-one. Anticipated maturity: 1997-2010. Last tasted, 5/93.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 87

End of year tasting with a mixed group of wine lovers.: From magnum. Birth year wine of one of the participants. Beautiful and rustic bouquet with mushrooms and autumn forest. On the palate dark berries and juicy acidity. Quite mature, but still quite powerful. Classical with licorice and graphite. Very beautiful, earthy and classical wine. (FYI this is a fully blind tasting note and I was flabbergasted this was a 1987. The magnum size helped a lot I suppose.)

93 points, 2024-12-07

During a year end wine dinner. Tasted blind. Good to have generous friends who bring a Petrus to a wine tasting, hard to come by these days with the price it has. Interesting this comes from a weak vintage but the wine held its own. It was lighter, clearly more Medoc in the palate, I guessed St.Julien with excellent freshness and lovely animal, tertiary notes. Not big, but also not thin. No one guessed Pomerol. I think Petrus has done a great job to pull this off in 1987.

94 points, 2020-12-22

Year-End Wine Dinner @ GWC!: My 1st Petrus ever so kudos to the generous friend who brought this tonight! This tasted younger than a 1987 IMO - quite powerful and some density and body. Black fruits, figs, wet violets, olives. Nice long finish. There is pedigree and this reflects from a job well done in a weak vintage. Open up 93/94

93 points, 2020-12-22

Tasting of 6 Chateau Petrus at Beverly Hills Wine Merchant with Dennis Overstreet. Good red color in the glass, much newer than the 1979, ripe merlot fruit on the nose, light fruit, intense but subtle showing tannins and elegance at the back of the mouth and on the finish with both elegance and fruity berries.

90 points, 1992-08-05

Dark red, with an amber edge. Aromas of chocolate, stewed berries, Merlot and raisins. Full-bodied, velvety and rich. Lovely palate. Delicious now, but will hold on. An autumnal wine.--Bordeaux retrospective.

Gillian Sciaretta, 92

The 1986 Petrus out-performs the 1985 not for the first time. Although you could argue that it plays safe, the bouquet has more energy and delineation than the previous vintage with Cuban cigar, undergrowth and potpourri aromas. Attractive, though you do end up yearning for more fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with mulberry and sage. It is a little flat, but there is more precision and complexity than the 1985. It just falls away quickly on the finish. I think that the bottle at the Petrus dinner in Hong Kong showed better, but it is definitely representative. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at Hide restaurant in London.

David Schildknecht, 89

The 1986 displays a monolithic character in its tea, herb, and dusty berry aromas. Dense and powerful with considerable tannin, this is an admirably concentrated, medium to full-bodied wine. Anticipated maturity: 1998-2010. Last tasted, 5/93.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 86

Opened at Whale. Bonus round - opened, decanted and enjoyed. Half of the bottle was kept for the next day. Ex-Chateau.Felt like some Bordeaux after the preceding Burgundy dominated line-up, and despite this not being the best Petrus vintage, this was performing excellently. Not tired at all and probably marginally better than the '97 enjoyed a few nights before, though this was still a clear step down from the '93. I remember actually expecting this to be a bit more open as it felt a little tight, but perhaps it just needed more air. Probably correct, as this marginally improved the next day, though no aromatic fireworks. Still, great to try and to share with MSW and GG across the two nights. Looking forward to the next one!

94 points, 2025-05-23

My 30th Birthday Tasting; 1/20/2013-1/22/2013 (Martin's House): This seemed odd, despite having been stored perfectly. Very sweet nose, caramel and licorice, raisins, dried figs and tons of vanilla. The girls all liked this best, but I din't fancy it to be honest, as I thought this was just too weird.

84 points, 2013-01-22

gisteren niet aan de beurt gekomen, vandaag dan maar. donker rood van kleur, mooie klassieke neus, cederhout, rood fruit, kersen, bessen, heerlijke geur, smaak is heel zacht, zwoel, soepel, licht sexy, heerlijk drinkbaar, mooie rijkdom, heeft diepgang en blijft boeiend, topper, nu prima drinkbaar, zal niet echt veel mooier meer worden, maar kan nog wel even mee

95 points, 2012-12-27

Robe semi-opaque, la robe ne fait pas son age. Nez tres complexe: framboise cuite, confiture de bleuet. Vinaigre balsamique, relish, cassonade, figue, raisin de Corinthe, muscade, nez demontrant une belle fraicheur. En bouche, le tannins sont encore presents, mais bien integres. Le fruit est encore present, le vin est d'Une belle delicatesse, legere note tertiaire et finale assez longue. Cette bouteille etait parfaite!

98 points, 2012-11-18

0.375 L bottle, late Apr 2011: rubin red color; strawberry, cherry, cassis and a whiff of truffles; restrained on the palate; light/medium body; filigran texture.Mature wine, at the end of his career. Actually better as expected.

90 points, 2011-04-30

Another superb bottle from Petrus. Solid as a rock with mint, raspberry, cherry and tar character, full body and firm tannins. Needs time.

Gillian Sciaretta, 93

From cask, the 1985 Petrus was splendid, close in quality to rivaling the 1982. Early tastings after bottling suggested that the wine was significantly lighter, more herbaceous, and not nearly as profound as cask tastings indicated. At no tasting since has this wine justified my pre-bottling enthusiasm. The wine has medium ruby color with a hint of amber at the edge, an interesting coffee, creamy, chocolate, and black fruit-scented bouquet, deep, medium to full-bodied, concentrated flavors, and a moderately tannic, concentrated finish. Although excellent, it lacks the requisite flavor depth and richness to be considered outstanding. Anticipated maturity: 1995-2015. Last tasted, 5/93.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 88

Dark fruit, dried fig and plum; refined tertiary notes, earthy, dried mushrooms, herbaceous; medium-bodied, smooth, fine tannins. (Surprisingly, we didn’t not detect the “mocha” note)

92 points, 2025-06-19

Dark, spicy and masculine. Cigar box, dark chocolate, old refined red and blue fruit, peppery undertone, with lingering floral notes at the end of the nose dancing around a dried blueberry finish. Effortless structure. Perfectly integrated and silky smooth. It was pretty funky when opened, but it blew off over several hours and there wasn’t much drop off after that. This turned out to be a very consistent wine. Tongue even matches the nose. Incredible.

99 points, 2025-05-18

Recovered short tasting note from 6 stars lunch: Power, lots of spices, sweetness, good length.

94 points, 2025-04-30

Each word would be useless and maybe not proper to describe this wine. It’s simply Petrus - not a wine, not a merlot. Just Petrus: an experience.

99 points, 2025-03-25

I have tried many vintages of Petrus (47,61,82,89,90 just to name a few for context) and I will say this, VERY underrated 1985, is my second favorite; only behind the 1947! I think 1985 was asleep for so long but in the last 5 years has truly started becoming a wine for the ages. Sometimes the critics get it wrong!

99 points, 2024-07-19

The 1984 Petrus has turned out to be amazingly good. Deep in color, with an intense, jammy, herbaceous bouquet, medium to full body, fine length, and plenty of tannin, this wine needs 2-3 years to mature, but will keep for 10-12 years. It is very impressive for the vintage. Anticipated maturity: Now. Last tasted, 11/90.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 87

Pronounced nose intensity with notes of smoke, charr wood, forest floor, spices, violet, dried blue berry. Medium acidity and medium tannin.The wine is of outstanding quality but it going to pass its prime. Its better to consume now.

95 points, 2024-11-23

Runner up for WOTN. Nose of field flowers. Inviting. Gorgeous sexy mouthfeel. Bright red cherries. Near peak but still has plenty to go. A memorable wine.

94 points, 2011-05-08

What you'd expect from such a legendary estate. Wonderful palate impression with silky, rich fruit. Plenty of blackberry and chocolate character, has a full body and medium finish.

Gillian Sciaretta, 93

Talk about a thrill a second, as well as unprecedented decadence (at least for me), consider the rarity of a flight of six double magnums of Petrus! Because there were not many people at the tasting, there was the possibility of having several large glasses of these wines, making judging them all the more fun. And let's not forget the medical benefit of flushing the fat out of one's arteries with such remarkable juice! The fully mature 1983 Petrus (even from double magnums) is a weedy, herbaceous, vegetal-scented wine with plenty of sweet, somewhat disjointed fruit flavors, medium to full body, and copious quantities of glycerin and alcohol that are not entirely balanced by fruit. It is just not as harmonious or well-balanced as it should be. Drink it over the next 5-10 years. I have never been especially enamored with this vintage of Petrus.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 86

Received ex-chateau. Showed beautifully. Minimal decant. Rich red and black fruits, medium-plus body, silky soft tannins. Lovely oak integration with touches of cinnamon, baking spice, and vanilla. Good structure and a long finish, carrying both fruit and elegant tertiary notes.

95 points, 2025-11-09

Got left over from the night before and store it in a 375ml glass bottle and pump argon gas over it. The notes I got was even more pronounced than yesterday with nose of flora, violet, blackfruits, leather, mushroom, toast. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Tannin is velvety and smooth. Long finish.

96 points, 2024-03-10

Bought a magnum from Auction with no label. Only the cork is visible with the Petrus logo and vintage 1983. Magnum bottle is in pristine bottle condition; high ullage. 3-5cm below cork. The cork doesn’t have any mould or it look rather clean to me. Make me very suspicious whether it’s genuine? Since theres so many fake going around and it’s not difficult to find a Magnum Petrus cork.The notes I got was pronounced nose intensity of flora, violet, blackfruits, leather, mushroom, toast. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Tannin is velvety and smooth. Long finish.

96 points, 2024-03-09

I big disappointment, no fruit, no acid, nothing enjoyable in this wine, I expected much more, even if you know some 83 are really great. Maybe it was a fake bottle or it was too late to open.

88 points, 2023-11-17

Dinner Honoring Bernard Hervet (Lake Forest, IL): All of tonight's bottles were purchased upon release and perfectly stored since. These were opened several hours before serving and quickly double decanted. This was fleshy and powerful immediately, so easy to enjoy and savor. Not as complex or unfolding as the Latour 1985 in the next glass.

92 points, 2017-10-14

Dark ruby garnet. Intense tobacco, cedar, berry and blackberry. Full-bodied, silky, firm and fresh. Long. A beauty. One of the best bottles I have ever had.

Gillian Sciaretta, 96

This is more translucent than Lafleur and a glowingbrick-red in hue. There’s plenty ofhead-turning exoticism on the nose: spice, truffle, the coffee-roaster’syard. On the palate, the wine shows itsage without being tired; the acid levels seemed among the lowest of the group,and once again there was no sense of bony senescence. The flavours were unapologetically mature:wild mushroom, beef stock, fine tobacco. Rewarding and delicious, just not quite the blockbuster one hopes for on sight of this label.

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Pierre Mansour, 95

A bottle bought from Edmund Penning-Rowsell's cellar. Lovely and sweet, very fleshy. Much more structured than the 1990s (Latour and Cheval) just served, also blind. Denser than the Mouton 1982. Very, very easy to like.

Samantha Cole-Johnson, 95

The 1982 Petrus is consistent with my previous notes. This has a lovely bouquet, perhaps a little purer than the bottle from February 2018 with just joyful black cherries, black truffle and cedar aromas, more red fruit developing with aeration. I appreciate the brightness. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, moderate in terms of complexity, more secondary notes towards the second half with sage, undergrowth and touches of leather. Whilst it does not exude the precision of the magnum encountered three or four years back (still the finest example of the 1982 Petrus that I have tasted) it is a wonderful Pomerol, if nowhere near the notion of perfection. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at Hide restaurant in London and then at Epure restaurant in Hong Kong.

Neal Martin, 94

Given what I thought this wine would achieve, the 1982 Petrus has not turned out to be nearly as profound as expected. It reveals a certain herbaceousness, and there is significantly less concentration than I initially believed (too much filtration?) along with a cedary spiciness. Tasters who have had no previous experience with this wine will find it to be an outstanding effort that has reached full maturity much faster than some of its peers. It is capable of lasting a long time, but there is an underlying vegetal character, and the 1982 is far less concentrated than the vintages of Petrus that have been produced since 1989. I believe this wine is fully mature, and is capable of lasting another 10-15 years, but it is unlikely to improve. Release price: ($600.00/case)

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 93

Another excellent bottle from the same source as last month. It is hard not to love this. Very sweet red fruit, notably juicier than either Lafleur or Le Pin alongside.

95 points, 2025-12-09

Mammoth wine. The most distinct notes on this bottle are green bell pepper and leather. An incredibly dense, juicy, meaty wine. Ultra lush. A certain coolness to the fruit. Alongside an '82 Lafleur which was comparatively more nuanced and lighter while this was obvious and in your face. Really surprised by the greenness here, almost overwhelmingly so. Obnoxiously enjoyable though... really good.

96 points, 2025-10-30

Upon PnP this was an utter rockstar right out the gate and basically held firm throughout the night (though I suppose on the flip-side it did not really evolve in the glass). Whereas I have felt like a lot of the '82 first growth Bordeaux are fading, this is still powerful and in a tremendous sweet spot. An epic, classic Bordeaux bottling that is singing still and will likely hold steady for several more years to come.

96 points, 2025-10-29

Great wine. Wonderful nose - tertiary notes forest floor, barnyard, dried berries. Nice on the palate but not amazing. 97 is an adequate score. But why it’s so expensive?? We have not found an answer

97 points, 2025-10-16

blindGuessed the vintage but not the house. Still firm tannins but in a very good drinking window. Spicy, well balanced. No hurry even this was not the freshest bottle. 98

98 points, 2025-05-04

Big and very ripe, almost raisiny. Mouth-coating fruit with ripe tannins, but a little clumsy to be outstanding.

Gillian Sciaretta, 89

Served blind, it was interesting to pair the 1981 Le Pin with the 1981 Petrus. I remember how thrilling the 1981 Petrus was from cask, but it has never performed as well from bottle. I have continued to downgrade it. In this tasting, the wine exhibited an understated, light, washed-out personality, with vegetal cherry/coffee-flavored fruit in the nose intermingled with scents of spicy oak. Tart, lean, and austere, this is a Medoc-like tasting wine without any of the Petrus sweetness, chewiness, or unctuosity. This must be one of the most over-rated wines of the past two decades. As there was virtually no sediment in this 16-year old wine, I wonder if it was excessively fined and/or filtered?

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 86

Drank from a half bottle. Clearly a little past its prime imo. Wild strawberry, gravel, a bit of sweet smoke and a backbone of cassis all on the nose. On the palate, a playful sweetness that penetrates along with a bit of balanced acidity. Not a heavy wine, rather thin at this point and longer in the glass just tends to mute it more. I only decanted a bit more than 30 min and was plenty long for this format.

92 points, 2024-09-01

Emmm light and washed out I'm afraid I was hoping for something a lot better for £2400 a bottle well here goes it has a hint of coffee/cherry lots of fruit and the taste is not dissimilar to a quality medoc but with a sweetness you could almost chew it lol

90 points, 2024-07-16

Very consistent to VINUM DEORUM's notes below. Not a sophisticated or deep wine, but a testament on how a great producer can still make something enjoyable in a difficult vintage. Fill is well into neck and color just getting a little mahogany on the rim. No signs of musty/over developed aromas this bottle was in top condition. Bottle breathed for 30 minutes and this was ready to go. Tannins are fully integrated, still fresh, a little hawthorn and tertiary notes, not long but elegant and straight forward. I enjoyed this more than I thought.

92 points, 2023-05-18

Better showing than a couple of months ago. At first we thought the wine was slightly corked, but it eventually disappeared after 10/15 minutes in the glass. Reduction?.. This is not a powerful Petrus, nor an incredibly complex one, but it is a very fine and elegant example of a rather challenging period.Still quite long, with a lovely freshness and melted tanins. I actually enjoyed it much more than I would have thought.

93 points, 2023-02-27

Incredible after 41 years! We celebrated Xmas Eve 2022 and it will always be remembered as the Petrus Xmas!

93 points, 2022-12-26

Talk about a thrill a second, as well as unprecedented decadence (at least for me), consider the rarity of a flight of six double magnums of Petrus! Because there were not many people at the tasting, there was the possibility of having several large glasses of these wines, making judging them all the more fun. And let's not forget the medical benefit of flushing the fat out of one's arteries with such remarkable juice! The 1980 Petrus turned in a surprisingly strong performance. A roasted herb, melted road tar, and sweet, jammy-scented nose is followed by a rich, medium to full-bodied wine with considerable length. It appears to have become more impressive with age. Could this wine really be superior to the 1981 and 1979? It is fully mature, so drink it over the next decade.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 89

Expectations were modest, yet this bottle proved a pleasant surprise. Over the course of 2.5 hours, the nose remained largely restrained, revealing only subtle aromatic nuances. The palate, however, was immediately engaging, offering appealing flavors from the first sip and evolving to display more tertiary complexity roughly 45 minutes after decanting.The wine is clearly beyond its peak, with a modest amount of fruit still present. Tannins are exquisitely silky, and the acidity is well balanced, supporting a medium-plus level of complexity. Flavors include gentle smoky undertones, a hint of shaved pencil, and a touch of plum.Overall, for those seeking a birth-year wine, this remains one of the finer expressions from 1980 currently available, a graceful elder that still offers considerable charm.Source: Heritage auction

94 points, 2025-08-09

Pomerol Probe mit 1980 er Petrus als Highlight. Immer noch sensationell in Form , alles vorhanden. Endloser Abgang , unsterblich.

98 points, 2020-02-07

Ex-chateau for brother in law. Stunner, as we weren't sure what to expect given the vintage. Sweet and jammy nose. On the palate, vigorous, velvety and persistent. Lots of fruit there, round and finish went forever. This was a terrific medium-bodied Petrus. One of the takeaways from dinner with Olivier Berrouet last year was "off vintages" were still excellent drinking and this tasting reconfirmed that.

96 points, 2016-05-07

Premiere experience avec un Petrus.Belle longueur.....cote tertiaire leger...est pas mal a son top en ce moment.

94 points, 2014-12-06

Annee difficile, ca parait oui, mais de voir ce que Petrus a pu livrer comme rendu est immence ! Surtout a son 34e anniversaire... A boire sans attendre !

93 points, 2014-12-06

A rather hard wine, with a firm backbone of silky tannins and sweet black olive, vanilla and berry aromas and flavors.--Petrus vertical. Best from 1992 through 1995. -JS

Gillian Sciaretta, 90

I remember how stunning the 1979 Petrus was from cask, but it has never lived up to its early potential. Even from an Imperial, the 1979 Petrus is a lean, compact, tannic, hard, austere wine lacking the richness and charm of the vintage's top Pomerols. The color was a healthy medium ruby. While the wine does not possess the vegetal overtones of the 1978, it leaves a great deal to be desired.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 86

Amazing wine. Still fresh with lots of fruit. Crisp and silky. Peppery finish. Like a mermaid dancing around a firepit in the middle of the snow! Out of the world.

96 points, 2026-01-31

My first bottle of Petrus did not dissapoint.This is a very special and seductive wine, it bursts from the glass with incredibly fine and detail aromas of jalapeno pepper, black and blue berries, dried flowers, smoke, leather and cigarbox. Very complex nose with many different layers.On the palate the wine is even better. Melting silky tannins with an unforgettable texture and amazing complexity.

96 points, 2025-11-10

Acker dinner - great purity and phenolic sweetness, with acidic and semi dusty finish.

98 points, 2025-10-24

This was a great Petrus experience, and for many where it was served, their first. What really stuck in my mind is how much younger than 46 this tasted. Leather, tobacco, ripe black cherries, menthol, fenugreek, dried red chili flakes and eucalyptus on the nose. You can tell that Merlot has pyrazines smelling this. High intensity of aromas. If it smells like an aged but not too-aged Pomerol, it tastes even younger still. Flavors of ripe black cherries, ripe blackberries, star anise, tobacco and sweet green pepper hint at a 20-year old wine, at MAX. High intensity of flavors. Texturally rounded, with a high intensity of flavors. Finishes around 20 seconds.Medium + body with sturdy medium tannins and medium acid. Drink now. At peak if you get a well stored bottle like we had.

96 points, 2025-01-12

Smell a lot the stable to be honest. Really well kept, nose is still fruity even though it is pretty old. Quite enjoyable.

95 points, 2024-12-31

Looks rather mature, with hints of garnet on the rim, but the aromas of tobacco, truffles and earth are decadent. Full-bodied, with rich, opulent flavors and a lovely ripe finish. Like an autumn day. Will improve.--Petrus vertical. Drink now through 1995. -JS

Gillian Sciaretta, 89

Bottles of 1978 Petrus can be variable. I guess it depends on how you like your Pomerol. Here, served blind against the 1978 Hermitage La Chapelle, well, let's be honest, the Rhone is leaps and bounds superior. The Petrus is modest in terms of intensity, autumnal and a little leafy, a light marine influence developing with time and a hint of wild mint. The palate is medium-bodied with light tannin, balanced if lacking depth. There is harmony here, and a sense of honesty. There is nothing out of place, although it does come across as a wine content to be a second-tier Petrus. While not as good as the previous bottle I encountered over a decade ago, it is a decent Petrus that should be consumed over the next ten years. Tasted March 2014.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 89

Mahogany with beautiful aroma. Decanted and drank over 2 hour period. Rich in cherry fruit. The smoothest wine I have ever drunk. Should last for at least another 5 years.

100 points, 2025-01-01

In the nose, there was an immediate burst of young, fresh button mushrooms, it came through quite strongly, not leaving much room initially for other scents to emerge. Later (around 20 minutes in), other notes did come through, such as tobacco and leather. On the palate, it still had a more than reasonable body and acidity; the note was sweet, reminiscent of cherries. The wine may have had its prime, but it is still very pleasant to drink!

96 points, 2024-01-23

Small sample but this was terrific. Fully mature. Note is as complex and expressive as bdx gets, with tobacco and dried fruit notes along with just hint of burnt plastic?. Palate was well resolved and supple; mouth coating. Here is adds some interesting eucalyptus notes I really didn't pick up on the nose. Fully mature and probably in slow decline but still terrific.

95 points, 2023-09-09

Pristine sample. This was beautiful. Hard to imagine living up to the hype but far and away the best 78 I’ve had. Great texture and weight, mature but surprisingly youthful for the vintage. We noted a hint of bandaid on the wine, but not particularly distracting.

95 points, 2023-09-09

Soft and polished, lots of fruit, sweet, woody, elegant, silky smooth. At peak and holding. Not very complex but very pleasurable. 93

93 points, 2022-05-19

Talk about a thrill a second, as well as unprecedented decadence (at least for me), consider the rarity of a flight of six double magnums of Petrus! Because there were not many people at the tasting, there was the possibility of having several large glasses of these wines, making judging them all the more fun. And let's not forget the medical benefit of flushing the fat out of one's arteries with such remarkable juice!

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 88

enjoyed with a decant over 3 hours. some sediment but not too much. cork was in good condition, bottle label nicked. initially the nose had some cork (but it was not 'corked') and damp cellar must, which blew off over the next 2 hours. palette was sublime. as we tasted it slowly, every 30 minutes the nose would change, which made this so much fun to enjoy. fruit was lively and perfect balance of acidity, not faded at all. color was amazing...no bricking on the edge, but a thinner density at the rim as expected.

92 points, 2025-12-26

1976-ish; 6/28/2024-8/30/2024: Half bottle. Vanilla TCA-like flavors blew off with air, not decanted (but maybe should have been). Black currents, jungle fruit, light leather, super floral with air, smooth and classic if not the boldest Petrus, but perfectly charming. 93-94

94 points, 2024-08-30

Dried flowers, leafy herbs, roasted cherries, cedar, tobacco, and dried red berries. Light, Burgundian, soft, elegant and charming, this is easy to drink, but without a lot of depth, length or complexity. Drink from 2024-2028.

90 points, 2024-02-26

The Judgement of Paris - reloaded: A generous friend brought this gem along as a starter wine, commemorating that the judgment of Paris took place in 1976. Smokey, tobacco nose, mushroom, red fruit compote, oxidative notes. Smells like so many CabSav/Merlot/Rioja once they are past peak. A mix of wine and Sherry. Not bad but I prefer it younger and fresher with lively fruit. Hard to score as it depends on your acceptance of this late stage aroma profile.

94 points, 2017-11-01

Ready to drink. This wine has aged beautifully, soft tannins, lots of acidity and man, what a nice moeulleux. Red and black pepper from the terroir. Hint of caramel/choclat .

92 points, 2010-09-26

The 1975 Petrus reveals a youthful, rustic, brutally powerful style, with an opaque garnet/ruby/purple color, and an emerging nose of over-ripe black-cherries, mocha/chocolate, and truffles. Extremely full-bodied, ferociously tannic, but awesomely concentrated, the 1975 Petrus can be drunk, provided readers have a penchant for slightly uncivilized wines. This behemoth Petrus (the last made in this style) is at least a decade away from full maturity. It is potentially a 50 year wine, with exquisite concentration and intensity.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 98.5

The 1975 Petrus was served blind en magnum. I have drunk this vintage several times from bottle, but never from a larger format. What a sublime Pomerol this is. It has a heavenly bouquet with melted red berry fruit, Morello cherries, black truffle shavings and just a hint of garrigue developing in the glass. The 1975 displays wonderful complexity and is perhaps more Saint-Emilion in style than Pomerol. Pliant tannins and a silver bead of acidity frame the velvety smooth, sensual palate. The dark red fruit is infused with subtle tobacco and sous-bois scents, indicating its half-century age, but the finish feels long and vivacious. Sublime. Tasted at Jordi's 50th birthday at Nando's.

Neal Martin, 98

Full amber-edged medium red. Knockout decadent nose combines roast coffee, mocha, chocolate, iron, truffle and smoke, along with a leesy nuance that reminded me of a great old Champagne. Hugely sweet and thick with extract, but with great steely grip and huge tannic clout. A classic, somewhat tough, old-style Petrus that should drink well for another 20 years. Perhaps a tad sweeter than the '75 Lafleur. But neither wine is for the fainthearted.<br /> <br />

Stephen Tanzer, 95

Racy and exciting, one of the best '75s. Rather tough like other of the vintage, but there is still plenty of lovely bitter chocolate, tobacco and berry aromas and flavors. Very rich but still closed.

Gillian Sciaretta, 93

Opened in HK. Decanted and enjoyed.Beautiful condition bottle, and performing beyond expectations. This was very much still alive, had both dark and red fruit alongside mature Bordeaux earthiness, and had both concentration and structure holding everything together. A lovely Petrus if not one of the all time greats, and though this will keep I'm not sure it will get any better. Thanks to TT for sharing, and can't wait to return the favour!

94 points, 2026-07-01

several TNs from recent yrs seem to be from larger formats, so i was only cautiously optimistic opening this 750… cork removed with care, some of it coming apart upon extraction but thankfully none of it into the wine. fully mature, almost entirely on the savoury end of the spectrum, both nose and palate. slightly plummy, v earthy, some mineral, brine, a hint of sweetness, finishing a touch salty. texture is delicate and silky.a rare treat best to enjoy on its own.

94 points, 2025-10-01

In magnum format. It certainly showed its class and regalness but the palate lacked energy and complexity. Good for a 75 Bordeaux but disappointing for a Petrus.

92 points, 2025-06-17

The bouquet is refine, balanced and extended with a touch of toasted oak. So alive and energetic. Palate has some earth, crushed rocks and old spices with overtones of stewed tomatoes and plums. Medium-bodied structure. Some mint emerged after some time. Texture is polished and fresh at the same time. The finish is long and layered. At its peak now and for the next 5 years.

95 points, 2025-04-29

Tasted blind in a a flight of Right Bank wines. The wines were double decanted 3 hours prior to tasting. My second place wine, the group also ranked it second, behind the 82 on every ballot. Very stern nose, showing red fruit, truffle, citrus, pine needles, anise and cloves. Lively palate, the acidity is firm and the fruit has receded a bit. Short finish, again with a lot of acid and not much palate presence. The palate while interesting was a disappointment when compared to the lovely 82

92 points, 2024-01-21

Wonderfully fresh (ex-chateau), underrated vintage. Maybe because it was in superb condition. Long finish, very pleasant to drink with beautiful structure.

95 points, 2026-02-26

Dark red color, with subtle red notes of mature berries.Balanced, long. A great wine.

97 points, 2015-09-28

Nice nose of black fruits, spiciness, blackcurrant buds and a bit of pencil. Light to medium body, pure elegance, traces of tannins, refreshing light acidity and sweetness of the fruits. Balanced, silky and long. AT: long, and tasty! Wine was alive during 5h, after ~4 the nose almost disappeared while the mouth remained virtually the same. Petrus in its greatness. 92-94. Drink 2010-2016.

93 points, 2010-12-17

Medium deep. Light fruity nose of no particular complexity. Light body yet well centered. Light - medium tannins. Very good for a ‘74.

89 points, 1989-10-01

Winemaker and Pomerol deity Jean-Claude Berrouet has often told me how he considers the 1975 Petrus as his first success, the preceding vintages more trial and error. (Those who have savored the 1964, 1966, 1970 and 1971 might beg to differ.) Yet the quality of this 1973 was undeniable. I had encountered it once before, a bottle opened for my brother to celebrate his birth-year over a decade ago when such off-vintages, eschewed by all but the reckless, were affordable. But I could not remember it being this fine. “You should not under-estimate the Pomerols in 1973,” Lord Bruce advised. Who am I to argue in such vinous presence? Whether a horizontal of 1973 Pomerol wines will serve the Vinous readership is another question. The salient lesson from this bottle was to never ever dismiss a bottle by dint of birth-year. Humans and wine alike cannot determine the year they are born. It is more a question of having to search harder in some years than others.<br /> <br />

Neal Martin, 91

(Magnum)

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 87

A bit funky nose - balsamic? Apple?Palate was still full of life - mouth watering acidity. Supposed to be the best of ‘73 Bordeaux. Cannot compare but this was certainly a treat. Battled against consaillante ‘82 which had the edge for me (but others preferred the Petrus)

93 points, 2023-12-02

Couldn't believe how good the wine was having come from arguably the worst vintage of the 70s. Deep color. Funky nose. Nice long finish. Very enjoyable.

90 points, 2021-10-05

Bottle from chateau. Surprisingly full with good balance. Can't compete with the great vintages but very good on its own. 93-94

93 points, 2019-05-03

Nez vivant de poivron vert, viande grillee, epices, de cedre et il reste un peu de fruit imprecis en arriere plan pour boucler le toutLa Bouche est soyeuse, mais un brin trop mature et le poivron vert prend le dessus. Il est malgre tout encore vivant meme si son declin est evident. Si on se concentre, on y trouve un vestige de fruit et quelques epices. La puissance de la matiere pour un 73 nous en dit beaucoup sur la grandeur du cruIl a jadis ete un grand vin et il reste encore une belle matiere, mais le poivron me derange un tantinet et il se fait vieux. Tout de meme interessant et agreable… un peu comme un vieillard qui nous raconte sa grande vie passe91 pts

91 points, 2017-10-18

Food: Cantonese Duration: 4 hours Condition: bottom neck Aroma: rose, honey Notes: both the nose and aroma suggests a younger age of the wine than actual. Drank side by side with a 1985 Petrus the 1973 was a different class and showed much better. This vintage is pretty value for money.

94 points, 2016-05-04

Had on my 55th birthday at a wonderful steakhouse (Marbled and Fin) in Charleston. Paired with bone in pork chop. We were very worried about the wine being turned given it's 53 year old ago and the cork was showing signs of seepage; however, the wine still had life to it. Light Ruby color with some milkiness to the glass once poured. Some notes of leather, beef consume', light strawberry tones. Towards the end it was dried raisin. Lasted about an hour before it petered out. Truly a once in a lifetime wine.

94 points, 2025-08-09

Opened at Whale in HK. Slow-oxed briefly before serving from magnum.This was fantastic. Not the best vintage, but stored perfectly and from magnum format the acidity had mellowed and the wine was in a wonderful balance, showing a gorgeous mix of red and blue fruit alongside sous bois. Even had hints of blue cheese coming out on the nose. This lacked some concentration, but you can't complain. Thanks to R for sharing!

94 points, 2025-07-08

Opened and slowed to slow-ox hours prior to service. My first Petrus and even when considering this is the 1972, I can sort of see what the fuss is about. It pours an almost deep amber color with signs of sediment. This is a herbaceous, savory wine with a bouquet of dried flowers, pipe tobacco, Fig Newtons, roasted beef, salmiakki, and old wood. Long and velvety, I can only imagine how impressive these wines are in strong vintages. Drink now.

92 points, 2024-11-26

TK lunch. Paint and walnut aromatics on surprisingly sweet palate. Still quite enjoyable.

92 points, 2017-09-08

Maybe it was just the bottle, but I received this as a gift from a loyal guest at my restaurant in vail, and was impressed with the gift, but not with the wine. Heavy earth, spice, leather, basically no fruit left, and I understand this is old Bordeaux, but I expected more.

90 points, 2010-11-24

This wine is as comfortable as your favorite pair of slippers. Extremely caressing, with wonderfully enticing aromas and flavors of tobacco and violets and a rich, round palate.

Gillian Sciaretta, 94

Moderately pleasant and the structure is excellent. But the fruit is somewhat muted and does not have any of the famous Petrus sweetness. You could argue it is just too old and from a modest vintage - but the 71 Vieux Chateau Certan, L'Evangile and Trotanoy that night were all more vibrant and exciting. And this bottle had a neck joint fill and good but not great color.

91 points, 2025-11-08

Dried flowers, menthol, cherries and smoke are the perfect introduction to the wine. The palate is even better with its polished, velvety, silky textures. This is a gorgeous display of everything that’s special about Petrus. Drink from 2024-2032.

97 points, 2024-02-26

This wine has held up incredibly well and could probably age for several more years! Very impressive wine! This was the first time I’ve had Petrus. Purchased it for my parent’s 52nd wedding anniversary (hence the 1971 vintage). Very aromatic with earthy tones on the nose. Not too heavy on the palate; just what I would have expected from a Merlot. Very silky and velvety on the palate. Probably the first wine in a long time I was disappointed once it was gone. Probably could have enjoyed another bottle or twelve!! Paired perfectly with the oven roasted cauliflower and lamb cannelloni.

99 points, 2023-10-14

Clearly, the wine of the vintage and probably the Petrus of the decade was almost, decadent with its silky, opulent, velvety nature. The layers of polished, plush plums were surreal, finishing with a bowl of dark chocolate, shaved truffles, and black cherries with a topping of licorice. Drink from 2023-2030.

97 points, 2023-09-01

2nd bottle of a 4 bottle lot sourced from a Dutch cellar by a very good friend who has sadly passed away far too young. I always think of you my friend and opening this bottle on my 50th is particularly poignant as you will be forever young.Beautiful deep ruby, no brick or browning. Looks way you der than it is (like me!). Very floral on the first pour with rose, lily and black cherry notes. After 30 mins the chocolate, leather, soil, truffle, beef, iron and mineral notes start appearing and this is when you have the full complexity of Petrus. So many different yet complimentary notes. So complex. Palate is so welcoming, in total balance, medium bodied but so tasty, fresh and balanced. Impossible to guess 71 blind as it is just such a great wine. Easily the best 71 Bordeaux I have ever had (closely followed by a 71 Trotanoy in magnum- thank you RT!). Medium to full length full of subtle yet complex flavors, almost Burgundian Bonnes Mares like with more fruit and body of a Bordeaux. This wine needs some quite contemplation and a quiet dinner at home with my family and my parents was the right setting for it paired with a great rib eye. Next bottle at my 60th?!

96 points, 2021-06-29

The 1970 Petrus has developed magnificently over the last 4-5 years. Tight and reserved early in life, it has blossomed into a true blockbuster. This massive, highly-extracted, full-bodied, jammy, thick, unctuously-textured wine possesses a huge, spice, tobacco, black-cherry, mocha-scented nose. It is a real turn-on. The wine is fully mature, but it has at least 20 years of life remaining. A spectacular Petrus, it is now superior to the 1971, which out-performed it for nearly two decades. Owners of this wine have a true nectar in their cellars.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 99

The 1970 Petrus (magnum) was sweet, generous and full-bodied if surprisingly simple considering its reputation.<br /> <br />

Antonio Galloni, 92

Deep garnet, with a brownish rim; hint of oxidation on the nose, but tar and cassis evident also; very rich, round and full, but slightly diffuse compared to Vieux Certan and Conseillante and less concentrated. -

Gillian Sciaretta, 89

Sublime in every sense of the word, in the perfume, the truffle scent takes center-stage before you find mint, dried flowers, plums, smoke, and cocoa. The lush, rich, intense, supple, creamy palate seals the deal Drink 2026-2034.

97 points, 2026-01-07

The 70 Petrus exhibited autumn leaves, cassis, dried flowers and truffle. Palate was silky and elegant with that Petrus regalness. This will not get any better from here. Drink up.

94 points, 2026-01-04

Very good bottle, very top-shoulder fill, excellent cork. From Cellaraiders. Gently double-decanted to remove sediment, and put in the upright cooler to control temperature.Color is mostly opaque garnet with a bit of bricking at the rim, deeper than expected for a 1970. The nose is immediately attractive, soft black and red fruit, a clear floral note (rose petal), cigar box, and a light minty freshness.On the palate, this is beautifully balanced. The fruit is still there and feels fresh, not just tertiary flavors. Lots of truffle, cigar, leather, and mint, all very well integrated. There is tannin present, but it’s fully woven in, giving shape without any real grip. Texture is silky, and the wine just moves across the palate easily.The finish is long and mouthwatering, with savory umami notes and a lingering minty lift that keeps pulling you back for another sip.Fully mature but very much alive. Drinking extremely well now. Will definitely buy more!

97 points, 2026-01-02

Fine Bordeaux with a Florida Gentleman (Delray Beach, Florida): (Served blind) Lest anyone doubt that Petrus cannot survive into its second half century, left them taste this wine. It has the richness of the property and the beautiful sucrosity of only a few Pomerols of any pedigree or age. Red cherry dominates. The 1970 has been cruising along at flight altitude for at least 30 years and other than an expected degree of softening it shows no signs of needing a face lift.

94 points, 2025-05-07

18x Mature Bordeaux Legends (+2x Napa): Tasting five mature Petrus magnums in one sitting sets high expectations, especially when most bottles come from legendary vintages. In the end, it was a mixed performance, as it often is with Petrus for me, a few truly great, transcendent wines marked by intoxicating fruit and deep umami, alongside others that fell short. The 1970 stood out as an absolute stunner, one of the best wines I have ever had. A clear 100-point wine, with maximum complexity, laser-sharp precision, hedonistic depth, and flawless balance. The 1961 (94pts) was a very good wine, but showed a muted nose and lacked the substance and definition of the 1970. The 1982 (92pts) needed time and air to come together. While pleasant and enjoyable, it did not reach the level of greatness expected from the vintage. The 1948 (91pts) had an almost perfect and unique nose, but the palate had little life left. The 1953 was unfortunately corked and undrinkable. A fascinating lineup, but also a reminder that Petrus is never a guarantee, even in the greatest of vintages.TN: The nose is incredible, with sweet dark fruit, red berries, and tobacco, all delivered with intoxicating depth and seduction. With time, malty notes add even more complexity, pushing the nose to perfection. The palate is perfect as well, combining red and blue fruit, medicinal notes, tobacco, chocolate, and subtle meaty tones, along with intoxicating malt aromas. The structure is harmonious and seamless, with fully melted tannins, superb freshness, and a long, seductive finish. Rich yet elegant, this is a monumental Petrus.

100 points, 2025-04-13

blindThis was one of 120 Chateau late release bottles, so the storage was not the problem but the vinatge I think. Miss length and extract fruit sweetness. 92

92 points, 2024-01-18

The Ritz - London. Magnum. Obviously given age and vintage we were not expecting fireworks but this was very good indeed. The colour was lovely, almost no browning at all. The nose was a mixture of dusty library and rich fruits but the old library smell blew off quite quickly. We decided not to decant. The palate was surprisingly ‘together’.. quite rich blackberry fruits. Fresh, almost no prune flavours at at. Obviously no discernible tannin and very very silky. It really was a lovely bottle that belied the vintage (thanks Chris, Bacchus).

92 points, 2022-02-18

PR 1969 Extravaganza: Herbal, stewed fruit and menthol on the nose. Palate seems a little on the thin side, without too much depth or power behind it. Drinks okay, but doesn't live up to the producer.

87 points, 2019-11-30

Surprisingly good considering 69 was supposed to be a very bad year and it is now 45 years old. I had six bottles three were bad and three were spectacular!

95 points, 2013-08-10

At Singer & Foy with MPL. Very mature ruby color. Orange rim. Very interesting nose. Not exactly vegetal--rather, in Michael's words, "a eucalyptoid." On the palate, very austere and bit hard, but still extremely complex and interesting. I'd buy this. 5-11-16-8: 90/100.

90 points, 1989-12-30

Very pale, but clean and clear brick colour. Leathery, mushroom liqueur, dried cherry with an earthy, peppery, forest floor nose. Light bodied with a fine, delicate balance. Admirable cohesion and precision for the age of the wine. Leathery, wet terra cotta finish. Didn't have much hope that it would still be drinkable, but better than drinkable, it was a quality wine; and it was so much more interesting than the ripe, easy style of younger vintages. The quality held on even after hours open in a decanter.After counseling a friend for a almost year on what to do with this wine (sell at auction, open with family..?) He decided to share it with a group of us that would appreciate it most. And indeed we did. Thanks Glenn.

90 points, 2016-01-10

In all fairness, the last bottle in the vertical tasting I had of Petrus came from a pristinely stored magnum that I owned, so perhaps a regular bottle of this wine might be fading a bit. Nevertheless, this has always been the best wine of the vintage and a gorgeous example of Petrus. The wine shows considerable amber to its garnet color and has a sweet nose of coffee beans intermixed with cedar, herbs, black cherries, roasted nuts. The wine is sweet, elegant, medium to full-bodied, and totally savory and seamless. It is a gorgeous wine and one of the great sleeper vintages for Petrus. Anticipated maturity: Drink up. Last tasted, 11/02.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 99

I’m pretty sure the bottle I had was the 1967. It might have been a 1957 based on the cork, but given the quality, that seems unlikely. The capsule and cork were intact, but the label completely washed away in Hurricane Katrina. This bottle was unreal. I’ve had some underwhelming Petrus in my time - 1976, 1982, 1985, 1987. I suppose this one was finally ready? A lovely, still fruity nose of fresh fruit, spice, cigar, underbrush, and oak, the wine was both intense and elegant. So beautiful balance on the palate with no signs of age, I’ve never had a bottle seemingly this immortal outside a 1941 Inglenook. Such a complete wine. The closest contender that night was a 97 point 1990 La Tache which had similar levels of agelessness and fresh fruit. It’s almost a curse to try good examples of these legends because it makes you want to spend money to get more of them.

98 points, 2026-02-09

Our last bottle of my birth year Petrus. Not much going on with this one. Fruit was almost all gone and there was a strange chemical taste on the finish. After an hour it sweetened up a bit but then fell apart. Decent for a crappy vintage I suppose

87 points, 2025-11-27

Opened at the Acker Auction in HK. Served from Magnum.No extensive notes taken, but I didn't expect this to be from '67 - fresher than I would have thought, and very nice to drink. Might have been better if I had the chance to focus on this properly. Thanks to JK for sharing!

94 points, 2025-06-07

Wonderful. Deeply hued garnet/purple/red, murky, fully bricked. Amazing nose, first of jam and then of plums, tobacco, and earth. Ripe, beautiful, elegant, and purple. These showed through on the palate as well, though the attack was soft and round. Not much structure remaining. Super long finish.

98 points, 2023-10-18

200 Burgundy Grand Crus from vintage 2000, 4-day blind tasting (Singapore): Encore bottle at the end. Nose of sour cherry, really funky, incredible structure, a little drying, lots of horse saddle, residual sweetness, sugar molasses. Good, but drink up.

95 points, 2022-09-12

Whilst I have tasted many vintages of Petrus, the 1966 Petrus is one that has eluded me. Finally, it appeared in a series of 1966s served blind and frankly, it's quality shone through long before its identity was revealed. You can consider this as the final great Petrus from the original vineyard, before absorbing part of Gazin in 1969. It revels in a stunning bouquet with graphite and bay leaf, as well as very intense black fruit that becomes almost Margaux-like with aeration. The palate is silky smooth with fine tannin, far more reserved and masculine than the 1964 Petrus, yet disarmingly focused and precise, hints of orange peel and morello cherry towards the pixelated finish. What a fabulous Pomerol, one that will last 15-20 years subject to provenance. Tasted April 2016.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 95

Extremely decadent and rich, with masses of thick, earthy chocolate flavors. Very rich yet balanced. Much rounder than most 1966s.--Petrus vertical. Drink now. -JS

Gillian Sciaretta, 93

was off to a bad start, and Tom noted that he had 'had better.' Dalia also didn't like it and its 'coffee.' Cathleen noticed 'banana,' while Tom was on its 'barnyard and band-aids.' The palate had flavors of minerals, smoke and gravel, and its alcohol seemed a touch out of balance. It wasn't the best bottle that I have had either, but I enjoyed its chocolaty, plummy fruit, and its acidity snuck out over time

VT, 92

The 1966 Petrus is yet another bottle at this dinner that just did not perform on the day, though it was still perfectly enjoyable. The bouquet feels a little dull at first, gaining more clarity with time despite a slight torrefactory element. The palate is well balanced with fine acidity, dry and austere for a Pomerol (and especially Petrus) though it is very harmonious on the finish of great length. It is just a bit timeworn, and the bottle that Olivier Bernard poured a decade earlier was far better. Tasted blind at the "Six" dinner at Domaine de Chevalier.

Neal Martin, 91

Strange nose that finally integrated with the palate in the last hour of the four hours, we had the bottle open. Layered, wonderfully complex and glossy, Coffee, dark fruit, creme brulee and floral notes. Spherical mouth feel with a nuanced finish. I would have scored this much higher if the nose had been more harmonious.

94 points, 2025-12-04

dinner at Jims (guilford ct): surprisingly tannic and young although it opened up over time, never reach greatness. surprisingly like my note from 10 years ago

92 points, 2023-02-23

Oh my ears and whiskers. Still “fresh”. This is a stunning example why sipping wine is fun 🙏

95 points, 2023-02-08

Lead. Pencil, rich, Ether, nail polish, spice, very mature and mellow. Balanced. Drink up. Mature. Pencil lead, matellic.

90 points, 2022-06-24

Star anise and lipstick hints on nose, which I don’t love. Plush, velvety fruit with palate that retains sweetness.

92 points, 2021-09-18

The 1964 Petrus sports the deepest colour of the three Pomerols. It is one of the finest bottles that I have met: dark berry fruit, freshly tilled earth, a sprig of wild mint, hints of bay leaf all delivered with impeccable precision and focus. This is a bouquet that you can easily lose yourself within. The palate is sublime with sappy red fruit, mulberry, thyme and clove, fanning out towards the finish that is fathomlessly deep. The harmony in this Pomerol is otherworldly and I feel it is blessed with the greatest persistence of the three. At 55-years of age, the brilliance of this Petrus remains undiminished.

David Schildknecht, 99

A mammoth Petrus of stupendous extraction and power, this wine seems to be aging at a glacier pace. I suppose the 1975 is somewhat similar in style, with high levels of tannin and equally impressive levels of richness. This wine has a dark, murky garnet color with some orange and rust at the edge. The spectacular aromatics soar from the glass, offering up roasted herbs, espresso coffee, mocha, caramel, and plenty of jammy red and black fruits. A huge, viscous, spectacularly concentrated wine that is almost over the top in a style that even wine administrator Christian Moueix would probably find too big and intense for his more delicately styled taste. Nevertheless, lucky owners of this Petrus have decades of thrills still ahead of them. This is spectacular stuff!

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 99

Original cork. High shoulder. Drank over 2 hours. Beautiful color. Initially light on the nose but did open slightly with dark fruit and iron notes. Silky on the palate with a very metallic finish. Gained volume and fruit but never really met expectations given what others have written.

92 points, 2025-12-17

Absolutely amazing wonderful condition. Beautiful dark ruby color decanted started tasting immediately. It steadily improved from wonderful to exquisite over the course of an hour. Amazing bottle from a legendary producer and year. This wine seems to have another 40 or 50 years in it.

100 points, 2024-07-31

High shoulder fill. No signs of seepage. The cork clearly took a disproportionate sampling of this wine - the bottom 1/2 inch was complete soaked through and the remainder of the cork had its out 1/8 of an inch of completely soaked. A strainer into a decanter was needed to separate the cork bits, even after use of an ah-so. Total sediment however was only about a half teaspoon. Color was just beginning to show signs of bricking and no orange. Initially a lot of Oak on the nose, which blew off within 15 minutes in the decanter. Back into the bottle for a second aeration with a rubber stopper inserted until dinner. At dinner, a couple hours later, it took the wine another 30 minutes to come around in the glass. The nose was interesting but far from exotic: ripe blueberries, some hints of mocha, tobacco, cedar, and hard leather. The palate was more expressive and if blind tasted I probably would have guessed a quality Right Bank wine of only 10 - 15 years. Ripe blueberries followed by a wave of slightly sour blueberries. Lurking throughout was the hard leather, tobacco, cedar and mocha. Velvety and lush on the center of the tongue with a simultaneous touch of nice food acidity on sides of the tongue - an distinct experience I don't recall with any other wine young or old. After the first 30 minutes, the wine did not change for the next 90+ minutes. My score includes 2 extra points for ageworthiness as I suspect this bottle would have showed similarly on its 70th birthday. My wife loved it more than I did, which is great because it was her birthday wine and she would have given it 97 points without any kicker points.

97 points, 2024-05-04

Check for typos: perfect bottle, but in competition with the Evangile 1975, perfect dark color, the nose was sweet and still fresh and also some truffles but the first smell was dried fig, really nice. The palate and the balance were really incredible. But in comparison to the Evangile, it was less sweet and much more classic. For me, it still has some years to come. What a bottle, really a great wine!

98 points, 2023-03-25

A wonderful example of old-school Petrus, that even though it is starting to fade, still offers a sultry, sensuous, truffle laden experience that coats and glides over your palate with layers of dark, sweet, opulently textured plums, cherries, spice, licorice, smoke, tobacco and spice.

95 points, 2020-02-04

A very delicate and refined Petrus, with deliciously fruity black olive and tobacco flavors, medium tannins and a long finish. Still incredibly fresh and youthful.--Petrus vertical. Drink now. -JS

Gillian Sciaretta, 94

The 1962 and 1959 Petrus were two of the finest bottles I have ever tasted of these vintages. The fully mature 1962 was reminiscent of a Medoc, with its minty, chocolatey, herbal, cedary-scented nose, medium-bodied, well-proportioned flavors, and structured personality. The wine still possesses a healthy dark ruby color with only slight amber at the edge. Although not that powerful or opulent, it is an outstanding example of Petrus made in a more graceful, elegant manner. Tasted blind, I would never have picked it out as a Pomerol.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 91

An Epic Vertical of Petrus (Ten Trinity Latour Club, London): Molten chocolate. The flavors are all fully integrated and mixed together in a complex melange. The tannins and structure are once again spellbinding.

97 points, 2019-03-02

Kevin's big 50 MNSC (Amuse Bouche): ex-chateau. opened 1.5hrs before serving. absolute stunner. glorious nose of sweet fruits, coffee and tobacco. hugely impressive.

98 points, 2017-05-03

NYE dinner with Julian/Ada, Brian/Ling, Thomas (Amber): Top notch condition bottle with perfect label and neck level. Wonderfully rich and sensual. Maybe lacking the usual powerful Petrus scent, but what a treat - many thanks Juliano!

96 points, 2011-12-31

From an above neck magnum, In perfect shape, very ripe dark fruit, extremely sweet, dark milk chocolate, all kinds of crazy tertiary note, strong presence of truffle, exotic and kinky. The wine got sweeter and sweeter and the last drop was the best after 3+ hours.

99 points, 2011-04-02

So who said 1962 petrus aint all that. Wow Wow Wow. What a sexhy/silky texture, silkier than hermes silk, mouthful of wine, fully matured and its peak.

97 points, 2005-11-01

The fabled 1961 Petrus is a wine that I know an awful lot about, but never tasted myself. Indeed, it was researching my Pomerol tome that I came across the almost accidental and fortuitous circumstances that surrounded its birth. As always with bottles such as this, I inspected the bottle meticulously, not just the label but the glass, the capsule, the residue inside the capsule, the cork and finally the wine, notwithstanding enquiries about its provenance and juxtaposing directly with other bottles of Petrus tasted on the same day. And here we had context because it was served against a ex-chateau 1961 Palmer. Readers should also note that I showed Jean-Claude Berrouet images of the bottle, cork and capsule and he confirmed that to all intents and purposes, this was the real deal. Its color was commensurate with the vintage, deep at the core with think bricking at the rim. The 1961s have a telltale aromatic trait -- a distant seaweed/iodine-like tang that was present both here and in the 1961 Palmer. I did not discern a hedonistic Pomerol after 55 years, however, you could tell it must have been very concentrated in its youth with vestiges of black plum and blackberry. This marine-like scent ebbed away and the aromatics blossomed in a manner that all great Petrus do, the fruit changing slightly towards red in profile, mulberry and cranberry, all with bewitching delineation. The palate has exquisite balance; it is structured and with solid backbone, not foursquare but certainly more serious and less sensual than say, the 1964 Petrus. It has a wonderful, slightly grainy texture and it felt a little savory/cedar-like on the intense, sweet, luxuriant finish, perhaps those handful of Cabernet Franc vines influencing the persistent aftertaste with just a faint tang of bell pepper? It is a formidable Pomerol, even now in what I would describe as its middle age rather than dotage. As banal as it sounds, it was fundamentally a delicious mature Petrus of staggering beauty, a

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 99

followed out of magnum and actually had the best structure components in the nose of the three Pomerols so far, perhaps the magnum factor. There was lots of anise and tannin present, with great plum, mocha, mineral, alcohol and earth. Tight out of magnum, it was powerful, restrained and still opening up, almost ready for college

VT, 98

(-) Deep red-ruby color with an amber edge. Utterly singular perfumed, high-pitched aromas of loganberry, cherry and flowers. An awesomely concentrated wine of huge power and depth. Chewy with extract and wonderfully sweet and rich. Shows the strong iron note I often get from merlot on the Pomerol plateau, along with superripe suggestions of cherry liqueur and dark chocolate. Finishes with great grip and length, and a bit less sweetness than the middle palate would suggest. Drink now through 2020.

Stephen Tanzer, 98

--1961 Bordeaux horizontal.

Gillian Sciaretta, 92

18x Mature Bordeaux Legends (+2x Napa): Tasting five mature Petrus magnums in one sitting sets high expectations, especially when most bottles come from legendary vintages. In the end, it was a mixed performance, as it often is with Petrus for me, a few truly great, transcendent wines marked by intoxicating fruit and deep umami, alongside others that fell short. The 1970 stood out as an absolute stunner, one of the best wines I have ever had. A clear 100-point wine, with maximum complexity, laser-sharp precision, hedonistic depth, and flawless balance. The 1961 (94pts) was a very good wine, but showed a muted nose and lacked the substance and definition of the 1970. The 1982 (92pts) needed time and air to come together. While pleasant and enjoyable, it did not reach the level of greatness expected from the vintage. The 1948 (91pts) had an almost perfect and unique nose, but the palate had little life left. The 1953 was unfortunately corked and undrinkable. A fascinating lineup, but also a reminder that Petrus is never a guarantee, even in the greatest of vintages.TN: The nose is not fully open, with a dark fruit core and earthy notes. With air, more herbal and umami aromas develop. The palate brings fine red berries, herbal tones, umami, and earth, all in a round, refined frame. It lacks the substance and power of the top bottles, but offers graceful elegance and growing sweetness with time. 94/95pts.

94 points, 2025-04-13

Good but not great. Nevertheless, it had good richness and fatness on the palate with an intense palate. Very youthful for a 61.

94 points, 2025-03-06

Simply insane. Chocolates pepper, caramel, youthful tannins. As perfect as it can be.

100 points, 2025-03-01

2025 Richter All-Magnum Extravaganza (Zunfthaus zur Waag Zurich): A great magnum. The whole room erupted with cheers over this wine and it was praised as fantastic. Somehow I didn't really have that same experience. A great wine by all means, but was it the winner of the night as it was for so many? Not for me. Beautiful in the nose, with notes of red fruit, rapberries, some herbs and spices. Incredibly dense and interesting in the palate as well with some malt, caramel and walnut.

96 points, 2025-03-01

Cru Crew Wine dinner hosted by Brad England (Mara restaurant at the Four Seasons hotel in Minneapolis, MN.): Served alongside '61 Latour, Lafite, Mouton and Petrus in a tasting/dinner preceeded by 19 vintages of Ramonet Montrachet. Needless to say, my palate may not be 100% up to par. Dark fruit. Nose seemed muted. Velvety, soft palate. Nice, but not great imo.

94 points, 2024-04-29

The 1960 Petrus was served blind. While it was clear that we were in the presence of a Pomerol of serious pedigree, I was shocked not so much by the revelation of its age since the color betrayed that clearly enough, but by revelation of its undistinguished birth-year. It had a dark color that suggested a warmer growing season. The bouquet is straightforward but defined, a hint of black plum soon nudged over for powdered dark chocolate, sage and glowing embers. The palate is medium-bodied, quite earthy, soft and easy-going, but with a sense of harmony and an abstract sense of pride on the finish. I doubt many 1960 Pomerol wines approach this Petrus, which to my mind would have been the last vintage under the legendary grande dame de Pomerol, Mme. Loubat. Tasted September 2015.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 88

The 1959 Petrus was my second bottle within six months. This is another splendid example. It has a fabulous bouquet with intense red fruit aromas infused with blood orange, crushed stone and just a hint of gingerbread. There is a brilliant sense of mineralite and tension in this Petrus as it gains intensity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, perhaps eschewing the corpulence you sometimes find in this vintage. Fine-boned with impressive clarity and poise, it fans out gloriously with its tensile red fruit toward the finish, where faint hints of clove and bay leaf linger in the mouth. This is one of the best bottles of several I have now tasted. Tasted at the 1940s/1950s dinner at Epure in Hong Kong.

Neal Martin, 97

The 1962 and 1959 Petrus were two of the finest bottles I have ever tasted of these vintages. The 1959 was unctuous, sweet, gloriously fruity, thick, and jammy, with gobs of glycerin, full body, and a viscous, long, heady finish. Fully mature, but revealing considerable intensity and life, this wine that will drink well for another 10-15 years.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 93

Eastside Tasting Group End of Year Extravaganza (Newcastle, WA): Deep, plummy, cassis. Wowza Merlot. A silky blast of chocolate and black cherry. Perfection.

100 points, 2019-12-20

Carli60) noch kein bisschen mude, feines, etwas dominantes Sauregerust, herrlich milder Abgang

96 points, 2019-10-12

Slightly better in the nose, with its truffle, black cherry, cinnamon, smoke, tobacco and earthy profile, the wine was loaded with earthy, cherries in the finish. But it lacked the silky, opulent, decadent qualities of Petrus, as well as Pomerol in the finish.

95 points, 2015-11-26

The wine offered an intoxicating perfume of cassis, earth, plums, truffles, tobacco and exotic spices. The texture was pure silk and velvet.

95 points, 2006-04-15

Petrus 1921 - 1966, all the great years, in Magnum (Melisse Restaurant, Santa Monica, California): From magnum - a little orange at the edges. With a berry and caramel nose, this wine was lovely, elegant, concentrated, full of black fruit and espresso, with a nice long finish. 96+ pts.

96 points, 2003-09-28

The 1955 Petrus is a vintage not encountered for some time. Quite intense on the nose, it offers very finely delineated blackberry, cedar, Earl Grey and light earthy scents, alongside hints of wilted rose petals. The palate is sedate at first, yet it gains intensity and delineation as it opens in the glass. This has wonderful finesse with dark cherry, rooibos and subtle white pepper notes. There is a symmetry that I really appreciate about this Pomerol, you can just sit back and watch it grow in the glass. It is excellent. Tasted at "Koala's" Bordeaux dinner in Hong Kong.

Neal Martin, 93

Clearly, not as good as the previous bottle. Better on the palate, with its round, earthy, truffle-laden, chocolate, and plum core of fruits, than on its discreet perfume, which displayed its earthy, truffle character with just a hint of red plums, and cocoa. Every bottle at this age is unique, with some bottles showing much better than others. That being said, this is not a wine to hold for further development. Drink from 2025-2030.

92 points, 2025-05-20

In the hallowed halls of oenological mastery, few wines command the reverence and mystique of the 1955 Petrus. With each bottle representing a piece of vinicultural history, I embark upon a journey of sensory exploration, eager to unlock the secrets held within its ancient depths.As the cork surrenders to my gentle persuasion, releasing decades of anticipation in a subtle pop, the air becomes charged with the aroma of aged elegance. Pouring the wine into the glass reveals a hue reminiscent of polished mahogany, its rich depths hinting at the wisdom acquired over sixty-nine years of maturation. With each swirl, the wine bestows upon me a kaleidoscope of scents, earthy truffles, velvety plums, and whispers of tobacco that dance gracefully upon the air.Upon the first sip, time itself seems to stand still as the wine envelops my senses in a symphony of flavor. The palate is greeted by an opulent tapestry of dark fruits, black cherries, ripe figs, and sun-kissed currants, each layer unfolding with the grace of a well-rehearsed ballet. Yet, beneath this veneer of fruit lies a depth of complexity that can only be achieved through decades of patient aging. Notes of leather and forest floor intermingle with hints of cedar and spice, creating a mosaic of flavor that evolves with each passing moment.But beyond the sensory delights of the wine itself, each sip evokes memories of a bygone era, a time when the world was poised on the brink of change, and life was lived with a certain effortless elegance. It calls to mind evenings spent in dimly lit bistros, the air thick with the aroma of Gauloises and the laughter of lovers entwined in the dance of passion. It conjures images of Parisian boulevards, where artists and intellectuals gathered to debate the meaning of life over glasses of velvety Bordeaux.Yet, for all its historical significance, the 1955 Petrus remains a wine of unparalleled beauty and grace, a testament to the artistry of its creators and the enduring power of the vine. Each sip is a journey through time and space, a fleeting glimpse into a world long past yet forever enshrined in the amber liquid that now graces my glass.As I sit here, bathed in the warm glow of nostalgia and the intoxicating embrace of the 1955 Petrus, I am reminded of the profound connection between wine, memory, and the essence of life itself. This is not merely a beverage; it is a portal to a world of dreams and desires, where every sip is a step closer to unlocking the secrets of the un

98 points, 2024-04-28

Beautiful wine with rich sweet flavors of red fruit. Perfectly balanced and very long on the palate. Great wine!

94 points, 2022-08-07

Purchased on release by a friend, this was simply off the hook. Elegant, silky, showy, flamboyant and loaded with start to finish with truffles, smoke, coffee beans, tobacco, roasted red plums, herbs and spice. The finish was soft, silky and elegant, with bright, earthy, spicy red fruits that lingered long after the wine was gone.

97 points, 2022-04-05

Spices, pepper, cedar, toast, dried red fruits, liquorice, tea leaf, medium acidity and tannin. Tannin resolved. Medium garnet in colour. Slow ox 2 hours.

96 points, 2020-12-31

'Petrus or Lafleur?' I was asked, to which I would always reply the same thing, 'Petrus.' No offense to the incredible Lafleur, but I'm a Petrus boy, what can I say. A magnum of 1953 Petrus reminded me why I made that decision without hesitation. This was a spectacular wine from the very first sniff. The nose was fabulous, perfect old Petrus. Plum, olive, earth and iron all danced like white and black swans so happy together. Pat noted, 'the good part of the banana peel.' The wine had deep and rich fruit that was dripping everywhere, both aromatically and on the palate. The wine was lush, meaty and nutty, still round with a tight chalkiness, nonetheless. We guessed how many magnums of 1953 Petrus remain in the world today, and Big Boy conservatively guessed three to six, while I said less than twenty. I couldn't stop drinking this wine, it was just so delicious and just right out of magnum right now (96M).

VT, 96

I don't whether it was because of how the wine was shaken up en route to the Chop House or because of the decanting process or because of the wine itself, but this wine was much less clear than the 1953 Cheval served alongside. Fully mature ruby colour. Lovely richness and spice on the nose and an immense amount of sweetness but less frankness than the Cheval. It still finished fresh, however, and showed no signs of decay - just a very slightly soupy character.

Samantha Cole-Johnson, 92.5

A youthful, very fresh Petrus, with lively black olive character and an expansive, powerful mouthfeel. Very ripe fruit flavors. This will continue to improve with age, but it's perfect to drink now.

Gillian Sciaretta, 92

Peppers, cedar, red berries, youthful tannins. Was slightly corked but it clearly showed its colors.

95 points, 2025-03-01

Served blind. So dark in the glass for its age. I thought 1980s and possibly 1982 as it was so well balanced. Classic bordeaux nose. A slight hint of lean but definitely not the classic left bank green pepper. Lots of balance and harmony. Feels a warm vintage from a cool era. What an incredible treat. From a Belgium importer label.Shared by DKT at Supertanker.

95 points, 2022-03-09

A superb birthday dinner (Amsterdam): Level low shoulder, some lovage, a ripe colour, still some red, firm, tannins, severe/classic, still a bit smooth and showing its age gracefully; the aftertaste is surprisingly balanced.

94 points, 2022-01-05

Surprisingly youthful nose of luscious rich plummy baked dark red fruits and the most etheral sous bois and pipe tobacco I've ever smelled. The palate had poise and grace in its age, everything was in fantastic balance. The tannins are shockingly fine, adding the structure that is necessary to hold everything together. Simply superb. I can only hope I show as well as this when I'm nearly 65!

96 points, 2017-07-09

It was great. Tasted old, but not over the hill. Looked pretty bricked. Powerful fresh fruit. Stewed fruit. Baked fruit. Baking spices and cedar. Body is like candy. Tannins are the finest I've tasted. Supple. Great acid. Balance and structure are straining against the years, but like a truly beautiful woman it's youth has turned elegance and delicacy. PDQ95+

95 points, 2013-07-09

3rd of 4 bottles bought at Christie's in 1999, opened an hour then splash decanted, bottom shoulder, soaked and blackened cork, flavours as well described by J Leve below, velvet and almost caramellised, but slightly edgy, the lightest and most amber of the reds and the least satisfactory claret of night with the near neighbour Cheval 52 taking the palm, a couple of steps behind bottles drunk in 02 and 04, so drink up! F (17.5).

92 points, 2023-07-15

Truffles, dried flowers, dried plums, wet earth, charcoal, and wet earth created the complex set of aromatics. Medium-bodied with a hint of dark, cocoa, truffle and peppery spices interspersed in the palate, even though it was fading, it was still a treat it the glass, for as long as it lasted. Drink from 2022-2028.

92 points, 2022-09-24

My 4th 1952 tasting & dinner (1992, 2016, 2017 and 2019) (Michelin starred restaurant Cheval Blanc Heemstede, The Netherlands): Chateau label, but I'm not sure it is a chateau bottled wine.The third Petrus '52 in a relatively short period and this one didn't reach the level of the previous two. A deep, slightly worrying colour, a bouquet with recognizable decay and than a kind of resurrection in the smooth and ripe taste with a surprisingly balanced aftertaste. From start to finish the balance was quite weak; so, it was again an experience as Petrus always is, but this bottle had it shortcomings.

91 points, 2019-10-09

My friends Loek and Saskia organized a fantastic dinner and wine tasting for my birthday. After the Gimonnet-Henry NV Cuis, the fantastic Dom Perignon '85 and the fantastic '09 Les Enseigneres, this Petrus (no chateau label) from my year of birth was super elegant, not bearing much age, even showing freshness. The elegant vanilla combines with the subtile midtaste. The soft bitters and the round tannins complete this wine.

94 points, 2018-11-02

My third 1952 tasting (1st, 1992, 2nd - 2016, 3rd May 2017, including Latour, Mouton and Petrus). After I had removed the cap I saw the cork floating in the wine. The capsule only had kept the wine at a medium to high shoulder level. Of course I was afraid, but the wine showed very well!! Starting very fresh, with a real core, a firm, full and round wine, with depth and real concentration, smooth and maybe in the midtaste a bit too ripe, but who cares. It took some time for '52s to show their full personality, but if they do they are really good.

94 points, 2017-05-17

Wonderful wine, story to tell. Still showing well. Tertiary notes mostly, some pleasant acidity.

94 points, 2026-04-04

Quite sweet but superbly elegant, much deeper than other wines on the side. Chocolate, cedar, blueberries, marmalade, all spices. Soft, toned, and complex, with a fresh citrus finish. Excellent vintage. 96-97

96 points, 2025-12-28

Deep garnet in colour. Pronounced nose intensity with spices, toast, char wood. Medium+ acidity, medium tannin. On palate is velvety.

92 points, 2022-08-28

Drank at 67PMWhat a beauty. Still holding on with a wonderful mature nose and palate. Wonderful

96 points, 2020-07-04

An Epic Vertical of Petrus (Ten Trinity Latour Club, London): This is fully mature and at its peak. Awesome complexity with lots of dark fruit and chocolate.

97 points, 2019-03-02

Tasted 3 Times With Inconsistent Notes

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 95

Intoxicating 100-point nose (wow!), very ripe berries, layered with tropical banana/durian notes. Makes you want to enjoy this nose for eternity, with almost no need to even drink the wine. Alas, the palate confirms the nose, but with more sweet cassis, fine acidic backbone, delicate tobacco leaves, extreme depth & layered. Tannins were fine grained but felt grippier than ideal, and mouthfeel wasn’t as plush as one would hope for a wine with this nose and pedigree (perhaps a decade or two past peak?). Bottle was in perfect condition, and wine continued to open up over 1 hour+, but no one could resist waiting longer than that, and every last drop of this historic & alluring liquid was drunk very quickly.

95 points, 2025-03-01

Started out surprisingly a bit petillant, very fresh and vibrant, quickly settles in to a very classic, ful bodied Pomerol with plenty of truffles, chocolate, hints of smoke, black bedrries still very much present,. A taste of history with a grateful nod, bottle and wine in perfect condition. Vandermeulen bottling.#IB

93 points, 2023-04-28

A Cornet Demanet bottling. An exceptional wine. At first the oomph was missing on the palate but this kept improving over hours and turned into a classic, complex, precise, vivid and fresh Bordeaux that can develop for a few more decades and gain even more complexity. At first around 94/95pts, towards the end easily 97/98pts. TN: Quite intense, expressive nose displaying minty notes, chalky minerality wrapped around a dark red fruit core, some tobacco and black truffles. On the palate the same aromas with more tobacco and some brighter red berry sweetness. Good at first but medium complex only and a bit to thin on the palate. Then with time and air this wine gained more body and blossomed into a truly exceptional wine fresh, delicate dark, blue and red fruits popping up, additional notes of smoke, herbs and minerality and even some chocolate. Truly classic and wonderful.

97 points, 2023-04-22

A negociant bottling lunch: From a Cornet Demanet bottling (another Belgian negociant). This needed a bit of time to develop. It started out incredibly young and fresh but lacked a bit of depth. With time it gained weight and became a stunning wine. Still really young and fresh with red berries, vanilla and a great mouthfell. Wow!

99 points, 2023-04-02

An Epic Vertical of Petrus (Ten Trinity Latour Club, London): This bottle was fully mature and past its prime but still enjoyable. A bit thinner and not as expressive.

92 points, 2019-03-02

18x Mature Bordeaux Legends (+2x Napa): Tasting five mature Petrus magnums in one sitting sets high expectations, especially when most bottles come from legendary vintages. In the end, it was a mixed performance, as it often is with Petrus for me, a few truly great, transcendent wines marked by intoxicating fruit and deep umami, alongside others that fell short. The 1970 stood out as an absolute stunner, one of the best wines I have ever had. A clear 100-point wine, with maximum complexity, laser-sharp precision, hedonistic depth, and flawless balance. The 1961 (94pts) was a very good wine, but showed a muted nose and lacked the substance and definition of the 1970. The 1982 (92pts) needed time and air to come together. While pleasant and enjoyable, it did not reach the level of greatness expected from the vintage. The 1948 (91pts) had an almost perfect and unique nose, but the palate had little life left. The 1953 was unfortunately corked and undrinkable. A fascinating lineup, but also a reminder that Petrus is never a guarantee, even in the greatest of vintages.TN: The nose is intoxicating, showing classic aged wine character with tobacco, meat, malt, and dark fruit, later evolving into sweet blue fruit reminiscent of Le Pin and perfect strawberries. Utterly complex, harmonious, and fresh. The palate, however, does not quite match. It shows less freshness and clarity, with a bit of thinning from the mid-palate onward and lacking the same aromatic pressure. The acidity stands out and the structure is noticeably weaker than the nose would suggest. 98/99pts for the nose, the palate was probably at 87pts.

91 points, 2025-04-13

Honey, wood, mint, vetiver note. A very crisp acidity reflecting the rainy year. Comes across as younger. Nice but I like my wines more balanced.

93 points, 2025-03-01

2025 Richter All-Magnum Extravaganza (Zunfthaus zur Waag Zurich): From magnum. Extreme difference between the fantastic nose - that I would rate 98 - and the disappointing palate - that I would probably rate in the mid-to-high 80s. Intense red berries and blue fruit in the nose, beautiful sweetness and even feels young. On the palate it is fairly lean with an acidity that is not perfectly integrated and therefore feels a bit disjointed.

93 points, 2025-03-01

Mature and Maturing Bordeaux (Oslo): Extremely dark, violent acidity, very tannic, actually the most tannic wine of the night, some dark fruit, linear, superb length and cleanness. Initially a bit monolithic, but gained depth and complexity in the glass.

97 points, 2012-10-19

Harmonische Fruchtearomen von Erdbeere und Himbeere. Hohe Intensitat von Aromen und einen sehr langen harmonischen Abgang. Schoner Schmelz. Uber 2 Stunden positive Entwicklung, anfanglich leichte Saure verfluchtigte sich bald. Schone Farbe, leicht braunliches rot. Sehr stabil uber den Degustationszeitraum.Ein wunderbarer GenussAbsolut gigantisch.

97 points, 2026-03-14

Vandermeulen bottling. Certainly a bucket list wine for me. And, my father's birth year. Ejoyed with him, my mother, and wife on a special day. I had been saving this for him. This bottle was not in the best of shape, beat up capsule, torn and worn label, and looked it's age. But the fill was decent. Upper mid shoulder trending toward mid shoulder. No signs of seepage. Shockingly, this took about an hour open up, and then chameleoned over the 2nd hour after that. Ebbing and flowing with umami notes, cooked plum and light prune, wet stone, light minty notes mixed with dried red florals. Lovely medium weight with a glycerin filled mid palate bottle sweetness. Just when I thought it was fading at 1.5 hours and slight soy sauce notes emerged, it veered back into it's warm plummy baking spice and mineral character. Long finish. I've had many vintages of Petrus ('62, '66, '67, '70, '71, '76, '75, '79...mostly classic Mdme Loubat years). This was the most unique and different. A great bottle of '75 is my favorite. But Petrus is like your kids...all different, and you love them all! And hard to admit a favorite! 92-94 pts on opening, blossoming to 96 at hour 2.

96 points, 2026-01-09

The 1947 Petrus, a nectar of the gods that transcends the boundaries of time and circumstance, recounted through the lens of a scoundrel, adventurer, and lover of the finer things in life, a soul whose very essence is entwined with the pursuit of the extraordinary.In the hands of a rogue, a bottle of the legendary 1947 Petrus is not merely a wine; it is a treasure, a legend, a promise of transcendence. Such a bottle found its way into my possession, a relic from a bygone era, hidden beneath the floorboards of a cabin left behind by a grandfather who, in his wisdom, had preserved this elixir for a discerning palate such as mine. Gramps, I get it now…”under the floorboards you'll find forgetfulness” spoken to me over my youth. As the crimson liquid poured forth, it whispered tales of vineyards kissed by sun and caressed by the gentle hands of vintners long gone. The first sip was a revelation, an explosion of flavors that danced upon my tongue like the echoes of ancient melodies. The wine, with its velvety texture and complex bouquet, bore witness to the passage of time, carrying within its depths the essence of decades past.But this was more than a mere indulgence in the senses. It was a journey, a sojourn into the past, a resurrection of memories that had been buried deep within the recesses of my soul. For in the midst of the golden glow of that exquisite 1947 Petrus, I found myself transported to the stories of my grandfather, a brave soul who had weathered the storms of war and hardship, yet had left behind a legacy of resilience and hope.My grandfather's tales resonated within me as I savored every drop, his voice echoing in the chambers of my mind. He had faced adversity with a spirit unbroken, finding solace in the simple pleasures of life, the warmth of family, the embrace of love, and the sublime taste of exceptional wine. In his memory, I delved deeper into the secrets of the 1947 Petrus, allowing its rich notes to weave a tapestry of comfort around my heart.As the evening unfolded, I found myself not able to resist a large Pagliacci's pizza, its aromatic allure complementing the wine in a dance of flavors that titillated the senses. The contrast of the crisp crust, the savory cheese, and the succulent toppings against the backdrop of the Petrus's elegance was a symphony of indulgence, a feast fit for a scoundrel with a penchant for life's pleasures, and it made since of my recent bad news….The IRS, in their relentless pursuit, has stripped awa

99 points, 2023-10-27

A Vandermeulen bottling. This bottle showed incredibly complex, with loads of fruit and tertiary heaven will full-blown malty and umami notes. Highly complex, loads of fruit and flowery notes as well as tension and freshness to cut through that bold, intense profile. Easily on a 98pts level and an incredible feast, intellectually and hedonistically. We tasted it again a few hours later and by that time the fruit had retracted a bit, the wine became a touch more monolithic and it had lost a bit of tension (probably drinking on a 94/95pts level). Ignoring that second round, this was the best Petrus I’ve had the luck of tasting to date. Others preferred the 1949 (rated 97+pts) as it showed more classic and well behaved but in the first round, the 1949 was the better wine for me thanks to a clearly higher complexity, especially all the beautiful umami & malty notes. TN: Good from the go. Impressive concentration and aromatic intensity on the nose and palate with rather dried dark red berries, dried flowers and herbs, a fine streak of minerality and then loads of tobacco, bacon fat/umami, caramel and hones as well as wonderful malty notes. It gained fruit, sweetness, and complexity by the minute. All in ultra HD. Good tension and freshness with an intact tannic structure but without any hard edges. Not exactly ultra-light and airy but the 70+ years helped to cut excess fat and render it and elegant wine from start to finish. Exceptional balance.

98 points, 2023-04-22

A negociant bottling lunch: This had the iconic '47 opulence and ripeness on steroids. Huge wine with so many layers. Bitter orange, medicial, malt, moccha, red berries, incredible minerality, gets even better with air and further develops the malty and caramel notes I love so much. When you open bottles like this the nervousness accompanies you, but then when you open that bottle and it shows like this: pure bliss!

96 points, 2023-04-02

I have only tasted a handful of wines as ripe and magnificent as this. It is so thick you can almost spread it with a knife; with wonderful chocolate, berry, earth and violet flavors.--Petrus vertical. Drink now.

Gillian Sciaretta, 100

Five years in my making, and sixty-five years in the bottle, it was finally time for this 1945 Petrus. This was an original, no doubt about it bottle. Perfection came to mind upon first whiff, as its nose was a kaleidoscope of greatness, as if every great quality from all the Pomerols I've ever had were right there in my glass. Aromas of plum, chocolate and royal garden marched into my nose with style and precision. Fine was an understatement, as its elegance and breed were of an Olympic equestrian level, carrying over to its fruit, which was elegant but at the same time beyond wealthy. Its concentration was golden, as in bars not bracelets. I could not get over its density, both in the nose and on the palate. The 1945 was all that and then some, and it seduced me like a gorgeous woman whispering in my ear, 'I'll be whatever you want me to be.' Its color was still dark and vibrant; this wine could last another fifty years without issue. Its royal garden qualities upgraded to Versailles status, and flavors of mocha abounded on its dense and deft palate, with nice traces of chalk on its finish. There were pinches of wild herbs emerging, in a rosemary meets wheat way, as well as a baked goodness in a coconut direction, but not quite coconut. Our sommelier noted, 'strawberry.' The chef at Otto E Mezzo, Hong Kong's version of Mario Batali, gushed that it was 'so young and so healthy.' What was so great about this bottle, and this vintage for the Right Bank in general, is that it still possessed a tension to its fruit, unlike 1947, which produced concentrated and much sweeter wines in general. I can only hope to taste this nectar again in my lifetime, but I strongly suspect that it will be difficult to achieve the heights that this bottle achieved. It touched my soul.

VT, 99

Tasted 2 Times With Consistent Notes

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, 98

My second bottle of 1945 Petrus came from a renowned European collector. This was sold at auction in 2021. It is clear in hue with commensurate aging on the rim, which is what you would expect from this vintage. The bouquet is slightly different from the bottle tasted three years earlier. It’s more Left Bank in style, with a touch of cedar infusing the red fruit, alongside hints of brine that I encountered before. The palate is powerful and quite masculine, with a hint of graphite on the finish. Whereas the previous bottle alluded to Burgundy's unerring purity, this suggests Bordeaux with some Cabernet Franc in the mix. Silky smooth, with a splash of balsamic on the finish, this is a marvelous Pomerol that is a privilege to drink. Tasted at the 1940s/1950s dinner at Epure in Hong Kong.

Neal Martin, 96

Legends only: 15 Bordeaux & 2 Heitz MV Magnums: Battle between three 1945 Bordeaux legends - all from magnum! Certainly once in a lifetime opportunity. All double decanted 3-4 hours prior to consumption. The winner was the Petrus (rated 96+ pts) which is pure elegance in a bottle without a shred of weight and with every aroma painted with the finest brush strokes. Very Burgundian, absolutely mesmerizing. The palate would have deserved a higher score but bouquet was a bit shy. The Vieux Chateau Certain (rated 95 pts) was dark and wild, very intense and complex. Some probably unripe Cabernet Sauvignon berries went into the blend which lend the wine freshness and add to the complexity. The “weakest” wine among the 45s was the Latour (rated 92 pts) which showed a bit evolved on the nose and a bit thinned out on the palate which, however, showed a beautifully pure sweetness. TN: Quite dark colored. Medium+ expressive with loads of minerality and an array of dark berries. Seems much younger. The nose feels luxurious but understated, it doesn‘t have the expressiveness and intensity of most other wines tonight. On the palate, however, this is absolutely incredible. It is so fresh, young, vibrant and full of tension and at the same time there is this absolute elegance, the most luxurious structure, no weight at all. Very delicate but intense red berries, other dark red fruits as well as flat out black cassis fruit, such a beautiful sweetness, still fresh, not too ripe. Wow. In addition, meaty notes, such a wonderful herbal and earthy component, very fine tobacco, some old leather, superb minty freshness, so much minty and spicy notes. Incredibly complex and so precise and all embedded in that most perfect structure with a perfect harmony and a long finish. 96 to 97 pts from a technical standpoint. Easily a 100 pts experience given the rarity and history of this bottle.

96 points, 2021-11-24

Petrus 1921 - 1966, all the great years, in Magnum (Melisse Restaurant, Santa Monica, California): From magnum - tight nose, that eventually opened to scents of meat and oak; really concentrated on the palate, and tight, but gradually opened to reveal meaty, good fruit, with cedar notes. A remarkably young tasting wine with a very long finish.

97 points, 2003-09-28

Blue glass - no iron during the war available for wine glasses I guess. The was a stunning wine. Perfect color - deep dark red. The wine is complex, clean and vibrant. Good fruit left in here - red and dark berries, leather, pencil. Good sweetness on the palate. Everything one could hope for in a 80 year old wine.

95 points, 2022-10-02

Petrus 1921 - 1966, all the great years, in Magnum (Melisse Restaurant, Santa Monica, California): From magnum - deep garnet in color, showing no orange at the edges. The nose was an intoxicating mix of blackberry and caramel. This was a fabulously concentrated, thick, port-like concoction with beautiful blackberry fruit and an espresso finish. Pure hedonism! After an hour in the glass, this one was still surprisingly full of fruit and wonderful.

100 points, 2003-09-28

An Epic Vertical of Petrus (Ten Trinity Latour Club, London): Wow!!!! The nose is just spectacular, impossible to stop sniffing. Earth, blueberry, dark chocolate, cinnamon and spice, it’s all there. Amazing complexity and a finish that goes on and on. The tannins are pure velvet. Wine does not get any better than this. An out of this world experience.

100 points, 2019-03-02

Dry raspberry jam, light coffee grounds, svelte acid. Quite sophisticated. Negoc bottling. Authenticated by chateau. 97

97 points, 2018-09-08

Petrus 1921 - 1966, all the great years, in Magnum (Melisse Restaurant, Santa Monica, California): From magnum - slightly corked on the nose, with hints of espresso. Even though slightly corked, there was clearly good structure, cedar and coffee on the mid-palate, and nice length. Best corked wine I've ever had.

96 points, 2003-09-28

Petrus 1921 - 1966, all the great years, in Magnum (Melisse Restaurant, Santa Monica, California): From magnum - nose of coffee and blackberry. An immense pleasure on the palate, concentrated, yet elegant, tasting of boysenberries, boysenberry swirl ice cream and espresso, with a great, long finish of coffee and boysenberry. Wow! And still one more flight to go. 100+ pts.

100 points, 2003-09-28

Dinner at Wilf's. Well, I'm almost speechless. This was one of the most beaitful bottles of wine I've ever drunk. Even better than 1900 Margaux! Medium to dark ruby color. Flamboyant nose of truffles, spices, coffee, and milk chocolate. Finish that lasted a minute. This bottle was pristine. Amazing!

100 points, 2006-11-19