The short answer
The most recent recorded sale of Petrus 1978 in our data was £1,778 a bottle in October 2022.
Petrus 1978 represents a classic late-ripening vintage from the Pomerol estate on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. Across professional reviews, the vintage holds a critic average of 89.0 from 2 published reviews, while private collectors award it an average score of 94.6 across 29 drinker ratings. Made by Christian Moueix, with Jean-Claude Berrouet as oenologist, from the estate vineyard planted on deep blue clay, the wine emerged from a damp, dreary spring and summer rescued by fine, sunny weather from mid-August that prevailed throughout a late harvest. The recorded drinking window spanned 2001 to 2024, indicating that sound bottles are now at the conclusion of their optimal lifespan. Market activity remains highly selective, with trades logged in 3 months of this site's recorded history. Collectors assessing physical bottles of the 1978 vintage must scrutinise cellar provenance and ullage levels due to the fragility of fully mature Merlot after four decades.
Growing season and harvest conditions for Petrus 1978
Petrus 1978 was saved by a late change in the weather. According to Decanter, damp, dreary weather through spring and summer did not augur well for the vintage.
Things picked up in mid-August, which saw the start of fine, sunny weather that prevailed throughout the harvest, which started late. Christian Moueix made the wine at the roughly 11-hectare property, with Jean-Claude Berrouet as oenologist.
Critic assessments and professional reception
Decanter's Pomerol vintage guide calls the Petrus superb, and notes that although the vintage was felt at the time to lag behind the Medoc, the best have proved to be classics which have stood the test of time. The release holds a critic average of 89.0 across 2 published reviews.
Across 29 drinker ratings compiled across fine wine cellars, the bottle holds an average score of 94.6. Consumers frequently reward the complex tertiary aromatics that developed as the initially strict tannins softened over decades in glass.
Drinking window and current maturity
The recorded drinking window for the vintage spans 2001 to 2024. This trajectory confirms that well-stored bottles have reached the absolute tail end of their prime maturity. Unlike powerful modern releases such as the 2018, the 1978 was crafted in an era of lower natural alcohol and higher structural acidity.
In the glass, remaining bottles offer delicate notes of dried herbs, leather, damp earth, and resolved tannins. Opening a standard 750ml bottle today requires prompt consumption, as the fragile secondary matrix oxidises rapidly once exposed to air.
Comparative benchmark against adjacent vintages
Placing the vintage alongside adjacent years provides clear historical context. The 1978 holds a critic average of 89.0, with 88.0 for the 1979 and 89.0 for the 1980. The 1975 vintage holds a critic average of 95.8 and a drinking window of 2000 to 2050.
Later benchmark vintages demonstrate the estate capacity in warmer seasons. The 1989 holds a critic average of 100.0 and last traded at £2,833 a bottle in June 2026, while the 2009 holds 99.2 and is offered at £5,250 a bottle.
Market availability and authentication considerations
Physical availability of the 1978 release is exceptionally thin on the global market. The 1978 has traded in 3 months of our recorded history, and last traded at £1,778 a bottle in October 2022. Small annual estate production of roughly 30,000 bottles, combined with forty-six years of global consumption, ensures that remaining stock appears almost exclusively through specialist auction houses.
Because Petrus is one of the most counterfeited wines in the world, acquiring older vintages requires rigorous provenance checks. Buyers should verify label details, including the correct absence of the word chateau, alongside capsule integrity, glass stamps, and cork branding. Fill levels below upper shoulder indicate accelerated oxidative risk, making verifiable cold-cellar history essential for any transaction.
Common questions
What is the critic score for Petrus 1978?
Petrus 1978 holds a critic average of 89.0 from 2 published reviews in our dataset.
What is the recommended drinking window for Petrus 1978?
The drinking window spans 2001 to 2024. The wine is fully mature and should be consumed without further delay.
How do wine drinkers rate the 1978 vintage of Petrus?
Drinker ratings are recorded separately from critic scores. Across 29 drinker ratings, Petrus 1978 holds an average score of 94.6.
Who made the wine at Petrus in 1978?
Christian Moueix made the wine, with Jean-Claude Berrouet, attached to Petrus from 1964 for more than four decades, as oenologist.
Sources
- Decanter Saint-Emilion and Pomerol vintage guide, checked 2026-09-29
- Decanter: Petrus wine, behind the legend, checked 2026-09-29
By WineExperts. First published , last updated . Figures from our tracked merchant prices and recorded sales; text prepared with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed above.