An Epic Vertical of Petrus
Ten Trinity Latour Club, London
Tasted March 2, 2019 by nywine68 with 630 views
Introduction
20 Vintages of Chateau Petrus. The wines were spellbinding. While the wines showed an incredible range of flavor profiles, they all shared the signature Petrus structure of ultrafine velvety tannins that is so special. The fruit is like no other wine, with blueberries, plums, dark chocolate, cinnamon and spice, as well as cigar box and smoke.
Flight 1 - Opening Champagne (1 note)
Flight 2 - 1989-1998 (4 notes)
The first thing that stood out in this flight was the incredible diversity of these wines. They all shared the gorgeous velvety mouthfeel and structure but each vintage emphasized a different element of the pallet of signature Petrus flavors.
Red
1998 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Started with a barnyard nose but then opened up with plums and blueberries and saturated dark fruit. Beautiful structure.
Red
1996 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Far away the most expressive wine of this flight. An explosive nose of violets and flowers. Gorgeous red fruit and blueberries. So beautiful.
Red
1990 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
A gorgeous mature nose. Starts with loads of dark chocolate and then gives way to cigar box and smoke flavors. This has layers of depth and complexity. Impossible to put down.
Red
1989 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
More restrained and less expressive than the 1990. This is classically structured with gorgeous velvety tannins. Brooding plum and blueberry flavors. True aristocracy. This is frankly still 10 years from its peak and will then last forever.
Flight 3 - 1979-1985 (4 notes)
The 1985 was the real stand out and surprise, easily outshining the 1982.
Red
1985 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
This wine was stunning. A gorgeous nose of blueberries and chocolate. The mouthfeel is otherworldly with gorgeous velvety tannins.
Red
1982 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Incredible beauty. This was extremely elegant. It was not quite as expressive as the 1985, though. Some remarked that the wine was perhaps too perfect and lacked a bit of character to give it that special touch.
Red
1981 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
The nose on the ‘81 gave the impression of the wine being corked although the palate seemed intact, albeit a bit muted. Not a perfect bottle but still enjoyable.
Red
1979 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Very classic. The nose leads with chocolate and then reveals the signature blueberries and plums. Velvety tannins. 40 years young!
Flight 4 - 1966-1975 (4 notes)
Who ever called the 1970s the lost decade in Bordeaux? Four vintages from the 1970s were each spectacular and the 1966 was in a class of its own.
Red
1975 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
This wine remains incredibly youthful with classic structure and velvety tannins. Gorgeous blueberries and signature Petrus flavor profile. Awesome tertiary development gives this loads of complexity. Stunning
Red
1971 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Ultrafine satiny tannins caress the tongue. Dark chocolate and tertiary flavor development. So beautiful.
Red
1970 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
A little lighter than the 71 and 75 but another beautiful wine. Blueberries and tertiary flavors.
Red
1966 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Absolutely stunning. This leads with smoke and dark fruit and then reveals dark chocolate and cinnamon spice. Gorgeous velvety tannins. This shared more of the cigar box aromas of the 1990.
Flight 5 - 1959-1964 (4 notes)
Unbelievable how these wines don’t just stand the test of time but actually continue to get better after more than 50 years! The density of the fruit and incredible complexity are truly amazing! The 1961 is otherworldly.
Red
1964 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Concentrated with classic structure. Dark chocolate and spices. The fruit on this wine remains remarkably vibrant after 55 years. Very impressive.
Red
1962 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Molten chocolate. The flavors are all fully integrated and mixed together in a complex melange. The tannins and structure are once again spellbinding.
Red
1961 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Dark chocolate fondue. Amazing depth and viscosity for a wine of 58 years. Cinnamon and spice and layers of complexity. The velvety tannins are incredible. Another step up from the amazing 1962.
Red
1959 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Huge nose of Madeira. Unclear what happened to this wine as it did not appear cooked, just strangely flavored
Flight 6 - 1928-1955 (4 notes)
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, it did. A fitting grand finale with the 1928 which was indisputably the wine of the night and a consensus 100 point wine. Breathtaking!
Red
1955 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Yet another spectacular beauty. This retains its gorgeous structure and velvety tannins after 64 years. Unbelievable complexity with all the signature chocolate, plum and blueberry flavors melded together.
Red
1950 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
This is fully mature and at its peak. Awesome complexity with lots of dark fruit and chocolate.
Red
1949 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
This bottle was fully mature and past its prime but still enjoyable. A bit thinner and not as expressive.
Red
1928 Pétrus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
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.
Flight 7 - Dessert (1 note)
Closing
An eye opening tasting that showed why Petrus deservedly stands in a class of its own.
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