Wine Spectator (100)

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.--Pétrus vertical. Drink now.

Wine Spectator (100)

This is clearly a 100-year wine, offering a monumental concentration of black truffle, olive, earth and chocolate aromas and flavors. Superb structure, with finely integrated tannins and a long finish.--Pétrus vertical. Drink now.

Wine Advocate (99)

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.

Wine Advocate (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 Rhône 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.

Wine Spectator (90)

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

Wine Advocate (89)

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.

Wine Spectator (89)

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

Jancis Robinson (19)

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.

Jancis Robinson (19)

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.

Wine Spectator (93)

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.

Wine Spectator (93)

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.

Wine Spectator (93)

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

Wine Spectator (92)

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.

Wine Advocate (87)

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.

Wine Advocate (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!

Wine Advocate (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!

Wine Advocate (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!

Wine Advocate (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!

Wine Advocate (100)

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)

Wine Advocate (90)

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+.

Wine Spectator (95)

A truly classic Pétrus 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. -

Wine Spectator (95)

A truly classic Pétrus 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. -

Vinous (93-96)

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.

Wine Spectator (97)

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

Wine Spectator (97)

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

Wine Spectator (94)

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.

Wine Spectator (94)

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.

Wine Spectator (92)

This is a forgotten Pétrus. 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.

Decanter (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].