Château Pétrus

Petrus (formerly known as Château Pétrus)[1] is a Bordeaux, France, wine estate located in the Pomerol appellation near its eastern border to Saint-Émilion. A small estate of just 11.4 ha, it produces a red wine entirely from Merlot grapes (since the end of 2010), and produces no second wine. The estate belongs to Jean-François Moueix and his children.

Although the wines of Pomerol have never been classified, Petrus is widely regarded as the outstanding wine of the appellation.[2][3][4] Petrus leads a duo of Pomerol estates in extreme prices, along with Le Pin, that rank consistently among the world's most expensive wines.[5] A 750 ml bottle of Petrus wine is priced at an average of $4,112.[6]

History

Originally, a 7 ha vineyard,[2] the estate had been owned by the Arnaud family since the end of the 18th century,[7] and the name first appears in records from 1837.[8] In the 1868 edition of Cocks & Féret, under listing Crus bourgeois et 1ers artisans, Petrus was ranked behind Vieux Château Certan and alongside Château Trotanoy.[9] Some vintages of this period were labelled Petrus-Arnaud.[5] At the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1878, Petrus won a gold medal,[4] at a time when such an event had very significant results, establishing a selling price at the level of a Médoc second growth,[9]

Terroir

The vineyard of Petrus covers 11.4 ha and is located on a plateau in the eastern portion of Pomerol.

Located on top of a 20 ha island mound, the Pétrus boutonnière or buttonhole, Petrus' original vineyard possesses topsoil and subsoil high in iron-rich clay that differs from neighbouring vineyards, where the soil is a mixture of gravel-sand or clay-sand.

The estate was among the first in Bordeaux to implement green-harvesting or éclaircissage as a way to lower crop yields and raise the quality of the remaining grapes.

Grape varieties

The grape variety distribution is 100% Merlot since the end of 2010. The average age of the vines exceeds 45 years. This grape variety is made up of black, medium round berries. The administration of the estate takes particular care to maximize the quality of the harvest.[18]

Production

Petrus produces an average of 30,000 bottles per year. The grapes are hand harvested over two to three days. The wine is aged between 12 and 16 months in oak barrels, half of which are new, before bottling. A stringent pre-assemblage vat selection is carried out and certain parcels are rejected from the Grand Vin.

Description

The wine is characterized by great elegance, a complex and powerful nose and a particularly opulent fruit. The guide to Bettana and Desseauve wines (2016) describes Petrus as follows: "With its refined and deep tension and the right density, its taffeta texture and floral returns, Petrus is a wine that shines and gradually imposes itself on you."

Vintages

The best vintages are generally recognized as 1929, 1945, 1947, 1961, 1964, 1982, 1989, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2009, and 2010.[19] In 1956, 1965, and 1991, the harvests did not produce a wine of sufficient quality and these vintages do not exist. The years 1963, 1968, 1977, or 1984 exist in very small quantities for the same reason. The vintages 1921, 1929, 1947, 1961, 1989, 1990, 2000, 2009, and 2010 all received a score of 100/100 from critic Robert Parker.

Cost

The price of a bottle varies from 1,000 euros for a "small" vintage to more than 2,500 euros for a great vintage, or even 6,000 euros for an exceptional vintage such as 1947 or 1961. According to the Wine-searcher site, Petrus is the sixth most expensive wine in the world, after five Burgundy wines, and an average price of US$625,000 (about €600,000) for all vintages and countries combined.[20]

External links