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Bottles of wine from a case of 12 bottles of 2000 Chateau Petrus. The case of wine is estimated to fetch HK$320,000-480,000 (US$41,300-61,900). (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)[/caption]
This tasting was a unique opportunity to experience 8 vintages of the reputed, rare and expensive Petrus. As you probably know, with recent inflation of fine wine prices, finding a bottle Pétrus for less than $1000 has become impossible. Recent bottlings go anywhere betwen $1200 and $5000 per bottle. What should we expect from such a «Grand Vin»?
Pétrus is a merlot dominated (95%) wine from the reputed district of Pomerol in the Libournais area of the right bank of Bordeaux.
As a group, the wines in this tasting displayed what should be expected from a highly reputed iconic Bordeaux : consistency ! In fact when paying such high prices for trophy wines, consumers should expect high quality year in- year out, regardless of Mother Nature’s quirkiness. The tasting did confirm the remarkable consistency expected from Petrus, with only two weaker wines, both from extremely difficult years (80 & 87). Unfortunately back in the eighties and early nineties most producers did not benefit from today’s technology and increased knowledge. Today, even in weaker years, Bordeaux producers still manage to produce splendid wines.
@ Les Conseillers du Vin: a group of 16 experienced tasters analysed 8 Petrus wines in the usual blind tasting format. At this point one must remember that wines from the 80’s and early 90’s were not produced with grapes as ripe and concentrated as today’s more recent vintages (2000+). Wines from that era usually offer higher acidity and firmer tannins and tend to be fresher, leaner and more elegant.
Results: To establish the order of preference of the tasting panel, 3 points were awarded to a first place vote, 2 pts for a 2nd place vote and 1pt for a 3rd place vote.
Most of the participants agreed that two wines (80 & 87) were showing more evolution. The group’s favourites were 1989 (32 pts), 1993 (30pts) and 1994 (19pts). In a distant fourth spot, the surprising 1995 with only 9 pts. The two clear cut favourites, 1989 (8 votes) and 1993 (7 votes), shared all first place votes except for one, which was awarded to 1994. It was quite surprising to find two secondary vintages (93 and 94) in the top three. At the end of the tasting, following the unveiling of bottles, it became clear to participants that Petrus is a consistent high quality producer. When wines from secondary years such as 1993 and 1994 rival and even surpass efforts from reputed vintages such as 1989 and 1995, consistency is attained. My top three wines were: 1-1993, 2-1994 3-1995 followed closely by 1989. See my tasting notes below.