Tasting Notes
Vinous 96
The 2008 Pétrus has a classic Pomerol nose, perhaps darker fruit than other vintages, blackberry and briary, a touch of truffle and minerals. I love the definition here, the cool restraint. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, a fine bead of acidity, chalky and tensile with moderate depth. There is a sense of composure, maybe even conservatism attached to this Pétrus that sports a mineral-driven and (at least for this Pomerol) almost austere finish compared to the 2009 or 2010. But it is a lovely wine that is only just beginning to open. Haunting. (Tasted at BI Wine & Spirit’s annual 10-Year On tasting.)
Anticipated maturity: 2020-2045
Robert Parker 97
Tasted ex-chateau and single blind in Southwold. I was initially quite mean to this Petrus, probably because as my note from October 2010 suggests, it is now a more reticent wine and has far less of that “showboating†it displayed out of barrel. So whilst you initially wonder what all the fuss is about, leaving the wine in my glass for a few minutes eventually, almost reluctantly, reveals a very intense bouquet of wild strawberry, raspberry and crushed stone. It has great precision, real intensity and sense of purpose. The palate is medium-bodied with very smooth, rounded tannins and it feels velvety smooth in the mouth. There is still some oak to be subsumed, which meant I was parsimonious with my score handed in at the tasting. But even after a few minutes the wine is unfolding before my senses and you become aware that this will evolve into a top class Petrus. Tasted January 2012.
