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  • Country ranking ?

    646
  • Producer ranking ?

    28
  • Decanting time

    6h
  • When to drink

    from 2025
  • Food Pairing

    casseroles of lamprey and of shad & Bordeaux style

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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The Story

Drinking Pétrus may be an unforgettable experience. We has been lucky to have the opportunity to taste most of its great vintages. That is why wine enthusiasts often come to us for advice. First, WeI advise you to choose a good vintage, an excellent one if your wallet allows. If you taste a poor vintage, you will notice how it raises above most other wines of the same vintage, but you will miss the actual point of Pétrus.

Second, purchase wine that is at least 10 to 20 years old, because a young Pétrus is difficult to approach, besides which oak and tannins predominate in its taste. Young Pétrus may be impressive, but it ages fantastically and requires more time than any other Pomerol wine to reach its culmination. Finally, We would advise you to decant the wine with care and well in advance, and also to give it time to develop in the glass. Then you will have the opportunity to enjoy an unforgettable experience.

 

Little known 50 years ago, this château has seen the rise of a myth about the uniqueness of its wine. The wine’s inimatibility is due to many factors, first of all, an exceptional terroir - 40 meters above sea level, the highest point of the appellation - with a layer of heavy clay soil and an iron subsoil. These are ideal conditions for the expression of the Merlot grape. With such a special terroir, the approach in the vineyard and cellar is traditional and respectful.

The work done in the vineyard is fastidious - severe pruning in the winter, regular ploughing, crop-thinning, de-leafing, manicuring the clusters in the summer - and allows the perfect ripening of the fruit. The grape are manually harvested within two afternoons and sorted before crush.

Fermentation is carried out gently, without any overextraction, in temperature-controlled concrete tanks. The blend, very often pure Merlot, is defined in December and the young wine is aged in 100% new oak barrels.

This property made famous by Madame Edmond Loubat and then by Monsieur Jean-Pierre Moueix, culminates at 130 feet on the plateau of Pomerol. Ets Jean-Pierre Moueix is responsible for the cultivation, vinification and aging as well as the export distribution of Petrus wines.

 

 

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Wine Information

Christian Moueix / Château Pétrus/ Vintage 2012

The 2012 Bordeaux harvest is in full bloom at the legendary Pomerol estate of Petrus.

The 2012 Petrus harvest season started last week, when they began light picking of their young, Merlot vines early last week. However today marks the official start of the 2012 Petrus harvest as they are now working on some of their older Merlot parcels that are ripe enough for picking. This is late for Petrus. Often, Petrus can be one of the earlier Pomerol vineyards to harvest, due to their unique terroir. In fact, the 2012 Bordeaux vintage is so late, this probably sets a new record for the latest harvest start date for any vintage of this legendary Pomerol wine.

To give you an idea on how late the 2012 Bordeaux harvest is running at Petrus, two years ago, in 2010, Petrus began to pick September 27 and finished October 2. Last year, for the 2011 Bordeaux vintage, at Petrus it was even earlier. Petrus started their 2011 harvest September 12 and finished by September 22. Although that does not set the record for the earliest harvest start for Petrus. That record belongs to the 2003 Bordeaux vintage when Petrus started to harvest Merlot , September 3 and were finished with the Merlot by September 5! They were forced to wait for the small amount of Cabernet Franc to ripen, so the official end of the harvest did not take place until September 17.


Petrus has 14 parcels of vines in Pomerol to harvest. But picking does not take place on a plot by plot basis. The harvesters work on each vine, one at a time, looking for bunches that have achieved the desired level of phenolic maturity, when possible. The length of time needed to harvest will of course depend on the levels of ripeness found in the vineyards. We managed to have a quick conversation with the always charming, Christian Moueix.


Tb: When did you start picking at Petrus?
Christian Moueix “We began working with the young vines on a few small parcels. That started September 24. The older parcels were able to take advantage of the inch of rain we received, September 25 and September 26.”
Tb: Did you work on any of your other Pomerol properties that date?
Christian Moueix “We did some picking of the young vines of Chateau La Fleur Petrus and Latour A’ Pomerol September 24 as well.”
Tb: How are things looking so far?
Christian Moueix “The crop looks healthy and it’s probably slightly bigger than expected.”
Tb: With some of the berries already in the process of being vinified, what are your early thoughts on the vintage?
Christian Moueix “The must from the young vines shows a lot of fruit and already a beautiful color.”

While pleasant, cooler weather was initially forecast to continue, by October 8, things changed quickly when massive amounts of rain dropped over the entire Bordeaux region. With accompanying temperatures in the mid to upper 60’s and higher in some areas, vintners were concerned about the potential of Botrytis, due to the humid, tropical conditions. At that point, the fruit needed to be picked, regardless of the state of maturity. Similar to what took place last year with the 2011 Bordeaux vintage, ripening was uneven. It was not just bunches that were not ripening, individual grapes in bunches achieved varying degrees of ripeness which made sorting more important than ever. Optical sorting was more widely used than ever with the 2012 Bordeaux harvest.

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Average Bottle Price

2016 2015
1 866€ +4.8% 1 780€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Deep and Purple

ending

Long, Round and Flavorful

flavors

Blackberry, Licorice, Vanilla, Leather, Earthy and Truffles

nose

Intense, Fresh, Generous and Refined

taste

Warming, Balanced, Multi-dimensional, Good texture, Full-bodied, Harmonious, Rich, Fruity and Silky tannins

Verdict

nice but not special and Intelligent

Written Notes

This shows fabulous length with a chocolate, berry and mineral undertone. Licorice and currants too. Full body yet refined with seamless tannins. Goes on for minutes. It shows such amazing length and elegance. Depth. Phenomenal structure here, especially for the vintage. Reminds me of the 1998 or 1971, which were structured yet very fine.

  • 98p

Discreet but multilayered and profound nose. Beautiful dark fruit, dark cherry, chocolate. Very concentrated palate yet with a soft texture with multilayered dark fruit, black cherry, dark chocolate, opulent and very long, lingering finish.

  • 97p

Tasted in April 2013. I found 2012 here quite similar to 2011. Elegant style, finesse, refined, long on the palate. Aromatic black cherries, exquisite balance, silky and velvety fruit/tannin. Great complexity and sophisticated touch. Harvest finished at Petrus on the 8th October, before arrival of big rain, which came one week after.

  • 95p
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Information

Origin

Bordeaux, Pomerol

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Excellent

Fake factory

Serious

Glass time

3h

Other wines from this producer

Saute-Loup Reserve de La Famille

Inside Information

Parker 96+ points / One of the stars of the vintage, the wine (100% Merlot) has exceptional concentration, stunning purity, an inky purple color and a broad, expansive mouthfeel. Not a bit heavy, cloying or overwrought, this is a stunning Petrus (licorice, blackcurrants and truffles dominate) that will probably hit full maturity in 8-10 years and last 25-35. Another great example of this mythical wine that few can afford, virtually no one drinks, but everyone talks about! Relatively high in alcohol at 14.5%, the crop was tiny because of the spring’s poor flowering in this sector of Pomerol.
 

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