Pétrus 2015

Powerful and brooding as a young wine from barrel, the 2015 Pétrus has developed exquisite finesse and nuance to play off its natural concentration. Winemaker Oliver Berrouet has always spoken of small berry size as one of the signatures of 2015. To be sure, there is plenty of textural richness and overall intensity. At the same time, the 2015 exudes tons of freshness and vibrancy. Berrouet gave the 2015 18 months in French oak, 50% new. Quite simply, the 2015 is a stratospheric wine with a very bright future.

The 2015 Petrus is undoubtedly one of the gems in the vintage and will probably merit a perfect score in another decade. Even so, it has the sexy, exotic nature of the vintage front and center and offers a huge perfume of black currants, kirsch liqueur, Asian spices, and incense. As always, this beauty is 100% Merlot that was brought up in 50% new wood in 2015. A wine that opens up beautifully with time in the glass, it has beautiful mid-palate depth, sweet, sweet tannins, and voluptuous yet weightless texture that needs to be tasted to be believed. Hide bottles for 4-5 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following 3-4 decades.

A seductive nose of violets, sweet spices and blackberries. A gorgeous Petrus that is subtle, generous and caressing on the palate. Layers of cocoa beans, exotic spices mingle with plush, velvety tannins - there is a lot of upfront and mid palate sweetness in this wine. The wine manages to be medium weight despite being incredibly concentrated and intense. Lingering finish.

The 2015 Petrus is, of course, 100% Merlot picked between September 15-29 , although the secateurs were only used on six of those days with a majority coming toward the end of that period. Olivier Berrouet told me that it will be matured in 50% new oak. It has an extremely precise, controlled bouquet with crystalline red and black fruit. This is not a powerful or intense bouquet, but beguilingly pretty. It is crystalline and I detected more mineralité than in recent vintages, perhaps because there is less puppy fat. The palate is beautifully balanced, completely harmonious, underpinned by filigree tannin that assert a sense of focus and linearity until two-thirds of the way along, whereupon it fans out while maintaining breathtaking clarity. Touches of cracked black pepper and spice lend this Petrus personality and intrigue. Having tasted most legendary Petrus since the 1940s, and tasted here from barrel since 2002, I can only apologize for being so predictable by claiming that this may well nestle among the likes of the Petrus 1950, 1964, 1989 and 1998. 98-100p