Petrus 2019

No surprise that the sticky clay of Petrus has withstood the heat, keeping freshness and form. High aromatics, lush and open at first, with iris flowers, followed by plum, raspberry and blackberry fruits. High tannic mass compared to 2018 that you feel only through an undertow that anchors the fruit downwards. Evolves from red and blue fruits to black, as the tannins show their muscles, which were sleek at first and then build, flexing alongside cocoa, chocolate, liquorice root and smoke. Shows the capacity that clay has to bring power and concentration to the tannins - they measure the weight of tannins at this estate and found almost twice as many as in 2018, meaning they needed shorter and softer extraction to ensure no overload. This surprises you, changing in character as it moves through the palate, becoming darker and more serious where at first it was fruit and flowers. Brilliant.

The 2019 Pétrus is a powerful, heady wine, bursting from the glass with aromas of raspberries, cassis, violets, spices, licorice and kirsch. Full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with an ample core of fruit, lively acids and powdery tannins that assert themselves on the liqueured finish, it's a ripe, high-octane Petrus that reflects the influence of a dry, warm growing season on what is essentially a single cépage (Merlot) and a single soil type (clay).