Petrus, Pomerol 2018

The 2018 Petrus is a magnificent wine. There is not much else to say. From the very first taste, the 2018 Petrus is simply magical. Dark, sumptuous and beautifully resonant on the palate, the 2018 offers superb richness, aromatic depth and intensity. Blueberry, spice, black pepper, licorice and earthy notes open up in the glass, but it is the wine's vivid beauty and extraordinary harmony that stand out most. I don't think I have ever tasted a young Petrus with such silky, suave tannins. "We lowered the canopies and left more leaf cover to protect the fruit," Technical Director Olivier Berrouet told me. "The berries were especially small. Cuvaison was a bit longer than normal, but we chose to extract more gently."

This wine leaves me speechless. It has so much intensity and density with fantastic ripe fruit with spices, dark berries and walnuts and hazelnuts Currants and licorice. Violets and earth. Full-bodied, very, very tannic yet polished and beautiful. Lasts forever on the palate. Reminds me of the great 1998.

The 2018 Petrus has a deep garnet purple color. It skips out of the glass with lifted scents of Morello cherries, redcurrant jelly, and fresh mulberries, plus suggestions of black olives, truffles, and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is very firm and taut with ripe, grainy tannins and muscular fruit, finishing long and earthy. Typically for this vineyard, it will require patience!

There is an intensity, concentration and richness to the fruit in this wine with the one-two sleight of hand between density and elegance that everyone talks about but few people actually get right. This is unquestionably full of plush yet tight cassis, blueberry, tobacco, graphite, chocolate and slate with a fresh mint finish, but it’s elegant and pure, full of pleasure and juice with tannins that have the silky hidden power that is so cherished in Petrus.

The 2018 Petrus is a brilliant wine that has perfection written all over it, and it’s unquestionably one of the most powerful, opulent wines in the vintage. As always, it’s 100% Merlot and offers a heavenly bouquet of cassis, smoke, earth, graphite, and beautiful liquid violets. Full-bodied, deep, and opulent on the palate, I must have written “huge wine!” three or four times in my notes, and despite all its power and richness, it’s seamless, light on its feet, and already hard to resist. Possessing terrific mid-palate depth, sweet tannins, and a finish that ranks with the greatest wines out there, Merlot or any wine for that matter, doesn’t get better. If you’re lucky enough to have a few bottles of this elixir, do your best to give bottles 7-8 years in the cellar, and I suspect it will keep for 40-50 years.

The 2018 Pétrus, matured in 50% new oak, was assessed over a period of 24 hours. It has a magnificent nose, replete with intense black currant, crushed violet and vanilla-y scents, the latter becoming subsumed with modest aeration. These aromas are chiseled to the nth degree and as harmonious as the Everly Brothers. The palate is, to use the phrase I employed out of barrel, quintessential Pétrus. The tannins are less grainy and lend this Pétrus a beguiling satiny veneer that is irresistible. Deep and gently gripping in the mouth, it has retained the clarity and pixelation I noted in barrel. The stunning tension and cohesion toward the finish will leave you with a Cheshire Cat grin plastered all over your face. I maintain that this is among Olivier Berrouet’s finest Pétrus to date.