Pétrus 2004

Offers crushed berries, with chocolate and light vanilla. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit, silky tannins and a caressing texture. Very harmonious and pretty, with a balanced palate. Best after 2008. 2,000 cases made.

is a classic. Vintage 2004 has given beautifully ripe Merlot, perfectly poised, but also showing the dryness and power. It is hugely intense, structured, bringing in blackberry flavors, fresh acidity and complex wood, perfumed and rich, concentrated. The aging potential? At least 20 years.

Medium-bodied and fairly fruit-forward and approachable, with plenty of clearly red-berry notes, plus a subtle herbal touch—lemon balm and blackcurrant blossom. On the palate, it shows refreshing, supportive acidity and a hint of plum skin; the finish currently carries quite a lot of caramel (barriques). It’s questionable whether the wine will be able to sustain its high rating once it reaches its optimal drinking window.

05: Deep, dense purple-ruby. Highly fragrant bouquet, entirely fruit-driven: mulberries, redcurrants and red cassis, expansive behind. On the palate the wine is very fine and delicate, with a wonderful sweetness stemming from the extract and the fine-grained tannins; the fruit play sits between red and blue berries. Only on the finish do you notice the breeding and length of this very delicate, currently rather medium-bodied Pomerol star. It should also be noted that this barrel sample had not yet had any press wine added, and the final result will certainly turn out a bit more powerful. Current score: 18/20. 05: Retasted in autumn. Medium depth, relatively approachable in terms of fruit; alongside the many clearly red berries it also shows a fine herbal touch: lemon balm, cassis blossom. On the palate with refreshing, supportive acidity, a plum-skin note; in the finish, currently showing quite a bit of caramel from the barriques. Will it be able to maintain the rather high 18/20 at its drinking maturity? (18/20). 15: Lightening medium wine red, so not especially deep. Red-plum bouquet (it tastes exactly like the old plum tree that used to stand in front of Pétrus), then light coffee, grenadine, bast and licorice, pink pepper, ginger and red roses. On the palate dense, great sweet extract; it stays more in the red-berry realm and conveys a wonderful sweetness without any compote-like suggestion; inside with fascinating perfume; in the finish quite firm and still far too young. No young-wine fun at the moment; it demands a mix of understanding and tolerance from the observer, even though the fascination is clearly visible. It also shows that Cabernet Franc in 2004 was above what Merlot could deliver. Two hours decanting. (18/20). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Pétrus 2004 Since the barrel tasting in April 2005, this is the fourth time you’ve been in my glass. In terms of quality, you can be assessed at 18 points without any problem. That may seem too little for such an expensive Pétrus, because you can no longer be found on the market for under 1,500 francs. The 2004 vintage was quite great, but simply a little greater on the Left Bank—Pessac, Pauillac, Margaux, etc.—so to speak on the “Cabernet side”! Around 15 years have now passed since bottling. So somehow, slowly, “something should happen.” After about 10 years, a great Merlot from Bordeaux generally really starts to take off. But it seems you haven’t (yet) been able to use this long time to your advantage in terms of maturity. Is this a sign that there is, at some point, more in you than one can perceive now? Today—put mildly—you are still tough. All the fruit seems still somehow hidden in the berry skins. The acidity is still present and far from being integrated into the extract. And with your many tannins, you deliver an astringency that could make even a stubborn Montrose almost jealous. And yet, somehow, “tough but warm-hearted.” Because I don’t have a single bottle in my cellar, I’m left with only two hopes at the moment. First, that you can use the time ahead for positive development. And second: that I’ll meet you again someday… 21: Deep purple. Toward the rim it shows the tiniest hint of maturity. In the core it still appears almost ruby-garnet. I deliberately tasted La Conseillante first, then Clinet, then Hosanna, so that I could perceive a possible step up—and it did indeed happen. The bouquet is complex; the layers reveal themselves gradually. It feels fresh and playful, showing candied fruits, light chocolate and a sublime fullness. With air, this fullness builds slowly but steadily. You sense dark malt, dark caramel, then nougat. This nougat suggests it is gaining in sweetness. On the palate, within rich extract, it oscillates between red and blue berries. Here too it still feels fresh and signals its youth. It is precise and far more demanding than its three competitors in this 2004 Pomerol series. One day it will easily be superior to all these wines. For now, you still have to “read the coffee grounds” to be able to praise it fully. 19/20 pending

Velvety, dense, elegant, powerful, complex bouquet with notes of blueberry jelly, After Eight, fresh moss and tea leaves. Finely concentrated, tightly knit, elegant, fresh palate with a diverse, dense, sweet aromatic profile, fine tannins, a concentrated, elegant structure, and a very long, fresh finish with many retronasal aromas. 19/20 drink – 2038

Logo on the cork: inverted T (Trescases) Dark colour, medium intensity and slightly evolved. Highly aromatic nose with ripe, sun-kissed fruit. However, swirling reveals a fresher, creamier profile. Delicate on the attack, very flavoursome on the mid-palate, with a melting texture, plenty of flavour and fine tannins, the wine lingers on the finish, aromatic and sapid, with a very fine length.

The dark plum/ruby-tinged 2004 Petrus possesses high acidity as well as copious amounts of sweet cherries and black currants intermixed with hints of cola, earth, and truffles. Deep, medium-bodied, concentrated, ripe flavors are excruciatingly firm and tannic. This backward, structured, muscular Pomerol requires a decade of cellaring, but it possesses the potential to be the longest lived wine of the vintage, lasting 30-40 years. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2035.