Petrus 1975 (750ML)

98 RP / 97 VM / 97 FS / 19 JR

One of the best wines of the vintage as well as the most concentrated and tannic Petrus of the seventies, the 1975 is a blockbuster wine, opulently rich, still broodingly dark in color, and massive. This wine has layers of sweet, ripe blackcurrant fruit, awesome extract, huge tannins, and an explosive finish that suggest decades of life. It is a monumental Petrus that will keep for 50 plus years. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2050.-Robert M. Parker, Jr., The Wine Advocate

The 1975 Petrus is a wine that I have had on half-a-dozen occasions, most memorably my own bottle at “The Fat Duck” for my wife’s birthday milestone. It is probably the best vintage of that decade, certainly the vintage where Jean-Claude Berrouet feels that he finally “unlocked” Petrus, honed his winemaking technique after what he feels were errors in previous vintages. This bottle is up there with the best I have encountered over the years, blessed with a wonderful, complex bouquet with red fruit, iron, black truffles and a light woodland/fern-like scent. It feels fully mature, melted and for want of a better word...comforting. The palate is beautifully balanced and has certainly held up well, probably better than the 1971 Petrus. It has fine tannin, perfectly judged acidity, this example maybe demonstrating more structure and grip than previous bottles. It just cruises at high altitude, delivering a splendid, quite sensual finish that is becoming a little meatier as it pushes on towards its half-century. This is just a glorious Petrus. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at the Épure restaurant in Hong Kong.-Neal Martin, Vinous Media, 02/18

Strong crimson garnet, delicate ocher reflections, wider edge brightening. Dark berry confit, ripe plums, unmistakable hint of black truffles, tobacco, exotic fine wood nuances. Juicy and elegant, shows a full-bodied opulence, ripe cherries underpinned by a pleasant minerality, a close-knit wine of very good length, but has already reached its zenith in the single bottle.-Falstaff

Served blind alongside Certan de May 1975 and clearly superior to it. Still amazingly concentrated and sweet – positively thick – without any tannin in evidence. Soft and super-rich with a hint of blackcurrant pastilles. Extremely impressive, though no one would accuse it of finesse. -Jancis Robinson