Petrus 1989

Tasted at Benoit restaurant in New York. The Petrus 1989 is a truly awesome Pomerol. Here it has a compelling, multi-dimensional, pristine bouquet with intense red fruit loaded with minerals, faint touches of black truffle and bay leaf, a hint of clove and warm brick. You can feel the warmth of the summer but it possesses quite awe-inspiring delineation. The palate is medium-bodied, the tannins having softened in recent years but still it retains that symmetrical structure and focus that is totally bewitching. Yet it all seems so effortless, so that you almost do not sense that power unless you really focus upon it. The finish fans out with hints of graphite coming through the layers of mellow red and black fruit laced with clove and just a faint hint of peppermint, whilst the finish is virtually endless. This is an extraordinary Petrus. Tasted April 2013.

This wine is more tightly knit, more tannic, but every bit the blockbuster concentrated effort that its younger sibling, the 1990, is. It seems to need more coaxing from the glass, but the color is virtually identical, a dense ruby/purple with no lightening at the edge. In the mouth the wine cuts a broad swath, with spectacular intensity, richness, massive concentration, and high levels of tannin, yet the wine is fabulously well-delineated and like its sibling, the 1990, has a finish that goes on for nearly a minute. It does not seem to be quite as evolved as the 1990, and my instincts suggest there is a bit more tannin, but both are as prodigious as Petrus can be. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2040. Last tasted, 8/02.