Chateau Petrus 1995

WINE SPECTATOR: "This is like a genie in the bottle. Fascinating yet subtle aromas of blackberry, minerals, fresh flowers and Spanish cedar. Full-bodied, with wonderful layers of ultrafine tannins. It coats your mouth and tantalizes your palate. A gorgeous thing all around.--'95/'96 Bordeaux retrospective."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "It is interesting how this wine continues to evolve. Unquestionably one of the vintage's superstars, the 1995 Petrus is taking on a personality similar to the extraordinarily backward, muscular 1975. This is not a Petrus that can be approached in its youth (i.e., the perfect duo of 1989 and 1990). The wine exhibits an opaque ruby/purple color, followed by a knock-out nose of pain grille, jammy black fruits, and roasted coffee. On the palate, it possesses teeth-staining extract levels, massive body, and rich, sweet black fruits buttressed by powerful, noticeable tannin. A formidably endowed wine with layers of extract, this is a huge, tannic, monstrous-sized Petrus that will require a minimum of 10 years of cellaring. Forget all the nonsense about Merlot producing sweet, soft, ready to drink wines, because low yielding, old Merlot vines made in the way of Petrus and other top Pomerols frequently possess as much aging potential as any great Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine in the world. Look for the 1995 Petrus to last for 50+ years. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2050."

FALSTAFF: "Kräftiges Rubingranat, gute Farbtiefe, breitere Ockerrandaufhellung. Rauchig-würzig unterlegte schwarze Beerenfrucht, dunkle Herzkirschen, Brombeeren und Edelholz. Elegant, frisch strukturiert, schokoladiger Kern, kraftvoll, vielschichtig und mit seidigen Tanninen ausgestattet, reife Kirschen im Nachhall, verfügt über sehr gut Länge und weiteres Reifepotenzial."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Very full and heavy and rich. Extremely rich actually. Almost porty – surely Pétrus – but with heavy new oak influence apparent. Very jagged. Animal. Still quite raw. Lots of alcohol."