1985 Petrus
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Tasting notes
Smoke, coffee beans, campfire, gentle white truffle notes, white pepper spice. This is complex, edging into full tertiary flavours, and reflective of a vintage that was successful but not overly concentrated. I have had younger bottles of Petrus 1985 but this still blows you away with its complexity, and its ability to keep on delivering, and surprising you with its longevity.
Critic scores
Average Score
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Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
The 1985 Petrus has long been the most disappointing wine of this decade and this bottle does nothing to alter that conviction. Showing modest bricking, perhaps slightly paler in colour than I recall, the bouquet does nothing much. Static and to use a word I previously used – staid, like a teenager loafing around. The palate is fleshy on the entry as befitting a 1985 Right Bank and then it just loses interest and becomes a one-note Pomerol that is instantly forgettable and it doesn't really care. Here it is trumped by the 1986 Petrus born in a much poorer and more challenging growing season for the appellation. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at Hide restaurant in London.
The 1985 Petrus has always been an underwhelming wine in my opinion, one of the few vintages whereby Petrus dropped the ball. Unlike 1986, 1985 was a great year for Right Bank château as attested by both Lafleur and Le Pin. The best adjective to describe the nose is “staid”. It just lacks brightness and animation. Where is the joie-de-vivre ? The palate is balanced with a fine bead of acidity, yet it is a Petrus that tries , but finds it difficult to get out of second gear, ergo there is a sense of flatness. Dare I say that this is an “ordinary” Pomerol. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at the Épure restaurant in Hong Kong.
Magnum kindly given to me to commemorate his father by Edmund Penning-Rowsell Jr. Shared to celebrate E P-R 's centenary. Dark vibrant blackish ruby. Heady and immediately glamorous nose. Straight from the magnum a bit austere though with no shortage of density. Briary. Not as luscious and sweet and many Petrus vintages are but utterly in character for E P-R. I suspect he would have approved of this rather Medocain rendition. Impressive on the finish. Needs to open out a bit. Two hours later from the decanter: Gloriously rich and expansive and much more typically Petrus. A very rewarding Pomerol with a combination of sweetness and lifted leafiness. Not the most opulent vintage but extremely satisfying. Note the alcohol level. (JR)
About the producer
Ask any wine-lover to name the world’s greatest fine wines, and the answer will invariably include Pétrus.