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Tasting notes
The 2021 Petrus is terrific. Elegant, refined and aromatically present, the 2021 is a Petrus built on linear energy and persistence more than volume. Crushed red berry fruit, blood orange, cinnamon and sweet floral accents are all finely knit together, framed by discreet oak (50% new) and vibrant saline underpinnings that lend energy. Medium in body, the 2021 is wonderfully finessed from start to finish. It will be interesting to see if it gains a bit more depth with élevage. Technical Director Olivier Berrouet was especially selective. About 60% of the vineyard was used. Yields were 33 hectoliters per hectare as opposed to the more typical 36/37. Musts were lightly chaptalized. "It was a year without sun. Debourrement (budbreak) was the same time as 2020, but harvest was three weeks later," he explained.
Critic scores
Average Score
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2021 Pétrus was picked from September 30 until October 9 and aged in the usual 50% new oak. It has a completely different aromatic profile compared to the previous vintages, a return to the Petrus that I know at this stage. It made me think of the 2008, possibly the 2014: cool and linear, refined, very complex, offering lightly spiced red fruit with a small pinch of Chinese five-spice. The fresh, focused palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, good depth and fine tannins, and as usual, it opens exquisitely with aeration, becoming linear and very saline. Long and sustained toward the finish. This Pétrus represents one of the few 2021s that will rank alongside the 2019 or 2020.
Beautiful length and depth here for the vintage, with blackberry, raspberry and blueberry character. Cloves and sandalwood, too. Full and layered. Ripe and ample, yet balanced and fresh. Crunchy and very bright.
Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 Petrus marches out of the glass with powerful scents of ripe plums, blackberry preserves, and black raspberries, followed by notes of tar, chargrill, tilled soil, and cast-iron pan with a touch of cardamom, violets, and lavender. The aromatics explode after a few moments. Medium-bodied, the palate is bright, vibrant, and minerally, with a lively line of freshness, very plush, fine-grained tannins, and loads of minerally sparks lifting the black fruits, finishing long and earthy.
About the producer
Ask any wine-lover to name the world’s greatest fine wines, and the answer will invariably include Pétrus.