1921 Château Petrus

The 1921 Petrus (never before tasted) was, to state it mildly, out of this universe! The opaque color displayed considerable amber at the edge, but the blockbuster nose of black-raspberries, freshly brewed coffee, and mocha/toffee-like candy was followed by one of the sweetest, most opulent, thick, juicy wines I have ever tasted. Extraordinarily rich and opulent, with interesting cedar notes to the succulent flavors, this huge, unbelievably concentrated wine could have been mistaken for the 1950 or 1947. If ever I were to kill for a wine ..... The 1921 L'Eglise-Clinet and 1921 Petrus were two of the most profoundly great wines I have ever consumed. One of the unmistakable impressions left by the entire Rodenstock tasting (every series was served blind) was how frequently the less-renowned Pomerols and, to a lesser extent, St.-Emilions triumphed over their more renowned and aristocratic brethren from the Medoc and Graves. In the flight of 1921s, the right bank wines were examples of profoundly concentrated, extraordinary Bordeaux. Other than a handful of 1921s that ranged from several surprisingly strong examples of Montrose, to old, decrepit bottles of Cheval Blanc, this great vintage has largely escaped my palate. But to paraphrase the late A.J. Liebling, "if you can't afford them, then it's nice to know someone who can." 1921 was one of those extremely hot Bordeaux growing seasons (more recently 1947, 1949, 1959, 1982, 1989, and 1990 have enjoyed similar summers and harvests). Because of high alcohol, low acidity, and a certain fragility to the wines, the vintage has always been considered to be very great, but short-lived.. This flight represented an extraordinary, once in a lifetime opportunity to look at some of that vintage's greatest wines - all purchased from private cellars in Europe in pristine condition. Only the Gruaud Larose had been recorked. The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series V - Flight B of the 1995 tasting conducted in Munich by Helga and Hardy Rodenstock. Many years after the tasting from which this note derives allegations were made concerning the authenticity of old and rare bottles of wine sold by Hardy Rodenstock to collectors around the world. The matter has been the subject of numerous articles, litigation and at least one book. Mr. Parker believes that the wines served to him at this tasting were authentic so this note and the others from that specific tasting continue to be posted on eRobertParker.com.