This wine is currently only available Duty Paid
Need help? Call +44 (0)20 7793 7900 or email wine@goedhuiswaddesdon.com.
Along with Clinet, Petrus has produced the top wine in Pomerol. Instead of producing 4,500 cases (the quantity produced in abundant high quality vintages such as 1989 and 1990), Christian Moueix has turned out a brilliant Petrus by producing only 1,800 cases. The 1996 Petrus boasts a black/ruby/purple color, as well as a wonderfully sweet nose of black-cherries, raspberries, truffles, cedar, and vanillin. Rich and medium to full-bodied, with considerable power and concentration, this is a superb effort in what was obviously a difficult year for Pomerol. The wine possesses excellent sweetness, high glycerin, and a layered texture. It should mature more quickly than some of its older siblings, particularly 1993, 1994, and 1995, all splendid successes at Petrus. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2020.
Along with Clinet, Petrus has produced the top wine in Pomerol. Instead of producing 4,500 cases (the quantity produced in abundant high quality vintages such as 1989 and 1990), Christian Moueix has turned out a brilliant Petrus by producing only 1,800 cases. The 1996 Petrus boasts a black/ruby/purple color, as well as a wonderfully sweet nose of black-cherries, raspberries, truffles, cedar, and vanillin. Rich and medium to full-bodied, with considerable power and concentration, this is a superb effort in what was obviously a difficult year for Pomerol. The wine possesses excellent sweetness, high glycerin, and a layered texture. It should mature more quickly than some of its older siblings, particularly 1993, 1994, and 1995, all splendid successes at Petrus. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2020.
Despite all the pessimism that emerged from proprietor Christian Moueix, this has turned out to be an exceptional effort. The wine possesses a dense, opaque purple color, a ripe, mulberry, cedar, and coffee-scented nose, and a dense, powerful, medium to full-bodied, tannic personality with plenty of spice, glycerin, and length. It will require time in the bottle. Petrus's average production in a high quality vintage is approximately 4,500 cases, but due to Moueix's ruthless selection process, only 1,800 cases of 1996 Petrus were produced. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025. Petrus, the undisputed King of Pomerol, was an inconsistent performer between 1976 and 1988, but since 1989 there have been few Bordeaux wines that match this property for its extraordinary combination of power, richness, complexity, and elegance. The 1995 and 1996 are both noteworthy efforts.
Proprietor Christian Moueix's 1996s have turned out well in the bottle. The 1996 Petrus is a big, monolithic, foursquare wine with an impressively opaque purple color, and sweet berry fruit intermixed with earth, pain grille, and coffee scents. Full-bodied and muscular, with high levels of tannin, and a backward style, this wine (less than 50% of the production was bottled as Petrus) will require patience. It is a mammoth example. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2035
The small sub-region of Pomerol is situated north-east of the industrious city of Libourne. Pomerol's soils are predominately iron-rich clay with a smattering of gravel that produce wines with extraordinary power and depth. As a result of this clay-dominance, it has the highest percentage of Merlot planted in all of Bordeaux. Certain châteaux are produced exclusively from this grape, but most incorporate smaller quantities of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc as well. Despite its hefty (if not exclusive) proportion of Merlot, many people think of wines from this region as separate entities. As one wine aficionado stated recently, "It's not Merlot. It's Pomerol." Despite the region's small size, Pomerol contains some of the world's most sought after (and expensive) wines including Pétrus, Le Pin, Lafleur, l'Evangile and Vieux Château Certan. Unlike other Bordelais subregions, there is no system of classification. The châteaux are traded on reputation alone.
