1983 Petrus, Pomerol, Bordeaux

Tasted blind at Olivier Bernard's "3" dinner at Domaine de Chevalier.

The 1983 Petrus is a vintage I have only encountered a couple of times. This is unquestionably the best I have experienced, blind no less. The bouquet springs from the glass, autumn bonfire scents intertwined with black truffle and leather, more fruit than I remember on the previous bottle. Perhaps the palate just misses a little cohesion? Foursquare but fresh, this is a simple Petrus predestined to lie in the shadow of the previous vintage. Yet this punches above my expectations.

Drink 2023 - 2040

Offering up aromas of sweet plums, fruitcake, warm spices, smoke, caramel and cedar, the 1982 Pétrus is medium to full-bodied, sweet and fleshy, built around powdery tannins that assert themselves on the somewhat firm finish. Served blind next to Trotanoy and Lafleur, Pétrus exhibits less sensuality than the former and less concentration and character than the latter, landing in third place. It remains a very attractive wine, but the great Pétrus of the decade of the 1980s is clearly not the 1982 but rather the monumental 1989.

Offering up aromas of sweet plums, fruitcake, warm spices, smoke, caramel and cedar, the 1982 Pétrus is medium to full-bodied, sweet and fleshy, built around powdery tannins that assert themselves on the somewhat firm finish. Served blind next to Trotanoy and Lafleur, Pétrus exhibits less sensuality than the former and less concentration and character than the latter, landing in third place. It remains a very attractive wine, but the great Pétrus of the decade of the 1980s is clearly not the 1982 but rather the monumental 1989.

Drink 2002 - 2040