Chateau Petrus - Petrus - Ex Chateau 2019

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2019 Château Pétrus is a behemoth, and I can't imagine a better marriage of sexy, opulent fruit with purity, precision, and length. Always all Merlot from a single parcel of clay soils, it takes time to unwind in the glass (I followed this bottle for multiple days) and offers a powerful, primordial style in its black cherries, mulberries, smoked tobacco, damp earth, and chocolate, as well as a beautiful floral component that emerges with air. Dense, concentrated, and incredibly rich on the palate, it has a multi-dimensional mouthfeel and sweet yet substantial tannins. Despite plenty of glycerin and opulence on the palate, which certainly makes it fun to taste today, it has a very straight, classic feel that will demand bottle age. It probably needs to be forgotten for 8-10 years and will deliver the goods over the following 50 years or more."

DECANTER: "No surprise that the sticky clay of Petrus has withstood the heat, keeping freshness and form. High aromatics, lush and open at first, with iris flowers, followed by plum, raspberry and blackberry fruits. High tannic mass compared to 2018 that you feel only through an undertow that anchors the fruit downwards. Evolves from red and blue fruits to black, as the tannins show their muscles, which were sleek at first and then build, flexing alongside cocoa, chocolate, liquorice root and smoke. Shows the capacity that clay has to bring power and concentration to the tannins - they measure the weight of tannins at this estate and found almost twice as many as in 2018, meaning they needed shorter and softer extraction to ensure no overload. This surprises you, changing in character as it moves through the palate, becoming darker and more serious where at first it was fruit and flowers. Brilliant. Drinking Window 2029 - 2050."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Gorgeous, offering a pure, concentrated beam of raspberry and boysenberry puree that drives through, with mouthwatering anise, black tea and apple wood accents and a perfectly embedded graphite spine. Features fruit that just won't quit, picking up extra energy from a savory thread as it moves through. Best from 2025 through 2040."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2019 Pétrus is a powerful, heady wine, bursting from the glass with aromas of raspberries, cassis, violets, spices, licorice and kirsch. Full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with an ample core of fruit, lively acids and powdery tannins that assert themselves on the liqueured finish, it's a ripe, high-octane Petrus that reflects the influence of a dry, warm growing season on what is essentially a single cépage (Merlot) and a single soil type (clay)."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Massive wine in terms of structure and density of fruit but the aromatic freshness pulls it all into line. Fragrant, almost upfront, red-berry aromas. Burgundian nuance again. Sweet Merlot character but not overdone and certainly no thickness to the wine. Smooth, caressing texture, the tannic mass refined and almost hidden although the power can be sensed behind. A fresh chalky edge complements the fruit and adds to the persistence providing a harmonious whole. Clearly needs time to unfurl."