Chateau La Fleur Petrus 1995

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER:"Initial scents of violets, cocoa, cherry earth moved to blackberry and cigar box, truffle and kirsch. After 3 hours in the glass, the dusty tannins shifted to a more friendly dry sensation, with fresh blackberry in the finish. This will be a long lived wine. It has the structure to age for at least another 15-20 more years. But it will always have the tannic signature of the vintage with its refined, masculine expression of Pomerol."

WINE SPECTATOR: WINESPECTATOR:"This is still quite solid, with a prominent tannic backbone that holds the core of damson plum, raspberry and black cherry fruit in line before driving the alder-, tea- and incense-fueled finish. Shows serious grip overall, but the core of fruit is a worthy match. Might be best to hold off here just a bit longer.—Non-blind La Fleur-Pétrus vertical (December 2015). Best from 2020 through 2030. — JM"

WEINWISSER: WEINWISSER:"Sehr dunkles Weinrot, oranger Rand. Wunderbar gewürztes, relativ tiefgründiges Bouquet, Edelhölzer, Backpflaumen, Zedernholz und Tabak. Im Gaumen stoffig, eine gute Fülle aufweisend, der Merlot zeigt weiche Schokokonturen, das Finale hat einen grünlichen Schimmer. Da hat man wohl nach dem Merlot den Cabernet Franc ein paar Tage zu früh geerntet. Aber das macht ihn für die weitere Zukunft etwas «langsamer». Hat mir diesmal sehr gut gefallen."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: THE WINEADVOCATE: Dazzling since birth, the 1995 has not lost a thing since bottling. A saturated dark purple color suggests a wine of considerable depth and concentration. The nose offers up gorgeous aromas of sweet kirsch intermixed with black raspberry, mineral, and smoky notes. Full-bodied, with superb richness and purity, loads of tannin, and a layered, multidimensional personality, this terrific La Fleur-Petrus is the finest wine I have tasted at this property in the twenty years I have been visiting Bordeaux. Readers may remember that I previously reported that a 10-acre old vine sector of Le Gay was sold to La Fleur-Petrus, increasing the latter's vineyard to 33 acres. I believe this 10-acre acquisition has beefed up La Fleur-Petrus, a fact particularly evident in this 1995. It is a splendid effort! Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025."

JANCIS ROBINSON: JANCIS ROBINSON:"Fragrant and just a little leafy on the nose. Definite and more obvious maturity on the nose than the Angélus. Super-fine texture, dry and fresh and elegant. Succulent and utterly drinkable now. Fine-boned and very long. So much pleasure."