Petrus - Pomerol 2016 b5952cb1c3ab96cb3c8c63cfb3dccaca

Yvesbeck.wine

99 / 100

byYves Beckthe3/20/2019

Pourpre violacé Le nez est puissant et filigrane. Cela vous semble paradoxal ? Et bien ça l'est mais c'est normal. C’est Petrus et sa subtile force. Parfums de groseilles, de mûres et de réglisse. Après quelques minutes, le nez dévoile de la fraîcheur avec des notes de baies rouges, suivies de touches de poivre et de graphite. L'attaque est filigrane également et, bien évidemment, puissante. En trois mots, elle est racée, élégante et fruitée. L'acidité et les tannins forment une structure pour plusieurs décennies et Petrus se révèle sous un angle puissant et vif avec une touche crayeuse et des arômes de réglisse en bouche. Quelle finesse de tannins et quelle intensité aromatique. Ces tannins prennent lentement et gracieusement place. Ils sont puissants, élégants, compacts et parfaitement en synthèse avec la vivacité de la structure qui dirige l'ensemble du palais. Quelle puissance et quelle grâce. En fin de bouche le vin gagne encore en expression. Il n'est pas juste sage ou gracieux, il est Petrus dans la jeunesse de son âge et il a envie de s'émanciper en soulignant que c'est bien son droit d’être un adolescent… ce qu'il fait dans une mesure similaire à d'autres cancres (comme Lafleur par exemple) et qu'il caractérise par une forme d'austérité qu’il sait néanmoins emballer avec de du velours et de la puissance. La grandeur actuelle de Petrus se mesure au fil des minutes… sa grandeur dans le temps se mesurera au fil des décennies ! Quelle longueur en finale, quelle persistance et quel caractère ! Un Petrus qui titille le graal, d’ailleurs je me demande s’il n’en serait pas le contenu ! 2026-2061 99/100

Jeb DUNNUCK

99 / 100

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/1/2019

One of the top wines in the vintage is unquestionably the 2016 Petrus, which is, as always, all Merlot aged in just over half new French oak. It's more reserved and subtle compared to the 2015, yet it’s unquestionably in the same ballpark, offering a deep ruby/purple color as well as a classy bouquet of crème de cassis, black cherries, graphite, smoke tobacco, spring flowers, and subtle spicy oak. This is a wine that builds with time in the glass and delivers a full-bodied, multi-dimensional texture, present, ripe tannins, perfect balance, and a finish that won't quit. It’s haute couture at its finest, and as I wrote multiple times in my notes, simply pure class. Hide bottles for at least 7-8 years (10-15 would be even better) and it will keep for half a century.

Wine Spectator

96 / 100

byJames Molesworththe2/5/2019

There are both lush and structured elements working here, with velvety cassis, raspberry puree and plum compote notes intertwined with tobacco, alder and cocoa accents. This pulls together steadily through the finish, showing superb focus and a tight-grained feel, while fresh acidity imparts rippling energy. The raspberry note hangs longest through the finish. Best from 2022 through 2038.   –JM

Jamessuckling.com

100 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/4/2019

This is very fleshy and deep with so much texture and richness. It’s full-bodied yet fresh. The tobacco, white truffle, licorice and dark fruit are so impressive. It’s so exuberant and wild. It just goes on for ever. Spellbinding. Very muscular and powerful. Agile and energetic. Please give this time. Needs eight to ten years. Try from 2029.

Vinous

98 / 100

byNeal Martinthe1/24/2019

The 2016 Pétrus was bottled at the end of July – a little late, according to Oliver Berrouet – although it was taken out of barrel at the end of May and finished in stainless steel tank for the final few weeks. Berrouet feels that this vintage found its place during the barrel maturation, opining that its complexity and fruité make it one of the great Pétrus. It has a drop-dead gorgeous bouquet offering pure black cherries, bilberry and violet and displaying impressive depth, but it takes 15 to 20 minutes to bloom. The palate is fresh on the entry, with filigreed tannin framing pure black fruit laced with spice and a hint of white pepper, and perhaps a little less extrovert than some recent vintages. The satiny texture is stunning: there’s not a hair out of place. Gains more depth toward the beautifully poised finish. A magnificent Pétrus that is up there with the greats. 14.5% alcohol.

Vinous

99 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe1/21/2019

The 2016 Pétrus is magnificent. There is a sense of total completeness in the 2016 that is hard to capture with words. A regal wine of total presence, the 2016 simply has it all. Beautifully layered in the glass, with stunning aromatics and endless, layered fr the 2016 is utterly captivating. Once again I am struck by the wine's purity and total class. Technical Director Olivier Berrout and his team turned out a magnificent Pétrus in 2016. Total time in barrel was 19 months, with 50% new oak.

Wine Advocate

100 / 100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe11/30/2018

Opaque purple-black colored, the 2016 Petrus slips effortlessly out of the glass with sanguine, seductive notes of kirsch, warm black plums, blueberry compote, red roses, Ceylon tea, violets, dark chocolate-covered cherries, licorice and cinnamon stick with wafts of iron ore, pencil lead, unsmoked cigars and crushed rocks. Full-bodied, profound and absolutely edifying on the palate, the densely packed, beautifully perfumed red and blue fruit layers possess a charge like defibrillators stimulating your heart to be faster, each delivering achingly subtle floral and spice sparks, perfectly framed by very firm, very grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing with incredible length and taking you to depths that extend to a provocative ferrous undercurrent. Stunning.

Decanter.com

99 / 100

byJane Ansonthe10/25/2018

WeinWisser

19 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe5/10/2017

Bettane & Desseauve

98-99 / 100

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/3/2017

Cassis, mûre, fines épices et violette. Crémosité et intensité magnifiques, allonge subtile, grand velouté, tannin musclé et équilibre sur la fraîcheur. L’association entre la richesse tannique et l’acidité est impressionnante d’équilibre avec une chair parfaitement mûre.

Wine Advocate

96-98 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/2/2017

The 2016 Petrus was picked from 28 September until 11 October and matured in 55% new oak. It has 14.9% alcohol, which is the same as in 2010; however, the pH is much lower at 3.35. For the first 15-20 minutes, the wine was tight-lipped and did not want to come out and play (Olivier passed the time by showing me some interesting videos on his mobile phone). Then it unfolds to reveal very pure blackcurrant and bilberry fruit with a violet and underlying sea spray scent that becomes more and more noticeable. The definition here is very impressive. The palate is medium-bodied with quite juicy and dense tannin, a little edginess on the entry with that marine influence continuing from start to finish. This is a cerebral Petrus, not unlike the 2010 at this stage, the alcohol disguised towards the finish, but lending this volume and an uncommon flamboyance for the vintage that marks it out from nearly every other Pomerol. The key though, is that it retains that freshness and detail. Whether it will match up to the sensational 2015 Petrus, we will have to wait and see. What is for sure is that this is a deeply impressive Pomerol that might just have a few tricks up its sleeve.

The Wine Cellar Insider

99-100 / 100

byJeff Levethe4/27/2017

Roses, lilacs, Cuban cigar wrapper, dark plums and wild cherries permeate the bouquet. There is a combination of structure and elegance with silky tannins, intensity and concentration. Not that any Petrus is for early drinking, but this one will need a long time to show its array of complexities. Finesse, intricacy and harmony with decadent textures and a beautiful purity of fruit, this wine was produced from 100% Merlot. The harvest started September 28, finishing October 11. The wine reached 14.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.5. 

Vinous

95-98 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe4/26/2017

The 2016 Pétrus is a wine of extraordinary finesse. Lifted and precise on the palate, with a lovely underpinning of ripe tannin, it exudes class. The delineation and overall translucency of the 2016 are truly remarkable. Harvest started on September 28 and wrapped up on October 11, which is a long window of time for such a small property. Technical director Olivier Berrout describes 2016 as year with a very dry but not excessively hot summer and September rain that arrived at a very opportune moment. Berrouet gave the wines 15-18 days on the skins, followed by malolactic fermentation in tank. But beyond the technical details, the 2016 Pétrus is both magnificent and unforgettable. I can't wait to taste it again.

matthewjukes.com

19,5 / 20

byMatthew Jukesthe4/25/2017

(100 Merlot) | 55% new oak | 14.5% alc. | Harvested between 28 September – 11 October. With unnerving focus and precision this is a dark and velvety Pétrus with startling tension and a wonderful brightness of fruit. Along a singular theme, the fruit starts immediately and then never stops. It is clear that this is a wine for the very long term. Less obviously and overtly juicy than last year’s wine but equally determined and laser driven, this is a wine with undoubted majesty and it manages to grow in my glass in only 15 minutes so imagine what it can do in ten or twenty years! With thrilling weight and luscious red cherry and ganache-smooth fruit, this is a wine with incredible length. They harvested very small berries because of the drought and, although there was no hydric stress per se, just hydric pressure, they had to be rigorous and very precise at harvest. Being able to capture the optimum ripeness for each block was a challenge and the key was to keep the acidity in the grapes to maintain the tension in the wine. Olivier Berrouet explained that gentle extraction was critical to harnessing the amazing density of flavour in the grapes. ‘The goal is not to make a massive wine’, he said. No one could accuse 2016 of being a massive wine, but it certainly has a massive flavour! 19.5+

Decanter.com

98 / 100

byJane Ansonthe4/24/2017

The nose jumps right out, then the palate starts tunneling down through an array of dark fruit and cut herb expressions, before slowly flattening out on the mid-palate then rising vertically on the finish. An architectural expression of the vintage, ripe and precise but with great freshness. Harvest here took place between 28th September and 11th October, and the challenges of the vintage meant they had to be precise and rigorous at every moment, never letting down their guard. No green harvesting. 40hl/ha yield, 55% new oak. Lots of anthocyanins. This is soft and caressing and majors in those deceptively soft tannins that slowly but surely build up to remind you that this wine has no intention of going away for many, many years. Drinking Window 2027 - 2050

Jancis Robinson

19 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe4/21/2017

28 September to 11 October (Olivier Berrouet's birthday). Very very deep crimson. Gorgeous nose. Very intense and rich. Richer than Le Pin and I did not spit. Beautiful balance. More rigour than some vintages. Very long indeed. Unusually structured but no shortage of beguiling flavours. Violets and tar.

Wine Enthusiast

98-100 / 100

byRoger Vossthe4/19/2017

Barrel Sample. A wine with the potential for 100 points, this is velvety, with blackberry fruit and a rich texture. It is intense, seductive and a real charmer, while at the same time, there are hugely dense tannins that support the fruit. It is a superb wine both for its generous character and for its immense structure. Keep for decades.

Jean-Marc QUARIN

19 / 20

byJean-Marc Quarinthe4/10/2017

Le meilleur jamais fait avec le 2000 !Couleur sombre, intense, profonde. Nez très aromatique, fin, fruité, avec des notes de prune, de goudron, de violette, de crème. Bouche incroyable, stimulée par un fruité frais, un goût de mûre et une sensation de gras fin différente des autres vins. Un gras moins crémeux, moins tannique, plus proche de celui d'un grand blanc de Bourgogne que d'un vin rouge de Bordeaux. Plein et minutieux dans son déroulé, le vin s'achève long, complexe et profond.

Jamessuckling.com

99-100 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/5/2017

This is a muscular Petrus that is so compacted and powerful. Full-bodied, yet tight and intense. I haven't tasted something like this for a long time. The tannins are exquisitely fine-grained, the finish mind-binding. It's the combination of violets and dark fruit that's just so enticing. Just crushed grapes and crystal-clear purity.