2008 Petrus, Pomerol 1x750ml

Robert Parker 97

Tasted ex-chateau and single blind in Southwold. I was initially quite mean to this Petrus, probably because as my note from October 2010 suggests, it is now a more reticent wine and has far less of that a oeshowboatinga it displayed out of barrel. So whilst you initially wonder what all the fuss is about, leaving the wine in my glass for a few minutes eventually, almost reluctantly, reveals a very intense bouquet of wild strawberry, raspberry and crushed stone. It has great precision, real intensity and sense of purpose. The palate is medium-bodied with very smooth, rounded tannins and it feels velvety smooth in the mouth. There is still some oak to be subsumed, which meant I was parsimonious with my score handed in at the tasting. But even after a few minutes the wine is unfolding before my senses and you become aware that this will evolve into a top class Petrus. Tasted January 2012. [Neal Martin, 01/01/2012]