2013 Petrus, Pomerol, Bordeaux

Shaded crimson. There's something quite animal about the nose, and the palate is much more jagged than Lafleur's. Maybe it's still evolving, but there's quite a bit of dry tannin, and this seems like it still needs to be ready. Really quite unformed and chunky. However, there is an undertow of complex fruit. Youthful. An extraordinary price!

Drink 2024 - 2034

The 2013 Pétrus possesses lovely depth and density for the year. Dark red stone fruits, tobacco, smoke and graphite all blossom in the glass. Underlying beams of firm tannin support the fruit nicely. Violets, game, plums and new leather wrap around the finish. Today, the tannins are a bit firm, especially within the context of the vintage, but the wine retains solid balance and has plenty of potential to grow, even if it isn't especially flattering today.

According to Olivier Berrouet, poor weather at the end of June was the most critical time of the growing season at Pétrus. The irregular flowering resulted in a loss of 35-40% of the potential crop. Berrouet opted for gentle extractions, although Pétrus remains one of the most outwardly tannic wines of the year at this stage. The 2013 is ageing in 50% new oak and will probably be bottled a little earlier than normal.

The 2013 is a star of the vintage. It exhibits a dense purple colour along with deep mulberry, black cherry and black currant fruit intermixed with a notion of liquorice. Medium-bodied with supple tannins, it reminds me of their over-achieving 1973 in its youth a wine that transcended the vintage character). The lovely, seductive, fruit-forward 2013 will be drinkable in several years and last 10-15 years thereafter.

The harvest took place on October 2-3, and tiny yields of 20 hectoliters per hectare have produced only 1,000 cases rather than the normal 2,000-3,000). While winemaker and administrator Olivier Berrouet told me 300 vines of Cabernet Franc remain in the vineyard, for all intents and purposes, Petrus has been 100% Merlot for many years.

Drink 2014 - 2029

The 2013 Petrus has a somewhat dour nose, and compared to the Lafleur, it lacks fruit intensity and freshness. There is an underlying herbaceous element here. The palate is medium-bodied with somewhat dry tannins, moderate weight and fine acidity. Given the peppery finish, you might presume there was some Cabernet Franc in the blend. But it is a bit facile within this estate's pantheon of great wines.

Drink 2023 - 2030

Very fine and structured with ultra-fine tannins. Medium-bodied with beautiful density and texture. It has length and grip for the vintage.

Drink from 2020 onward

100% Merlot

Bright, dark ruby. Captivating, extremely pure aromas of fresh blackcurrant, mocha, gunflint and violet. Precise and multilayered, with small dark berry flavours given clarity and cut by lively, harmonious acidity. The finish is complex and very long. Lighter than usual but extremely pure and perfumed, this knockout wine has silkier, smoother tannins than any other 2013 Bordeaux. When I visited Petrus in July 2013, the horrible growing season had Olivier Berrouet fretting like I had never seen before, but he can be proud of what he has achieved in this difficult vintage. Making a great Petrus in outstanding years like 2009 or 2010 is expected, so in some respect, this is Berrouet's best wine yet.

Harvest took place over three days, 2-4-6 October, bringing in a yield of 25 hl/h compared to 33 hl/h in 2012.

In contrast to many estates, Petrus believes ‘above all you should not chaptilise; you need to take what nature gives you and make the most of it. Nature is the boss’. These were the words of winemaker Olivier Berrouet when I was tasting the En Primeur version of this wine, and it was clearly a sensible choice because it still feels unforced and full of pleasure at ten years old. 

You’ll find both grip and character, the tannins offering finely-boned architecture for the blueberry and blackberry fruit, and there’s a kick of life through the finish. Confident, deft winemaking and, in many ways, an excellent way to approach Petrus and understand a little bit what it is about - although the price difference from other vintages doesn’t reflect the difference in concentration and ageing potential. 

Drink 2023 - 2036

The difficulties of the vintage are hardly evident here. Very deep in colour, the wine is dense and opulent on the nose, with black cherry aromas. It's ripe, solid, rich, and concentrated, showing ample force and extraction. For 2013, it's powerful, has some grandeur, and is quite unlike the other Pomerols here. Spicy, imposing and long.

Drink 2023 - 2032