Pétrus 1996

Proprietor Christian Moueix’s 1996s have turned out well in the bottle. However, I do agree with him that 1997 is a superior vintage for his portfolio, and he has hit the proverbial home run in 1998. The 1996 Petrus is a big, monolithic, foursquare wine with an impressively opaque purple colour, and sweet berry fruit intermixed with earth, pain grillé, and coffee scents. Full-bodied and muscular, with high levels of tannin, and a backward style, this wine (less than 50% of the production was bottled as Petrus) will require patience. It is a mammoth example, but without the sweetness of the 1997 or the pure exceptional richness and layers of the multidimensional 1995. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2018.

Despite all the pessimism that emerged from proprietor Christian Moueix, this has turned out to be an exceptional effort. The wine possesses a dense, opaque purple colour, a ripe, mulberry, cedar, and coffee-scented nose, and a dense, powerful, medium- to full-bodied, tannic personality with plenty of spice, glycerin, and length. It will require time in the bottle. Pétrus's average production in a high quality vintage is approximately 4,500 cases, but due to Moueix's ruthless selection process, only 1,800 cases of 1996 Pétrus were produced. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025.