Château Pétrus Pomerol 1952

Chateau Petrus is the favourite wine of the world's rich and famous. The flagship Pomerol wine is located near Libourne in the Bordeaux wine-growing region. However, the Pomerol wines differ significantly from the 1er Cru Classé growths of the Left Bank such as Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Haut Brion from Graves. Chateau Petrus is a fairly small wine estate with only 11.50 hectares of vineyards. This is planted with around 95 per cent Merlot and only 5 per cent Cabernet Franc. This fact is also the main difference to the wineries mentioned above, the high proportion of Merlot is typical for Chateau Petrus and the other wineries from the Pomerol region. The Pomerol region is located 30 kilometres north of Bordeaux and only experienced its steady and unstoppable rise at the beginning of the 20th century. To the east of Pomerol, the well-known Saint-Émilion wine-growing region joins Pomerol. In the years before the so-called discovery of Pomerol wines, glamorous names such as Chateau Petrus or Chateau Le Pin were only known to insiders. In contrast to the wine estates on the Left Bank, the estates do not boast magnificent castles and estates; wine connoisseurs often find ordinary houses or farms when they visit, as is the case with Chateau Petrus. The best Pomerol wines are produced on the highest parts of the plateau because the soil there consists of gravel and clay. Chateau Petrus has the same soil composition and the wines of Pomerol do not have their own classification. Chateau Petrus only received a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878, where the classification of the Bordelais was also announced. The star of Chateau Petrus rose with the 1945 vintage. Alongside the 1945 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, this is still regarded today as the wine of the century. In 1925, part of the property of Chateau Petrus went to Madame Edmond Loubat. In 1949, the enterprising lady was then able to acquire all the shares in Chateau Petrus and call the estate her own. At that time, however, Chateau Petrus was even smaller than it is today, covering only around 6.50 hectares. Also in this year, Jean-Pierre Moueix took over the distribution of the wines of Chateau Petrus and was also able to buy a third of the shares after the death of Mme Loubat in 1961. Today, Chateau Petrus is owned by the Moueix family, long led by the enterprising wine connoisseur and businessman Jean-Pierre Moueix (1882-1957). In addition to Chateau Petrus, he also owned Chateau Trotanoy, Chateau Lafleur-Pétrus and Chateau Lagrange as well as Château Magdelaine in Saint-Émilion. However, Chateau Petrus is his flagship estate with the best reputation and the highest-rated wines. The annual production at Chateau Petrus is usually only around 20,000 to 25,000 bottles, which makes it almost impossible to obtain an allocation by subscription. Russian oil magnates and Asian businessmen in particular will pay almost any price for a genuine Chateau Petrus. Older vintages of Chateau Petrus are therefore even more difficult to obtain and are guarded like the apple of one's eye. There is probably only one other wine as expensive as Chateau Petrus, and that is the Burgundy legend Domaine Romanee Conti from Vosne-Romanée.

Groß in 52 ist auch Petrus. Meine erste Begegnung mit diesem Wein war 1993 auf der Petrus-Probe in der Wachau. Eine echte Sensation für den Jahrgang und besser als 50, explosives Bouquet, lang, üppig – 95/100. Eine Top-Flasche 1997 bei Willi Krähling, dichte Farbe, kaum Alter, wunderschön würzig, komplex und lang – 99/100. Ein Jahr später die Zwillingsflasche, toller, dichter Stoff mit schöner Länge – 96/100. Zuletzt 2004 auf einer Probe wunderbarer, perfekt gereifter Petrus mit feiner Süße - 96/100. Bei guten Flaschen mit einwandfreier Herkunft würde ich hier nicht zögern. Petrus mach sicher noch 10+ Jahre Spaß. In jedem Fall würde ich hier die Chateauabfüllung der Vandermeulen-Variante vorziehen. Letztere konnte mit der Chateauabfüllung nie mithalten, in den letzten 10 Jahren gut 10mal getrunken und immer mit 92-93/100 bewertet. Zuletzt 2005 auf René Gabriels großer Petrus Probe, wo der Wein deutlich zeigte, dass er sich auf dem Abstieg befindet. Beide Flaschen schon sehr reif mit leichten Oxidationstönen, malziger Süße, aber auch leichtem Essigstich – 92/100. Darüber hinaus existieren noch weitere belgische Händlerabfüllungen, erkennbar am Original Petrus-Etikett ohne den Zusatz „mise en bouteille aux Chateau“. Eine solche habe ich 1999 bei Willi Krähling getrunken, der Wein des Abends und sicher auf der Höhe der Chateauabfüllungen – 97/100(Quelle: wineterminator.com Dr. Becker).