Menu
By placing bids on items you acknowledge you are entering into a binding and irrevocable agreement to purchase such items as governed by our Terms and Conditions.
Bordeaux
Free Valuations
Bid for Wine offer free no obligation wine valuations. If you have similar wines to sell, or want a valuation on a collection we can help.
Start Valuation
Chateau Petrus is a Bordeaux wine estate located in the Pomerol appellation near its eastern border to Saint-Emilion.
A small estate of just 11.4 hectares (28 acres), it produces a red wine entirely from Merlot grapes (since the end of 2010), and produces no second wine.
The estate belongs to Jean-Franois Moueix and his children. Although the wines of Pomerol have never been classified, Petrus is widely regarded as the outstanding wine of the appellation. Petrus leads a duo of Pomerol estates in extreme prices, along with Le Pin, that rank consistently among the world's most expensive wines. A 750ml bottle of Petrus wine is priced at an average of 1,500 EUR.
The vineyard of Petrus covers 11.4 hectares (28 acres) and is located on a plateau in the eastern portion of Pomerol. Located on top of a 20-hectare (49-acre) island mound, the Petrus boutonnire or buttonhole, Petrus' original vineyard comprises topsoil and subsoil high in iron-rich clay that differs from neighbouring vineyards, where the soil is a mixture of gravel-sand or clay-sand. The estate was among the first in Bordeaux to implement green-harvesting or claircissage as a way to lower crop yields and raise the quality of the remaining grapes.
The grape variety distribution is 100% Merlot since the end of 2010. The average age of the vines exceeds 45 years. This grape variety is made up of black, medium and round berries. The administration of the estate takes particular care to maximise the quality of the harvest. Petrus produces an average of 30,000 bottles per year. The grapes are hand harvested over two to three days. The wine is aged between 12 and 16 months in oak barrels, half of which are new, before bottling.
A stringent pre-assemblage vat selection is carried out and certain parcels are rejected from the Grand Vin. The wine is characterised by great elegance, a complex and powerful nose and a particularly opulent fruit. The guide to Bettana and Desseauve wines (2016) describes Petrus as follows: "With its refined and deep tension and the right density, its taffeta texture and floral returns, Petrus is a wine that shines and gradually imposes itself on you.
The best vintages are generally recognised as 1929, 1945, 1947, 1961, 1964, 1982, 1989, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010. In 1956, 1965 and 1991, the harvests did not produce a wine of sufficient quality and these vintages do not exist. The years 1963, 1968, 1977 or 1984 exist in very small quantities for the same reason. The vintages 1921, 1929, 1947, 1961, 1989, 1990, 2000, 2009 and 2010 all received a score of 100/100 from critic Robert Parker.
According to Wine-searcher, Petrus is the sixth most expensive wine in the world, after five Burgundy wines.