PETRUS 2018

The 2018 Petrus is a brilliant wine that has perfection written all over it, and it’s unquestionably one of the most powerful, opulent wines in the vintage. As always, it’s 100 Merlot and offers a heavenly bouquet of cassis, smoke, earth, graphite, and beautiful liquid violets. Full-bodied, deep, and opulent on the palate, I must have written “huge wine!” three or four times in my notes, and despite all its power and richness, it’s seamless, light on its feet, and already hard to resist. Possessing terrific mid-palate depth, sweet tannins, and a finish that ranks with the greatest wines out there, Merlot or any wine for that matter, doesn’t get better. If you’re lucky enough to have a few bottles of this elixir, do your best to give bottles 7-8 years in the cellar, and I suspect it will keep for 40-50 years. Barrel Sample: 98-100.

Plush and inviting, with steeped red and black currant and fig flavors that meld nicely with fruitcake, Christmas pudding and anise notes through the finish. Subtle dark earth hint at the end keeps it grounded. The vintage's slightly austere edge is here, but is minimized by the fruit, helping this stand apart from the pack. Best from 2023 through 2034.

The 2018 Petrus is a magnificent wine. There is not much else to say. From the very first taste, the 2018 Petrus is simply magical. Dark, sumptuous and beautifully resonant on the palate, the 2018 offers superb richness, aromatic depth and intensity. Blueberry, spice, black pepper, licorice and earthy notes open up in the glass, but it is the wine's vivid beauty and extraordinary harmony that stand out most. I don't think I have ever tasted a young Petrus with such silky, suave tannins. "We lowered the canopies and left more leaf cover to protect the fruit," Technical Director Olivier Berrouet told me. "The berries were especially small. Cuvaison was a bit longer than normal, but we chose to extract more gently."

This wine leaves me speechless. It has so much intensity and density with fantastic ripe fruit with spices, dark berries and walnuts and hazelnuts Currants and licorice. Violets and earth. Full-bodied, very, very tannic yet polished and beautiful. Lasts forever on the palate. Reminds me of the great 1998.

Very deep purple-black colored, the 2018 Petrus is a little slow to reveal itself, opening out to beautiful floral notions of violets, red roses and lavender with emerging scents of blueberry compote, powdered cinnamon, star anise, fragrant earth and unsmoked cigars plus nuances of black tea, cardamom, rose hips, iron ore and Sichuan pepper. Full-bodied, the palate builds very slowly in the mouth, growing to a crescendo of black and blue fruit with an aria of earth and exotic spice accents, finishing with the most amazing perfume, all draped in super plush, seductive tannins, ending with just enough freshness to make the beguiling flavor waves go on and on. Big, bold and opulent yet with fantastic muscle and energy, this timeless 2018 is nothing short of mind blowing.