Petrus – Pomerol 2014

Château Petrus, which is located on a plateau in the eastern portion of Pomerol, Bordeaux, takes its name from the Latin version of St. Peter. Owned by the Arnaud family for the better part of 200 years, Petrus was sold to Madame Loubat around World War I. Upon her death in 1961, the estate passed to her family, who eventually sold it to Jean-Pierre Moueix. Jean-Francois Moueix, the son of Jean-Pierre Moueix, and his children, including Jean Moueix, own Petrus today.

The 11.5-hectare vineyard of Petrus is situated on the top of the highest elevation on the Pomerol plateau and is planted to 100% Merlot grapes. The location of Petrus allows for natural drainage of the vineyard, which is especially important due to the high percentage of iron-rich clay in the soil. The soil and terroir of Petrus are unique. The blue clay subsoils of Petrus are what make the wines of Petrus so special. The patch of blue clay on the Pomerol plateau is about 13 hectares in total. Petrus is distinctive as its entire vineyard is right on top of the clay, while neighboring vineyards only have a portion of blue clay in their soil.

Petrus makes only one wine. Olivier Berrouet has been the winemaker at Petrus since 2008, when he took over for his father, Jean-Claude Berrouet, who was the winemaker at Petrus from 1964 until his retirement. Petrus was among the first in Bordeaux to implement greenharvesting as a way to lower crop yields and raise the quality of the remaining grapes. Today, the Petrus team pampers the vineyard all year long and proceeds to greenharvest when necessary to obtain the best potential of the fruit. The grapes are hand-harvested over five to six days and fermented in temperature-controlled concrete tanks. The wine is aged in 50% or more new French oak for 15 to 18 months to avoid any excess of extraction.

Producer: Château Petrus

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux

Varietal: Merlot

Appellation: Pomerol

Vintage: 2014

Size: 750ml