2004 Petrus
By Chateau Petrus
2004 Petrus from Château Petrus, Pomerol, Bordeaux
The enigmatic 2004 Petrus from the esteemed Château Petrus represents an opportunity to revisit the classic paradox of a year in Pomerol that demanded vintners' utmost deftness. This particular outing in the storied lineage of Petrus manifests a confluence of disciplined viticulture and judicious winemaking, delivering a vintage marked by exceptional balance and intricate layering.
Harmonious Expression Amid Climatic Challenges
In examining the 2004 Petrus, one finds a distinguished character shaped under the auspices of a growing season that played a teasing game with Bordeaux's winemakers. Amidst mercurial skies, Château Petrus revealed its mastery—calibrating each element from vine to barrel with precision. The resultant potion in the glass offers a tactile representation of Pomerol's iron-rich terroir, wrapped elegantly within the year's temperate embrace. Noteworthy is how this vintage captures an exact moment—where fruit, earth, and climate converse so fluently.
The 2004 vintage is notable amongst connoisseurs for the articulate expression of its Merlot—a varietal throned at Petrus. In this iteration, it showcases subdued tannins and a moderated opulence that whispers quality rather than shouting it—a tenor appreciated by astute collectors looking to diversify with a restrained performer from Bordeaux.
An Overture to Subtlety in Pomerol
On the palate, the wine unfolds in gentle waves; dark fruit notes interlace with suggestions of truffle and delicate spice, harmonized by an undercurrent of refined acidity and tied together with an aristocratic finish. Such sophistication positions the 2004 Petrus from Château Petrus as an asset for wine investment portfolios—an embodiment of serene confidence that promises depth with further cellaring.
In summation, the 2004 Petrus stands as a testament to the resilience and adaptive craftsmanship at Château Petrus—an investment-worthy idyll among Bordeaux vintages that may have danced dangerously close to austerity yet emerged with poise and potential. This bottle presents not only enjoyment for the discerning palate but also an invitation for fine wine investors to capture a slice of Bordeaux's adaptive artistry.
Market price (GBP)
£24,780.00
12x75cl
Highest score
96
POP score
1548.75
Scores and tasting notes
A modest nose of earthy black fruits and again, a touch of green pepper that lends the wine freshness. An understated palate, ripe blackberry leaf and a touch of brine. Vigorous, well-integrated and harmonious. Good grip. As usual, it is elegance more than power. Medium-bodied. A great wine, though Trotanoy has more expression and nuance. Tasted April 2005.
Neal Martin - Wine Advocate - Wine Journal
The dark plum/ruby-tinged 2004 Petrus possesses high acidity as well as copious amounts of sweet cherries and black currants intermixed with hints of cola, earth, and truffles. Deep, medium-bodied, concentrated, ripe flavors are excruciatingly firm and tannic. This backward, structured, muscular Pomerol requires a decade of cellaring, but it possesses the potential to be the longest lived wine of the vintage, lasting 30-40 years. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2035.
Robert Parker Jr - Wine Advocate #171 June 2007
The 2004 Petrus is a vintage that I had not tasted for a while and whilst it is an exemplary Pomerol, it does not rank within the top tier of wines from the iconic estate. Nevertheless, it has a wonderful, quite powerful bouquet with kirsch and crushed flowers, violets and truffle, perhaps even a seam of cinnamon in the background. The palate is gently moving into its secondary stage of evolution. The fruit is darker than the 2004 Cheval Blanc tasted (blind) alongside, fine structure, a little broody perhaps but with satisfying depth. Perhaps like the 2004 Haut-Brion, it ticks all the boxes but does not quite deliver the personality or the charm of other vintages and as such, it has never quite achieved the promise it showed from barrel. My comments are begrudging given the quality. But this is Petrus. Tasted September 2016.
Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate, 28 February 2017