Dark red, with an amber edge. Aromas of chocolate, stewed berries, Merlot and raisins. Full-bodied, velvety and rich. Lovely palate. Delicious now, but will hold on. An autumnal wine.--Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now. — JS

The 1986 Petrus out-performs the 1985 not for the first time. Although you could argue that it plays safe, the bouquet has more energy and delineation than the previous vintage with Cuban cigar, undergrowth and potpourri aromas. Attractive, though you do end up yearning for more fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with mulberry and sage. It is a little flat, but there is more precision and complexity than the 1985. It just falls away quickly on the finish. I think that the bottle at the Petrus dinner in Hong Kong showed better, but it is definitely representative. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at Hide restaurant in London.

The more I tasted this wine, the more I felt it leaves a lot to be desired. The wine has developed an herbaceous tea, smoky, and cherry-scented nose with new oak lurking in the background. The wine, which has lost its baby fat, sags a bit in the middle, and reveals a Medoc-like austerity and tannic structure atypical for a Pomerol. It is closer to medium than full body, and appears to be going through an awkward stage. Will it come around, or continue to lose fruit? Anticipated maturity: Now-2010. Last tasted 2/97

This is another wine made during the period when Christian Moueix and his conservative oenologist, Jean-Charles Berrouet, were obviously harvesting very early and also, to my mind, doing entirely too much fining and filtration before the wine got in bottle. My cask tasting notes were significantly higher on all the vintages in the early to mid-eighties, but as most of the wines have aged in the bottle, they have become increasingly weedy, herbaceous, with Medoc-like austerity and excessive tannins for the meager fruit. The 1986 is showing medium ruby/garnet color with considerable amber at the edge. The indifferent bouquet offers up notes of roasted vegetables, Japanese green tea, some smoke, a hint of sweet cherry, and some loamy, earthy, almost mushroomy notes in the background. The wine is austere on the palate, with high tannin and moderate fruit. For Petrus, this is a major disappointment and continues to decline in quality. Anticipated maturity: Now-2010. Last tasted, 11/02.

Lively crimson. Much richer and sweeter than Le Pin. Not glorious, and even with a slightly metallic note. Still chewy and well behind the other two top Pomerols noted here in terms of evolution.
JR - Aug 2005