1988 Petrus, Pomerol

The 1988 Petrus fooled me when served blind. Its opulence tricked me into thinking it was the Le Pin tasted alongside. This might be partly because this came from magnum. It has a gorgeous nose, more expressive than the bottle at the Petrus vertical, with veins of blue fruit and iodine, thyme and sous-bois . Quite bold. The palate is medium-bodied and much less austere than its bottled counterpart, with impressive density, though without that peacock's tail that the next two vintages boast. Yet a very "useful" Petrus that will give another couple of decades of drinking pleasure. Tasted at the 1988 Bordeaux dinner at Noble Rot Mayfair.

This wine has become increasingly herbaceous with the tannins pushing through the fruit and becoming more aggressive. The wine started off life impressively deep ruby/purple but is now showing some amber at the edge. It is a medium-bodied, rather elegant style of Petrus with a distinctive cedary, almost celery component intermixed with a hint of caramel and sweet mulberry and black cherry fruit. It has aged far less evenly than I would have thought and is probably best drunk over the next 8-10 years. Last tasted, 11/02.

The 1988 Petrus is reassuringly outstanding, but it is not a prodigious Petrus. The healthy dark ruby/purple color is followed by a young, backward wine with high tannin levels, medium body, and an inner-core of sweet, ripe fruit. It needs another 7-10 years of cellaring. The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series VI - Flight A of the 1995 tasting conducted in Munich by Helga and Hardy Rodenstock.

Jean-Michel Cazes was rather dismissive of this treasure exhumed from his cellar ('ce n'est pas grandiose') but I loved it – especially since it had not a trace of 1988's stubbornness about it. Sweet, round and rich, it was initially served blind and was obviously something exceptional. Lovely cleanliness as well as flattering sumptuousness. Tannins difficult to discern. Acidity well integrated. . (JR)