Saturated ruby-red. Brilliant nose features kirsch, dark berries, and iron scents, with an overlay of perfumed, spicy oak. Lush, sweet and fragrant in the mouth, with a sappy freshness; clearly made from low yields. Finishes with toothcoating but suave tannins and remarkable persistence; stains the palate with spicy bitter cherry and citric skin flavor. As with the '94, clearly the best wine in the Moueix portfolio on this day.

After several uninspiring efforts between 1978 and 1988, it is irrefutable that Christian Moueix and his flagship estate, Petrus, have rebounded with a vengeance, producing a bevy of extraordinary wines, even in rain-plagued vintages such as 1992 and 1993. Opaque purple/black in color, with a sweet vanilla, pain grillee, jammy cherry and cassis-scented nose, this full-bodied, densely packed wine reveals layers of flavor, and an inner-core of sweetness with huge quantities of glycerin and depth. A tannic, classic style of Petrus, with immense body, great purity, and a backward finish, this wine requires a decade of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2035.

Thick ruby core. A bit of sulphur on the nose with scents of gingerbread biscuits and jammy aromas. Thick chewy tannins with lots of blackcurrant and oak. Very tight and broody at the moment. Long blackberry fruits on the slightly muffled finish. Lacks a little vigour and depth. Drink after five years. Tasted July 1999.

Although the 1994 Petrus is slightly less concentrated than the exceptional 1993 (one of the top candidates for the "wine of the vintage"), it is unquestionably a powerful, tannic, backward wine that surpasses what this estate produced in such very good vintages as 1985 and 1986. The color is a deep, dark ruby/purple. With coaxing, the closed nose offers up scents of coffee, herb-tinged, jammy black-cherries, and toasty new oak. The wine is superbly concentrated, with a high tannin level, and a long, structured, backward finish. Do not touch a bottle before 2005; it will last for 25-40 years.