Good full red. Red plum, minerals, coffee, cocoa powder and sexy oak on the nose. Densely packed and round but cool, with rich, full red fruit flavors spreading out to saturate the entire mouth. Just a hint of austerity to remind the taster of the vintage. Finishes with excellent length for 2002 and good, ripe tannins.

Tasted blind at Farr’s 2002 Bordeaux tasting. It is difficult to get my head around this nose, with ripe black cherries, plum and damson on one side, but a touch of greenness on the other. However, the palate is superb: very harmonious with sensuous, filigree tannins, quite conservative and reserved with a touch of liquorices and sous-bois on the finish. When I discovered this was Petrus, I am convinced this wine is at an awkward, adolescent stage and so should not be touched for another 3-4 years, by which time it should coalesce. Tasted October 2009.

Considering the fact that wine administrator Christian Moueix was contemplating not making a 2002 Petrus, I was surprised by how strongly this wine performed. However, production was cut in half, with only 1,800 cases produced. The resulting offering has the potential to be the top wine of the appellation. A deep plum/purple color is followed by sweet aromas of mulberries, black cherries, vanillin, and hints of truffles as well as licorice. It is impressively pure and medium to full-bodied, with moderately high tannin in the finish. This is not a blockbuster, brawny, super-concentrated Petrus, but it is one of the biggest 2002s made in Pomerol. Moreover, it will possess as much longevity as L’Evangile, Lafleur or Le Gay, three other noteworthy Pomerols. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2025

A relatively strong effort for this vintage, but hardly one of the profound examples of Petrus, this wine exhibits a dark plum color and a somewhat monolithic, foursquare personality with notes of plums, black cherries, licorice, and some herbs and damp earth. Medium-bodied, muscular, and tannic, but lacking some charm and sweetness, it should age nicely for 12-15 more years and possibly be even better than my score. Readers who buy it should not even attempt opening a bottle for at least 4-5 years.