The 2012 Château Petrus is stunning stuff. All Merlot as always, it's still youthfully ruby/plum-hued yet has a kiss of maturity in its smoky red and black fruits as well as incredible aromatics of tobacco leaf, lead pencil, chocolate, and scorched earth. Deep, full-bodied, and concentrated, it has classic Petrus power and richness, beautifully integrated tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and a gorgeous finish. This beauty builds beautifully with time in the glass and has another 20-30 years of prime drinking. May 2023

Ten years is not quite the sweet spot for Petrus, and it will benefit from a few more years softening in the bottle as there are layers of tannins to work through, but this is right up there as the wine of the tasting, it just jumps out of the glass. As ever with Petrus it's the texture that gets you; satin, velvet, silk, lace, all rolled up into one, with succulent black cherry and raspberry fruits given definition and depth by fennel, cocoa bean, graphite, crushed rock, jasmine and black tea. Muscular and yet fresh, it rises up through the palate and leaves you wanting more. 50% new oak, Oliver Berrouet winemaking director. Jane Anson March 2022 - Inside Bordeaux

This shows fabulous length with a chocolate, berry and mineral undertone. Licorice and currants too. Full body yet refined with seamless tannins. Goes on for minutes. It shows such amazing length and elegance. Depth. Phenomenal structure here, especially for the vintage. Reminds me of the 1998 or 1971, which were structured yet very fine.

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2012 Petrus needs vigorous swirling to uncover notes of plum preserves, kirsch, and blueberry compote with hints of crushed rocks, truffles, licorice, and dried roses. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is laden with spicy black fruit layers and superbly ripe, rounded tannins, giving just enough freshness to lift the long earthy finish. A stunning achievement for this vintage, give it another 5-7 years in the cellar and drink it over the next 25 years+. Lisa Perrotti-Brown Feb 2023 - The Wine Independent

(100% Merlot)
Oh my sweet lord. Nose is deep with ripe plum, blackcurrant, blackberry and a touch of lifted white pepper - but nothing that even comes close to greenness. The palate is as soft as can be, with amazing concentration but stunning vibrancy and freshness. I don't want to spit. Its making my mouth tingle with acidity and excitement. The depth of flavour is unreal. The best wine we will taste.

One of the stars of the vintage, the wine (100% Merlot) has exceptional concentration, stunning purity, an inky purple color and a broad, expansive mouthfeel. Not a bit heavy, cloying or overwrought, this is a stunning Petrus (licorice, blackcurrants and truffles dominate) that will probably hit full maturity in 8-10 years and last 25-35. Another great example of this mythical wine that few can afford, virtually no one drinks, but everyone talks about! Relatively high in alcohol at 14.5%, the crop was tiny because of the spring’s poor flowering in this sector of Pomerol.

Tasted blind at the Southwold 2012 tasting, the 2012 Petrus demonstrated a forward, fruit-driven, ripe raspberry and wild strawberry bouquet underneath which lies graphite and forest floor aromas. It seems refined, understated, nonchalant even. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly savory opening, as if there was a tiny drop of Cabernet Franc. The tannins are fine but firm, the red fruit infused with cooked meat, black pepper and sage notes, although I was anticipating a finish armed with more body. That may well develop in time, yet it remains a regal Pomerol that will probably merit a higher score with bottle age, hence the plus-sign against the score. Tasted January 2016.

This has some serious muscle, with rivets of graphite studding a beam of dense, gravelly grip that holds the core of steeped plum and raspberry notes together. Very long, with superior cut. A graphite note powers through the finish, while the fruit drips on and on. JM

[100M] Dense ripe fruit and mineral nose, penetrating and perfumed; concentrated, fresh, elegant, finely tannic, a lovely harmonious balance; a very sweet core of mineral infused cassis and blackberry fruit, intense, spicy, long to develop, and with great aromatic complexity and presence, with a prolonged, spice-filled aftertaste. Great elegance, wonderfully textured, contained power. A fairly grand Petrus, but with a tannin texture of such fine quality that it is likely to be gloriously accessible relatively early. 2025-40+ [M.Schuster, Bordeaux Mar/Apr 2013]

A dark, hulking beauty, the 2012 Pétrus is utterly beguiling. For the year, the Pétrus boasts remarkable density and pure power. Spice, leather, cedar and tobacco wrap around a core of intense, super-ripe fruit. Bad weather during flowering lowered potential yields and resulted in a firm, powerful Pétrus that is going to need time to blossom. I imagine the 2012 will still be a pretty special wine at age forty.

(Lower volume than 2011 – 30 hl/ha, about 30,000 bottles. Harvest 24 September to 8 October. One of longest harvests at Petrus. They had to eliminate more fruit than last year. First vintage in the new cellar, allowing them to work with more and smaller parcels – they now have 12 (unlined) concrete vats instead of the previous eight. From 2013, global distribution will be handled exclusively by Jean-François Moueix (under the name of a new company called Petrus Something) – up to now has handled distribution only in France.)
Inky core. Highly aromatic and beautifully spiced fruit. Both pure and complex on the nose. Aromatic on the palate with fine-grained but deep, welcoming tannins. Hint of smokiness, just so perfumed already. Lovely cassis, velvety and open but with the structure and harmony to age gracefully. Finishes dry and velvety too. Lacks the edge of youth. Almost too gentle at this stage in its life. (JH)