1985 - Petrus, Pomerol

Smoke, coffee beans, campfire, gentle white truffle notes, white pepper spice. This is complex, edging into full tertiary flavours, and reflective of a vintage that was successful but not overly concentrated. I have had younger bottles of Petrus 1985 but this still blows you away with its complexity, and its ability to keep on delivering, and surprising you with its longevity.

Magnum kindly given to me to commemorate his father by Edmund Penning-Rowsell Jr. Shared to celebrate E P-R's centenary. Dark vibrant blackish ruby. Heady and immediately glamorous nose. Straight from the magnum a bit austere though with no shortage of density. Briary. Not as luscious and sweet and many Petrus vintages are but utterly in character for E P-R. I suspect he would have approved of this rather Medocain rendition. Impressive on the finish. Needs to open out a bit.Two hours later from the decanter: Gloriously rich and expansive and much more typically Petrus. A very rewarding Pomerol with a combination of sweetness and lifted leafiness. Not the most opulent vintage but extremely satisfying. Note the alcohol level. (JR)