Description
Gabriel
| Drinking maturity | Drink |
|---|---|
| Valuation | 20/20 |
| 1986 was the absolute winner of an all-encompassing tasting of 71 wines. This Pétrus in particular shows that the Pomerol wines are delivering top performances this year: Opening, multi-layered nose characterised by Merlot. The palate is mouth-filling, soft without being opulent, classic, velvety, long, perfect. 1991 at the Pétrus tasting in St. Gallen: Burgundy flavours (Echézeaux). Blindly given 19/20 points. At the same time, we also learnt the recipe for such a concentrated wine. It is, or rather was, due to the yield per hectare: 27 hl/ha. Rarely has a Bordeaux wine fascinated me as much as the '71 Pétrus, I noted in 1992: after a short low phase from 1986 to 1990, it is now back at the absolute peak of an exorbitant pleasure phase. 91: During a Pétrus vertical tasting with more than twenty vintages, the '71 was the absolute winner of the day. Some of the other tasters were in such trouble with their own scores that 21/20 points were awarded on several occasions. The wine description is actually superfluous. This wine has everything possible in terms of richness of flavour. 1993 with René Fitzi from the magnum: I was poured blind and it was so rich and had the sweet coconut flavour that I often expected from the 70. That's why I promptly mistook it for the same wine. After 10 minutes, candied orange and chocolate flavours. A tremendous experience. Served as a refreshment after a 64 wine tasting with 25 wines: It was blindly rated 20/20 points eight times by ten tasters. The first gentle decline in maturity was noted in 1995: Bundled dried fruit bouquet, a hint of herbs in it, Malaga sweetness. Complex on the palate, sweetness in the extract, lots of flavour, precious woods on the finish. Although it still radiates a great deal of complexity, it is gradually showing less density than three years ago. It can therefore be assumed that it should now be drunk slowly but surely. Another note from the same year from a different tasting: fine Cabernet Franc notes on the nose, bakelite, pencil and cassis tones. Still powerful on the palate, further developing, with plenty of juice, appears better balanced, more expansive than the 70, but less concentrated overall. 1995 from the magnum: Together with the 45, the absolute star of the mature Pétrus vintages. Sweet, extremely berry bouquet; complex, clear, almost lavish Merlot richness. Juicy, rich palate, extremely compact, still showing good astringency, lots of cassis, a Rubens wine without being fat or fattening. Unforgettable for any wine lover who has had the pleasure of taking a sip from such a fantastic magnum. I drank it twice within a week in 1995. Once with Willi Imbach at the Old Swiss House, once after the '66 tasting at Hannes Scherrer's in Stäfa: despite all the almost endless admiration for this wine, it has unfortunately passed its peak. It is moving from 20/20 to 19/20 points and anyone who doesn't want to bury this experience in frustration should drink it now. One year later: it is slowly softening and losing its former vigour. Drink it up or sell it at auction. It simply hurts to have to witness the incipient agony of such a wine legend. 1997: The bottles had been decanted about three hours beforehand - the gods be damned. What was reflected in the glass was the reflection of a once dramatic, great wine. Store it in a cool place, for heaven's sake don't decant it and then drink it rather chilled. 99: A well-filled bottle that had been in my cellar for five years. As I feared, evolution is now progressing very quickly. It has definitely passed its peak. I left a small sip in the bottle in the cool cellar. The next day, the wine was oxidised, still a little chocolaty underneath and with fig extract on the finish. 02: It simply hurts to see this once so seductively sweet, great Pomerol gradually die. Drunk on its own, from a well-stored bottle, this '71 Pétrus is still quite a nice experience. But unfortunately, the '70 Bulldozer Pétrus in the glass next to it was so powerful that the difference became dramatically apparent. Unfortunately, even the very best bottles are increasingly deflating. 06: Maturing, brightening garnet but still quite dense in the centre. Ripe chocolate bouquet, roasted nuts, nutmeg touch, guanduja, malt, warm radiance, sweet and flattering on the nose. Very ripe on the palate, again lots of malt, showing a red cassis flavour on the inside, fat on the outside. Certainly now at the end of its maturity. As a rule, the 1971 is considered to be "finally ripe", this great bottle brought a certain renaissance. 10: Paolo Cattaneo opened a bottle to play cards and a few months later Philipp Buholzer took a bottle with him for a wine tasting in Hochdorf in January 2011. Twice 20 points. Unbelievable how this wine has held up, playing around with flavours of caramel, raspberries, pralines and ginger... 11: At the 71 tasting in Risch. Brick red-orange garnet colour. Raspberry bouquet, light tobacco, candied fruit, Napolitaines biscuits, light caramel and traces of butter. Creamy palate, lots of charm, showing an infinite sweetness, perfectly balanced, bundled irrepressibly sweet finish in which perfumed strawberry pulp and traces of ginger appear. A perfect bottle and one of the best 1971s. (20/20). 11: Lightening, brick red colour, clear rim on the outside. Starts with slightly stalky notes, then lots of red cassis and elderberry and Hagenbutten notes, showing subtle lactic raspberry yoghurt and light chocolate. As with the 1985 Kreuzkümmeltouch, but everything is finer, more elegant, silkier but now also somewhat fragile. Enjoy rather chilled without decanting. This is a Gros-Frère-Richebourg from Pomerol. More mature than the '70 and a more feminine version in comparison. 11: Opened for Oswin Lipp on his 40th birthday. Bright wine red with orange and brick-red tones. Delicately smoky, then with incredibly fresh raspberry notes, warm pralines, roasted hazelnut and a hint of caramel, expansive and intoxicating. The palate is a paragon of sweetness, a delicate texture with a goosebump-inducing perfume on the inside, everything is charming, perfectly distributed and the finish has a Pomerol sweetness that only one wine in the world can convey in such a way: Pétrus! 11: I drank it for the fourth time this autumn. So I'm slowly getting into a 1971 Pétrus routine. This thing is Burgundian, fruity, fresh and dancing. 11: At the Old Swiss House. Medium-dark red with a clearly maturing, subtle orange rim. The bouquet began with a sultana and praline note, showing a full Burgundian Merlot sweetness, expansive. Strawberry pulp on the palate, again lots of chocolate notes, fine herbs and even some honey on the finish. It was the sweetest 1971 Pétrus to date. It was right on the money! As I squinted at the wine buffet, I saw that there was still a little left in the bottle. Feeling unnoticed, I snuck my glass over there. Only St Nicholas saw me... (20/20). 14: From Gabriel's wine cellar. Very dark, mature purple colour. Sweet bouquet, which smells of ripe, dark plums and pralines, dried raspberries, raspberry drops, rose pepper, slightly creamy and thus with a sublime fullness, the Merlots show their freshness and sweetness, complex and smelling of "pomeroligem Richebourg", thus showing the classic, great Pétrus nose. Perfect on the palate, again showing an intoxicating sweetness, wild raspberries, grenadine, strawberry jam, coconut and ginger on the palate, still with the right astringency. A really great Pétrus with infinite finesse. In this form, the wine will easily last a few more decades. The muse kisses the connoisseur! (20/20). 15: When I decanted the wine, it smelled of freshly picked berries and the bouquet filled a large part of the room. Bright garnet, showing no fatigue in the colour. The bouquet begins brilliantly and shows an incredible number of facets, with a fresh nose of herbs (mint and verbena), followed by berries in a play of red, blue and black. Everything is wrapped in a marvellous sweetness. The nose tends to be somewhat lactic and this gives the bouquet an almost creamy richness. Straightforward and direct on the palate, with fantastic precision and balance. A moving sip of an absolutely perfectly matured, very great Pétrus. Not a bomb, but with a Burgundian Richebourg flair. When you come across such brilliant bottles, you are guaranteed to enjoy them for at least another ten years. | |
Parker: 95/100
When to drink: 2003 to 2032
