2009 Pétrus, Pomerol

SKU #1116219 100 points Decanter

Truly flavorsome, the blackberry, raspberry puree and rich black cherry fruits here are dense, generous and fully ripe, but manage to retain a savory rosemary, coffee bean and black olive edge. It makes you smile involuntarily, in that way that great wine does. You almost want to forbid people from eating anything with this wine, at least for the first glass, and certainly forbid them from putting it on a table with other trophy wines where its impact will be softened. It demands - and should receive - full concentration. Textured slate runs through the mid-palate and brings a jolt of minerality through the finish. You could drink this today after carafing but you just know that it's barely out of the starting blocks. (JA) (2/2019)

100 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

An opulent Petrus very much in the stylistic family of the 1990, this 100% Merlot has a dense plum/purple color and a sweet nose of mulberries, black cherries, some subtle toast and licorice as well as a floral element. A wine of great intensity, a multidimensional mouthfeel and full-bodied, stunning concentration, the 2009 Petrus 2009 is everything one would expect of it. Given the sweetness of its tannin, much like the 1990, I suspect this wine will always be “open for business,” appealing even in its youth. (RP) (2/2012)

99 points James Suckling

Tons of truffle and chocolate make this lush and fleshy Pomerol very seductive. The power and concentration are impressive, but right at the opulent and silky finish there's just a hint of warmth from the alcohol. (2/2019)

99 points Wine Spectator

This offers a beautiful balance between its two sides: dark fig, roasted plum and toast flavors versus racy raspberry, cassis and perfumy black tea notes. Silky overall, but with terrific latent grip and a mouthwatering minerality that drives through the finish, pulling out extra fruit paste and charred spice hints. Very, very impressive range. (3/2012)

97-99 points John Gilman

I honestly cannot convey in words just how good the Château Pétrus is in 2009. This is a seamlessly woven, elegant and powerful wine of stunning balance and uncompromising structure that really is a throwback to Bordeaux’s golden age (whenever that was, but which is certainly not now). I do not taste young Pétrus every year, so I do not have enough reference points to really make comparisons with recent vintages, but this wine will certainly tower over vintages that I have tasted early on such as 1990, 1989, 1985 and 1982. Hope that at least gives some reference to the quality of this magical ’09, which for me was pretty clearly the red wine of the vintage. The bouquet is deep, refined and celestial, as it offers up a beautifully ripe (but not a hint of overripeness) and properly reserved mélange of plums, mulberries, raw cocoa, beautifully complex soil tones, chocolate and a discreet base of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, ripely tannic and very, very long, with a great core of fruit, an amazingly light footprint on the palate and an endless, flawless finish. Simply a great wine. 97-99+ (3/2010)

97-99 points Wine Enthusiast

Rich, sweet, and concentrated, with a definite spicy character and sweet, soft tannins. This is richer than many Pétrus in the past, textured like velvet, but with final acidity. (RV) (8/2010)

98 points Vinous

The 2009 Petrus is surprisingly backward on the nose compared directly with the 2009 Le Pin, demanding a lot of coaxing. Initially broody, it then begins to flourish with wild strawberry, cranberry, crushed stone and black truffle, all beautifully defined but very succinct. The palate is medium-bodied with silky tannins lending an almost cashmere texture. Hints of leather and mocha infused the mainly red fruit, but where this Petrus really shines is within the unearthly precision on the finish and the enormously long aftertaste. Brilliant. (NM) (3/2019)

97 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Dark ruby. Ripe red cherry, cocoa, exotic herbs, soy sauce, sweet spices and a hint of licorice on the showy, opulent nose. At once fat and juicy, with firm-edged dark berry flavors contributing very good grip and backbone to softer, fleshier plum, black cherry, chocolate syrup and sexy Oriental spice flavors. Finishes juicy, minty and fresh, with very broad, lingering notes of sweet ripe dark berries and milk chocolate. (ST) (7/2012)

Jancis Robinson

Blackcurrant freshness and direction. Rather chewy. Real lift. Cool and gorgeous. (JR) 18/20 points (1/2013)

K&L Notes

100 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown in Wine Advocate: "Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2009 Petrus gives up glorious scents of preserved plums, redcurrant jelly, dried rose petals, blackberry compote and mulberries with touches of licorice, Chinese five spice and fragrant earth. Full, rich, plushly textured and oh-so-decadent, it reveals layer upon layer of spice box, black fruit and ferrous notions, finishing long and fragrant." (03/2019)