Petrus

3 route de Lussac

33500 Pomerol

Tél.+33 (0)5 57 51 17 96

info@jpmoueix.com

www.moueix.com

Petrus, Pomerol's icon

Find out all about Petrus, the iconic wine and international star located in Pomerol.

Petrus, the chateau-less estate

An absolute myth in the Olympus of Bordeaux's prestigious crus, and the most expensive wine on the planet along with Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) in Burgundy, Petrus acquired its reputation only belatedly, starting in 1945 with its owner Madame Edouard Loubat, then in the 1970s with Etablissements Jean-Pierre Moueix, who became its sole owner in the 1969. Famous for its wine made almost exclusively from Merlot, its quintessence is first and foremost the signature of a cold, black-clay and blue-clay terroir. Produced in 30,000 bottles, the mythical Pomerol remains a highly coveted wine, guaranteeing unforgettable organoleptic promise.  

Petrus-Arnaud in tribute to the apostle Pierre.

The estate, which came to prominence very late in the 20th century, was already located on the Pomerol plateau at the end of the 18th century. Owned by the Arnaud family since 1770, the estate was named Petrus-Arnaud (in reference to the Apostle Pierre or the first Pope). This would explain why Petrus has never been spelt with an accent, and spelling it with one is more or less correct, even tolerated. The Arnaud family owned the estate for many years. Then, at the beginning of the 20th century, Petrus passed into the hands of Mr Sabin-Douarre, former steward, who took advantage of the opportunity to create the “Société Civile du Château Petrus”. The word château thus appears for the first time when referring to Petrus, even though it is customary to mention Petrus alone, without adding the particle “château”, as has always been the case on the famous Petrus labels. This is a rarity in the Bordeaux region, a wine-growing region essentially adorned with châteaux of all sizes, or with the word “château” even in the absence of a real château. In 1925, Mr. Sabin-Douarre decided to open up his capital to investors. It was at this point that Madame Edouard Loubat (a Libourne hotelier and owner of two other crus) entered the scene, acquiring part of the shares in the Société Civile du Château Petrus. The latter became sole owner in 1945, after buying up all the shares and taking advantage of the opportunity to remove the term “château” from Petrus. As a result, Petrus never again used the word “château” on its labels.

Loubat and Moueix: the origin of the Petrus myth.

The reputation of Petrus - an estate that had a fairly good reputation in the late 19th century, being considered one of Pomerol's finest growths behind, in particular, Château Vieux Château Certan (its neighbor) and Château l'Evangile - was on the rise in the aftermath of the Second World War. And it's all thanks to the foresight of its owner. Indeed, Madame Loubat quickly realized that the topography of the estate's cold terroir meant that the grapes had to be harvested two to three weeks later than others: an absolute prerequisite for harvesting perfectly ripe grapes, the guarantee of a great wine. This type of vineyard analysis was unusual at the time. The wines produced progressed rapidly, gaining in consistency, depth and finesse. So much so, that Petrus wines and their owner were invited to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth of England in 1953. The anecdote is significant. With this kind of media coverage and visibility, Petrus wines will henceforth count as one of the preferred choices on tables at the English court and on the Anglo-Saxon market.

But Petrus and its wines also benefited from another factor that boosted their reputation: the arrival of the wine merchant-breeder Jean-Pierre Moueix, a leading figure in the Bordeaux wine trade and Right Bank viticulture in Correze, whose business has been based on the Quai du Priourat in Libourne, on the banks of the Dordogne, since the 1930s. It was at this time that Madame Loubat decided to grant Etablissements Jean-Pierre Moueix exclusive distribution rights for Petrus wines. Jean-Pierre Moueix was to advise Madame Loubat extensively in her technical choices and market development strategy. The duo helped to accelerate the estate's reputation, and together they built the Petrus myth. Another anecdote: Jean-Pierre Moueix succeeded in introducing Petrus to the Kennedys at the White House in the early 60s.

In 1961, Madame Loubat died, and her nephews Mr Lignac and Madame Lily-Lacoste-Loubat inherited the shares, along with Jean-Pierre Moueix. The latter gradually bought out the shares of Madame Loubat's nephews. First in 1964 to Mr. Lignac, then in 1969 to Mrs. Lily-Lacoste-Loubat. Thus, Petrus became fully owned by Etablissements Jean-Pierre Moueix in 1969. At the same time, he doubled the planted area of Petrus with five hectares of plots purchased from Château Gazin (another Pomerol neighbor). The Petrus myth was strengthened in 1964 by the arrival of a young Basque oenologist, Jean-Claude Berrouet, whose talent, discretion and commitment to Petrus would soon make him a major figure.

The oenologist, a great lover of rugby, is the soul of Petrus, and for more than forty years he has been producing great vintages, enabling Petrus to shine even more brightly on the international scene and to win over more and more (wealthy) lovers of great wines around the world.

In 2003, Jean-Pierre Moueix passed away. The father of wine merchants Christian Moueix (CEO of Ets Jean-Pierre Moueix and Jean-François Moueix, President of the famous Maison Duclot) left one of his sons, Jean-François Moueix, to take over the management of Petrus by becoming its owner. Since 2011, Petrus has been managed by his son, Jean Moueix.

For his part, Jean-Claude Berrouet, having presided over more than forty vintages at Petrus, and to ensure continuity both in the vineyard and in the cellar, passed the torch, by mutual agreement with the Moueix family, to his son, oenologist Olivier Berrouet. This technical handover took place in 2008, allowing Jean-Claude Berrouet to devote himself to his own vineyards in the Saint-Emilion satellites, and then to those in the Basque Country, although he was never stingy with his ex-professo advice, if need be, for Petrus.

In 2018, the Pomerol winegrowing region and the history of Petrus were shattered.  After nearly 50 years of ownership by the Moueix family, 20% of the estate was sold to an American investor of Colombian origin, Alejandro Santo Domingo. This heir - who had made his fortune in beer, but was above all a wine lover and Francophile - acquired a stake in the estate. However, the majority of the estate remains under French ownership.

Underlying the myth, a unique terroir and the famous Petrus clays.

Petrus' belated international recognition is still surprising. It's a unique case in the world of great wines, and of illustrious Bordeaux wines in particular. Never before has a wine, whose excellence is not the result of centuries of accumulated expertise, been such a success story as Petrus. But if Petrus is not a historic Bordeaux cru (unlike Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Haut-Brion, Latour, Lafite-Rothschild or Margaux), its myth is not the exclusive result of the work and dedication of Madame Loubat, Jean-Pierre Moueix and Jean-Claude Berrouet. His success is due first and foremost to the intrinsic quality of his plots and his aged Merlot, which perfectly reflect the taste of the place. Petrus owns 11.3 hectares perfectly situated at the top of the Pomerol plateau. Its treasure is its exceptional terroir, with highly distinctive soils. Very old black clays, sometimes blue, but first and foremost deep swelling clays that lie in the center of the plateau, on a bed of iron dross. The action of clays is essential: they store water like a sponge, releasing it when the vines need it during periods of drought. In this way, the vines never suffer, and the grape varieties find the freshness essential to their maturation. The Merlot grape (almost 100% present), whose vines are over forty years old, thrives here, producing wines of great beauty. Olivier Berrouet, the man behind the Petrus vinifications, like his father Jean-Claude Berrouet, has grasped the complexity of the terroir to such an extent that he has encouraged a new vat room for more accurate parcel-by-parcel vinifications, with extractions that are always gentle, while allowing the wines to be refined and gain in precision. With the renovation work carried out in 2014, Petrus is more than ever ready for the 21st century to continue to make the myth shine.

Petrus, a refined, precise, outstanding wine.

An undoubtedly mythical Pomerol wine, and the epitome of refinement throughout the wine world, Petrus is rightly the greatest wine of the Right Bank, perhaps even of Bordeaux, while being on a par with the grandeur and excellence of other exceptional and more historic crus, including both Saint-Emilion and its Premiers Crus Classés A, as well as the Premiers Crus Classés en 1855 of the Left Bank (the Médoc). While its prestigious reputation extends beyond France's borders, its low production (30,000 bottles) also has an impact on the market. It's not easy to cope with demand outstripping supply. There's a mechanical effect. Like DRC, the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy, located on the Côte de Nuits, Petrus produces a dream wine that many wine lovers and collectors want to get their hands on. It is “in spite of itself” immediately in the category of prestige wines, like Master paintings on the art market, i.e. out of reach, at stratospheric prices. But tasting it once in a lifetime is a rare privilege that should never be denied when the opportunity arises. It's a question of decency, because Petrus is masterful in its precision, freshness, tension, finesse, delicacy, so to speak, and restraint, reflecting the discretion of the Moueix family and the unostentatious architecture of Petrus (a doll's house), which has always been a small garden on a human scale. Here, terroir is essential, not flashy showmanship. Petrus is a wine of class, without wanting to give lessons. A humble wine with an immense soul.

While some vintages in the past may have seemed lacking in stature, given the cru's reputation, Petrus boasts a huge number of successes, even in complicated vintages known as “vigneron vintages”, or even “classic” vintages. This is the advantage of a terroir that takes the upper hand in all circumstances, making up for nature's shortcomings in certain years such as 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017: viticulture is not an exact science, especially when Mother Nature can sometimes play nasty tricks, trapping winegrowers as if they were opening “Pandora's box.” On the other hand, in “easier” years, Petrus promises the grail and achieves it. Recent vintages include 1995, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023.  Petrus is a wine of inimitable dimension and refinement. It's a wine that evolves to a crescendo, like a gift you've been waiting for, when you breathe it in and hold it in your mouth for a long time.

Petrus 2010

In this mythical vintage, Petrus gives the measure of its nobility and legendary reputation. Deep in color to inky, the nose of great aromatic density gradually gives way to fragrances of blueberry, plum jam, violet candy, pencil lead (an almost graphite-like quality), black olive tapenade with a hint of Périgord truffle. It goes on and on. On the palate, the wine - which shows a certain power in terms of wine weight - presents a beautiful backbone of silky, taffeta-like tannins, with a dynamic, fresh feel, all wrapped up in a persistent fruitiness on the finish. It's sensual with plenty of energy and straightforwardness, without suffering from excess alcohol. Freshness dominates from olfaction to tasting. A racy Petrus with great cellaring capacity in a vintage that will take Petrus into the category of anthology vintages.

Petrus' great vintages.

1923-1928-1929-1945-1947-1949-1953-1959-1961-1982-1988-1989-1990-1995-1998-2000-2003-2005-2009-2010-2012-2015-2016-2018-2019-2020-2021-2022-2023