1953 Pétrus

[AlexR]

Birth year wines are very special. A friend of mine, who lives in Bath, was born the same year as me, 1953. He and his wife have been inviting me for the longest time to come and share a bottle of 1953 Pétrus they have been saving. Well, that moment finally arrived on a trip to England this summer.
As an aside, Bath is one of the most beautiful cities in the UK and, indeed, in Europe.

My friends prepared a delicious meal and served 3 wines to accompany them.

The first was a 1989 Trimbach “Cuvée Emile” vendanges tardives, which was served blind. I thought it was a Pinot Gris from Alsace. The wine was golden yellow, but looked younger than its 26 years (had I tried to guess the vintage). The nose was ripe and complex, but the wine was medium-sweet rather than sweet on the palate. It had evidently “eaten some of its sugar” as the French say. The varietal characteristics didn’t come through screamingly, but this was a very enjoyable aperitif.

The main course consisted of expertly cooked lamb shanks.
The first red wine was 1982 Château La Lagune. The last time I had this wine was at Restaurant Laurent in Paris, perhaps 7 or 8 years ago. Stefan had kindly brought the wine. Unsurprisingly, the bottle consumed in July 2015 was more evolved and gave the impression of being much more fluid and easy-to-drink. It had a classical nose with hints of pencil shavings I associate with Pauillac, but not the same body. This wine epitomizes the difference between subtle wines you love to drink with fine food as opposed to point-winning monstrosities.

The star of the meal was obviously the 1953 Pétrus. This English-bottled wine (Avery’s of Bristol, a well-reputed firm) was still very much alive, although past its best. If served blind, I’m sure most people would have thought it a decade or two younger. The nose was sweet and enigmatic, with lovely nuances: empyreumatic, aniseed, vanilla, almond, etc. The taste was remarkably delicate and silky, a wine to meditate on with a very soft, long aftertaste.
My host opened the Pétrus, decanted it, and served it immediately. In retrospect, it would have been better to let the wine breathe longer because it was not particularly fragile and the aromatics blossomed over time. This was a tremendous experience that I am very lucky to have enjoyed. In fact, I’ve been well and truly spoiled since this was the second old Pétrus I’ve tasted this year. The other was the 1934 (yes, 1934!) that Michael Palmieri shared on the BWE Magical Mystery Tour in Bordeaux in May.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[AKR]

awesome

[Nicklasss]

Lucky you Alex.

Petrus, to me, is kind of an enigma. I really don't know if I will ever buy a bottle. I really liked the 1934 of MichaelP, but the small pour make it hard to judge accordingly. Bottle don't get opened often, and the small pours, due to it popularity, limit the analysis.

I guess my best experience was the 1982, offered by SdR, and we were only three to taste that bottle. Guess i'm selfish.

Nic

[JCNorthway]

Thanks for sharing Alex. Birth year wines are indeed special. About 10 years ago a friend of mine, and member of our wine club, invited Paula and me to dinner. He and his spouse have always been quite generous in sharing the wines from his (their?) cellar, and this dinner was no exception. With rack of lamb he served a red wine blind that had been decanted for about an hour or so. As we tasted it, he asked all of us to guess what it was. Paula said she was sure it was a Bordeaux. His wife guessed it to be a 1970 Bordeaux because it had some age on it. I could tell it was an older Bordeaux, but because it still had a lot of fruit and good structure, I guessed it was a 1982 Bordeaux. Now I'm about to give away my age here, but I was blown away when he revealed that it was a 1949 Gruaud Larose! I found it amazing that a 50+ year old Bordeaux (or any wine) could still have that level of fruit, vibrancy and overall "youth." I can tell you that it was truly a wine epiphany for me, and an evening (and wine) that I will never forget.

[dstgolf]

Sounds like a wonderful treat and a very special bottle. A few years back Danielle was treated to a 59 Ducru when we visited Werner & Chris in San Rfan a few years back. Truly a great wine experience for us in all ways. I have never had a 57 and sounds like it was a terrible year so will likely never have the pleasure??

[Nicklasss]

Funny that I've taste the same wine from my birthyear, the 1974 Petrus that JimHow brought to the very first convention.

I also had the 1974 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve.

Nic

[Comte Flaneur]

If Alex said the Petrus was past its best, I would imagine that might be "a point" for others. We know he likes his Bordeaux "al dente." Sounds like a memorable experience Alex.