Château Pétrus
Pétrus is a red Bordeaux wine of the Pomerol appellation made almost entirely from the Merlot grape. The estate belongs to the family of the Libourne wine merchant Moueix. Although the wines of Pomerol have never been classified, Pétrus is now one of the most highly rated and expensive wines in the world,[1] along with the First Growths of the left bank of the Gironde: châteaux Haut-Brion, Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux and Mouton Rothschild, as well as Ausone and Cheval Blanc (the last two not being First Growths) from the neighbouring right bank appellation of Saint-Émilion.
History
Owned by the Arnaud family for the better part of 200 years until the end of the World War II, Pétrus was then sold to Mme Loubat, who had progressively acquired the property since 1925. On her death in 1961, the estate was passed to her family, who eventually sold a half share in 1964 to Jean-Pierre Moueix. Moueix himself had set up a negociant business Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix, based in Libourne and gradually began acquiring right bank châteaux. Following the death of Jean-Pierre Moueix in 2003, his elder son Jean-François is the gérant of Château Pétrus, while, Christian Moueix, his second son, manages the production.
There is no real château physically on the estate, which explains why the wine is usually simply referred to as Pétrus, and not Château Pétrus.
Vineyard
The 11.4-hectare (28-acre) vineyard of Pétrus is located on a plateau in the eastern portion of Pomerol, planted with the grape varieties of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. The soil consists of a high percentage of iron-rich clay, more than is contained in surrounding properties.[citation needed] The estate was among the first in Bordeaux to implement green-harvesting as a way to lower crop yields and raise the quality of the remaining grapes. The yield is among the lowest in Bordeaux partly through éclaircissage or green harvest to concentrate the power and quality of the remaining crop (eliminating up to 50% of the crop in certain years).
Production
The grapes are brought in entirely by hand over a period of two to three days and fermented in temperature controlled concrete tanks. The young wine is aged in new French oak for 20 months. A severe pre-assemblage vat selection is carried out and certain parcels are rejected from the Grand Vin. Production, in comparison to other Bordeaux, is minute and an average year might yield at most 2,500 cases. In recent vintages such as 2003 this average has been sharply reduced.
In popular culture
- The producers of the film Sideways had originally wanted Miles' treasure bottle to be a Pétrus, but Christian Moueix declined.[2]
References
- Château Pétrus dossier moueix.com Template:Fr icon
- Footnotes
- ^ The Wine News - Château Pétrus: A Legendary Vertical Tasting
- ^ Steinberger, Mike, Slate.com (May 4, 2005). "Defending Merlot".
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External links
