1995 Petrus 750ml

1995 Petrus captures the estate in one of the strongest right-bank years of its decade. Vinous rates the vintage 97 points and has called it one of the finest Petrus of the 1990s, second only to the 1998, while Wine Spectator scored it 97 and Robert Parker 96, likening its muscular, backward build to the storied 1975. This is Petrus in its firm, long-distance register rather than its plush one. It is a collector's Petrus in the most literal sense.

The wine is a product of the Moueix family's stewardship, the Libourne house that shaped Petrus's modern identity through obsessive vineyard work: severe crop reduction, harvests compressed into brief windows of perfect ripeness, and selection standards that treat the tiny vineyard as a garden. The 1995 shows that discipline in its density and its slow, deliberate evolution. The same team's consistency across vintages is a quiet argument for the estate's greatness; even in less-heralded years the wine never loses its identity.

Thirty years on, the 1995 sits in a rewarding place: the tannins have unknotted into dark, fleshy Merlot fruit layered with truffle, cocoa and warm earth, yet the wine retains the spine to hold for years more. Well-kept bottles drink as mature trophies now, and documented provenance and professional storage history remain essential for a label this widely sought.

Give it modest ceremony. Stand the bottle up in advance so the sediment settles, decant carefully an hour or less before serving, and let it open in the glass rather than the decanter. It rewards slow drinking across an evening and substantial food, from roasted birds to earthy, truffled dishes. A single well-kept bottle can anchor a milestone dinner without overwhelming it.

• Size: 750ml
• ABV: ABV varies
• Vintage: 1995
• Origin: Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
• Winery: Petrus
• Grape/Blend: Merlot-dominant
• Tasting Notes: Dense plum and black cherry, truffle, cocoa, firm mature frame
• Drink Window: Drinking well now; will hold in fine storage