1947 Petrus and 1982 Petrus

28 Apr 2012: A little while ago, I spotted some 'weeping' from the capsule of a bottle of 1947 Petrus (van der Meulen bottled), followed by something that seemed to be bubbling away at the edge of the capsule.  So I suggested that we should just open it to see what it's like, expecting the worst.  Initially, it tasted rather unexciting, to the point that it was totally lacking in character, even when no obvious faults could be detected.  Perhaps it was our imagination, there seemed to be a little prickle on the palate, offputting but not offensive.  It would seem such a waste to pour it down the sink.  Instead, we pumped out the air and left it in the fridge for 24 hours.  What emerged the following day was something quite amazing.  It had taken on this lush, luxurious and opulent texture, with the nose showing distinct chocolate, mocha, sweet black fruit, leather and smoke.  The middle palate had become much more substantial, generously coating the mouth with rich and sweet flavours, and leaving a very long finish.  A rich and powerful wine, that was drinking at peak now and would continue to drink beautifully over the next 8 - 10 years, based on this bottle's miraculous performance! It was much richer than the 1949 L'Evangile, which sadly did not improve in the course of the evening.  19.5/20 for the 47 Petrus and 16.5/20 for the 49 L'Evangile.

We also opened a bottle of 1985 L'Evangile, which was well-balanced and beautifully integrated, aromatically enticing with blackberries, cocoa, mocha, earthy, and floral notes.  Medium bodied, with elegant acidity.  A lovely wine drinking at peak now, but it didn't quite have the concentration nor seductive power of the 1947 Petrus,  which simply became better and better as the evening progressed!

Last night we needed a bit of cheering up. So we opened a bottle of 1982 Petrus, from an OWC.  Richly intense aromas leapt out of the glass.  Chocolate, mocha, black cherry preserve, blackberries and cedar enrapturing the olfactory senses.  There was just a hint of vegetal character adding to the complexity rather than detracting from it,  in our view.  On the palate, medium bodied, still showing a fair amount of astringency from an earlier much more tannic existence, intensely black fruit and liquorice.  Very long finish, with a slightly woody aftertaste.  A superb wine that just started to drink beautifully and will continue to mature over next 10 - 15 years. 18/20