Petrus 1985

This is the kind of wine that I bought at a high price, and every bottle I have tasted from a six-bottle allocation has been increasingly disappointing. The wine still has its admirers, particularly Michael Broadbent, who continues to find it virtually perfect. Either we have different palates or we are tasting different wine, but this wine now has a medium ruby color with considerable amber at the edge. The nose smells like fresh vegetable market, with spice box, celery seed, fennel all there, along with a hint of tobacco and Provencal herbs. There is sweet cherry fruit there, but the weediness dominates everything. In the mouth, the wine is light, medium-bodied, and fading. This is a wine to taste with the label clearly in front of you, to think of other Petrus vintages as opposed to what is in the 1985. Caveat emptor. Anticipated maturity: Now-2010. Last tasted, 11/02.

-Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book, 4th Edition #B5 Jan 2003

(88 pts)

This wine was splendid from cask, but it was bottled during a period where Petrus was probably fined and filtered entirely too much (since the late-eighties, Petrus is no longer filtered). The wine comes across as herbaceous, with medium body, good but uninspiring concentration, and a distinct weedy, cherry, berry fruitiness. The color is a diffuse ruby with considerable amber at the edge. I would opt for drinking this wine over the next decade, or better yet ... sell it! Anticipated maturity: Now-2010. Last tasted 2/97

-Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition # B1 Jan 1998

(89 pts)

From cask, the 1985 Petrus was splendid, close in quality to rivaling the 1982. Early tastings after bottling suggested that the wine was significantly lighter, more herbaceous, and not nearly as profound as cask tastings indicated. At no tasting since has this wine justified my pre-bottling enthusiasm. The wine has medium ruby color with a hint of amber at the edge, an interesting coffee, creamy, chocolate, and black fruit-scented bouquet, deep, medium to full-bodied, concentrated flavors, and a moderately tannic, concentrated finish. Although excellent, it lacks the requisite flavor depth and richness to be considered outstanding. Anticipated maturity: 1995-2015. Last tasted, 5/93.

-Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #88 Aug 1993