“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” - Matthew 16:18-19
Before you question the decidedly biblical turn this is taking, allow us some context. The subject is Château Petrus, set on the right bank of the Garonne River in Bordeaux, in the prestigious appellation of Pomerol (an appellation MADE famous by this very Château). Named for Saint Peter, the first apostle, the rock of the church, the keeper of the key to heaven. Powerful imagery such as this should not be used lightly and indeed, in this case, we’re going to go out on a limb and say it is not. As Peter was both the rock and the man, so Petrus is both the rock and the wine. The land on which Petrus is grown is some of the most hallowed ground in winemaking today. 11.5 Hectares, on a gently rising slope, at an altitude of 40 meters made-up of 60-80cm of topsoil and a subsoil of dense blue clay, this is the ‘rock’ on which their house is built.
The dense blue clay cannot be penetrated by the roots of the vines, meaning that excess water drains off when it rains, but when it’s hot the clay retains sufficient moisture to keep the vines comfortable. It is no less than a miracle when conditions such as these occur naturally and therefore fitting that Château Petrus should enjoy such international acclaim. So much acclaim in fact that it is habitually rated as one of the most expensive wines in the world, with a bottle of Petrus priced, on average at $2 630 / R37 228.96 for an undesirable vintage. It would therefore not be untrue to say that this is one of THE wines of the world.
As with all great establishments there are many variables that need to coincide to guarantee success and Petrus benefitted from the combined business acumen of co-owners Jean-Pierre Moueix and the social standing of Mme. Edmond Loubat who owned Hôtel Loubat in Libourne as well as Château Latour à Pomerol (and a few other establishments we’re sure), in introducing the wine to the US market (the Kennedy’s were said to be staunch Petrus-lovers). Today Jean-Pierre’s son, Jean-François is the owner of Petrus and he and his children are responsible for the worldwide distribution of the wine. No easy feat considering the rise of the counterfeit market.
This 100% Merlot (since 2010, they had previously included small percentages of Cabernet Franc depending on the vintage) might not hold the keys to heaven per sé, but it definitely holds the key to SOMETHING. We invite you to find out what that is, should you be in the happy position to purchase one of the two vintages we were able to procure.
