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The French region of Bordeaux is known to the world as the producer of the most expensive drinks made from grapes. Wine “Petrus” belongs to this category. The cost of individual bottles reaches several thousand dollars.
They produce a drink in the commune of Pomerol in the oldest winery, which is one of the eight best producers in the Bordeaux region.
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What justifies such a high price
Excellent quality
Not just high, characteristic of most high-quality French wines, but “the highest”.
The selection of raw materials is so strict that in the case of a “bad” harvest, the production of wine in a bad year is completely abandoned.
True, this happened only three times in the history of the economy (in 1956, 1965 and 1991), but by counting the losses of the producer, one can assess the soundness of the approach.
Manufacturing costs
Hand-harvesting, often at night, in order to “catch” grapes with ideal characteristics /
And also: the maintenance of own weather stations, strict control of each stage of production, the absence of artificial additives, even the use of helicopters to create certain air flows for growing berries.
Of course, all this requires considerable investments, especially if we take into account the small volumes of production.
First name
Each farm in Bordeaux, in addition to vineyards, owns: its own legend of creation filled with a special atmosphere; a history of development, often spanning several centuries; a couple of interesting facts that excite the imagination of the consumer.
The combination of these three components with an outstanding taste of a drink that simply has to be appropriate, and determines the high cost of wines from Bordeaux.
The history of the emergence of the brand
As for the legend, the Petrus winery is a rare exception that does not have ancient secrets and eccentric founders.
It doesn’t even have its own castle (“château”), unlike other famous Bordeaux wineries.
The “château” element in the name appeared over time, as a tribute to the high status of the wine, in reality it is replaced by an old farmhouse.
The Petrus farm began its history in the XNUMXth century with the laying of vineyards and for a long time produced unknown drinks from red fruits.
The glory of the winery brought Madame Lobo (Loubat), who decided to take advantage of the famous region and launched an active campaign to create a big name.
It happened in the 40s of the XX century. The lady hired a professional manager – and things went well.
The Petrus brand gradually gained its place among the producers of Bordeaux, in order to become one of the best by the end of the twentieth century.
Features of the terroir and winemaking
Undoubtedly, half of the success of local drinks lies in the unique natural and climatic conditions:
Soils where Merlot (95%) and Cabernet (5%) varieties grow
Mostly clayey with a high iron content and a slight admixture of gravel.
They have been formed over millions of years.
Wet air masses
Coming from the nearby sea, and a mild climate without sudden changes in temperature are ideal for growing red grapes.
Everything else is the merit of the hands of winemakers, and in the most direct sense: most of the work is done manually.
Particular attention is paid to harvesting: after reaching the desired degree of maturity, you need to remove the berries as quickly as possible, without damaging them.
Only whole fruits with the same characteristics – a certain shape and size – go into work.
The two-stage sorting of raw materials (triage) at the Petrus farm is also done manually: the berries are carefully separated from the ridges, cleaned of twigs and stalks.
After preparing the grapes, they proceed directly to the production of wine: the fruits are crushed, placed in neutral containers, where the must undergoes a two-stage fermentation process.
It is produced within a few weeks at a temperature of 30 °C.
For aging, oak barrels are used, in which the wine is stored for two years or more.
Before bottling, the drink is blended (mixed): Petrus wine consists mainly of Merlot, Cabernet is only 4-5% (in rare cases it can increase up to 20%).
The vintages of the following years are considered the best: 1929, 1947, 1989, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012.
Characteristics of wine “Petrus”
Describing the taste of one of the best drinks in the world is a thankless task: you need to taste it.
Although, due to the high price, such a pleasure is not available to anyone.
Wines of different years are characterized by their own qualities: every year the bouquet is original. But there are also obligatory general notes.
Connoisseurs find bright berry-fruity shades in the aroma of wine: cherry, blackberry and currant predominate.
The taste is balanced, elegant, harmonious.
The finish is long, sweet, coffee-caramel with a trail of herbs, tobacco and truffles.
The color of the drink is a beautiful ruby.
It is recommended to drink with light veal and poultry dishes, French cheeses and Italian appetizers.
Interesting Facts
On the labels of the finished drink, you can see the image of St. Peter, whose statue is located at the entrance to the estate.
It is believed that the name of the area comes from the name of this saint.
Petrus products have never been officially classified as Grand Cru, but at the same time they are one of the most famous and expensive in the world.
Among connoisseurs of the drink were John F. Kennedy and Robert Parker.
The tasting room and wine storage at the Petrus farm was built quite recently (in 2002), which led to the neighborhood of centuries-old traditions with modern architectural achievements.
Wine “Petrus” is present in the film “Death on the Nile” about the famous detective Hercule Poirot: he enjoys tasting the drink.
Relevance: 27.09.2018
Tags: Wine and vermouth, Wine brands