The Highest Point of Pomerol


The famous blue clay reaches deep into the subsoil of PETRUS which, at 40 metres, is the highest point of Pomerol

PETRUS sits on the highest point of its appellation.

The Pomerol legend – at 40 metres – can be said to rest on a pedestal created by Nature herself.

Not content to raise Petrus to such an elevation, Nature invokes its powers again to gift the Pomerol icon with a famous blue clay that permeates deep into the subsoil of the 11.4-hectare vineyard.

While other Pomerol vineyards may also possess the blue clay, none has as much nor as penetrating as found at Petrus.

The privileged, natural advantages Petrus enjoys would not be enough to bright forth a great wine were it not for the wisdom of its guardians.


PETRUS is never aged in more than 50% new oak. New barrels are steamed when they arrive and then further filled with water for 15 days to leach out the harshest elements of the wood

NEVER MORE THAN 50%

Petrus never sees more than 50% new oak in its ageing.

I remember Olivier Berrouet – the second-generation winemaker of Petrus who took over from his father Jean-Claude* in 2008 – remarking, “as soon as we taste oak in the wine, we stop their ageing in the barrels”.

(*Jean-Claude Berrouet started at Petrus in 1964 when he was just 22, and retired in 2008 but remains consultant).

So real is the aversion to the taste of wood that new barrels are steamed when they first arrive. And filled with water for a further 15 days to leach out the harshest elements of the wood. Bear in mind the barrels Petrus buys are already the very finest the coopers can produce.

Petrus continues to be fermented in their famous cement vats. Malolactic fermentation is completed in stainless-steel tanks.

Petrus is fermented in their famous cement vats. The malolactic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks

The tasting room

From left: Nicky Ang, Mike & Kelly Chong, Louis Tay, CH’NG Poh Tiong, Nathalie Debono of Petrus, Edmund & Jennifer Toh, and Christine Tay

Petrus 2021
Not the most sumptuous vintage, Petrus 2021 is an unmitigated success. It is a magical spell of floral blue fruit and seamless tannins wrapped in silk. The intensity and persistence has great charm and delicious freshness

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