Wine Advocate
byRobert Parkerthe4/30/1998
Only 2,500 cases (as opposed to 4,500 in a high quality, abundant year) of Petrus were produced in 1997. The wine boasts an opaque ruby/purple color, as well as a knock-out nose of sweet pain grille, jammy cherries, plums, and black raspberry scents. In the mouth, it is full-bodied, with surprisingly high tannin, a sweet, opulently-textured, unctuous mid-palate, and a structured, but overall forward finish. One of the most concentrated and complex wines of the vintage, it is a candidate for two decades of cellaring. The 1997 is hard to compare with any other Petrus vintage. It is obviously far better than the wines made during the early and mid-eighties (the 1982 being the prominent exception), as well as more forward than the 1994, 1995, and 1996 Petrus. Although I never tasted it at a young age, the 1997 may be reminiscent of the gorgeous 1967, which remains in dazzling shape (I had a superb magnum on December 31, 1997) despite the fact it comes from a light vintage that produced quickly maturing wines. For readers who like to keep records of such things, the Petrus vineyard was harvested on three separate days, September 11, 17 (the biggest haul), and 23. Some of the vines were harvested grape by grape rather than bunch by bunch because of the irregular ripening that afflicted nearly every estate in 1997.