Château Pétrus is a Bordeaux, France, wine estate located in the Pomerol appellation near its eastern border to Saint-Émilion.

History

The history of Petrus is not as well-known or documented as is the case of the first growths of the Médoc, to which it presents a serious rival. That is because the property only achieved notoriety in the second half of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, the oldest transaction of which there remains a trace dates back to the 2nd quarter of 18th century, when Jacques Meyraud buys some land "located at Gazin, commonly known as Petrus". Several successive ownerships took place until 1945 when Madame Loubat became sole owner and entrusted M. Jean-Pierre Moueix with the distribution of her wines. It really marks the beginning of Petrus story as we know it today.

Vineyards

The vineyard of Pétrus covers 11.4 hectares and is located on a plateau in the eastern portion of Pomerol. The grape variety distribution is 100% Merlot since the end of 2010.

Located on top of a 20-hectare island mound, the Pétrus boutonnière or buttonhole, Pétrus' original vineyard possesses topsoil and subsoil high in iron-rich clay that differs from neighbouring vineyards, where the soil is a mixture of gravel-sand or clay-sand.

Wines

A stringent pre-assemblage vat selection is carried out and certain parcels are rejected from the Grand Vin. The young wine is aged in 50% new French oak barrels for 12 to 16 months. An average year might yield at most 30,000 bottles.