Cellar Favorite:
1947 Petrus

BY NEAL
MARTIN | DECEMBER 15, 2025

The
1947 Petrus is one of the most legendary Bordeaux wines of the twentieth
century. It is revered as much as it is counterfeited. I have been privileged to
experience several bottles, which ranged from disappointing to awe-inspiring. But
like almost every other living human being, I had never encountered this wine
in magnum until it was served blind at a friend’s half-century celebration. The
wine’s context deserves consideration. In the post-war period, Petrus was
merely a decent Pomerol, an appellation whose wines were often traduced as
easy-drinking and certainly less noble than the Médoc. Nevertheless, at that
time, redoubtable proprietor Mme. Loubat would have been in her pomp, and as
history has proven, her convictions were prescient and well founded.

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1765813525100-petrus+1947_Vinous.JPG">This
magnum of 1947 Petrus originated from the cellar at Red Lion House in Chiswick
Mall, a Grade II property near Hounslow. It had lain there all of its life
before relocating to another cellar in the southwest several years ago. The
bottle had been inherited by the owner’s son, and subsequently the son’s wife,
before being sold to my munificent friend. The wine is slightly deeper in
colour than what I had observed in other bottles, presumably due to the larger
format. Just a thinnish bricking on the rim. The nose is indescribably gorgeous
with melted red fruit, cedar, touches of mint and juniper. There is such
stunning delineation that you have to pause in wonderment. The palate is not
intense or turbo-charged, the latter indicative of dubious provenance. Rather,
it retains some of its flesh and feels lithe, yet still gently abraded by the
passing years. What is preserved is perfect acidity with balletic balance. The
‘47 is endowed with unerring symmetry and, like the genuine legends of the twentieth
century, seems undiminished by time. It revels in its dotage. When its identity
was finally revealed, it was logical that we were drinking a manifestation of
Merlot that is unmatched. 100/Drink 2025-2035.© 2025, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

Content

Engage

Vinous

Social