Location and Terroir
Château Petrus is located on the plateau of Pomerol in the region Bordeaux in France. The vineyards are situated at an elevation of about 38 to 40 metres. The soil consists of blue smectite clay with a thin layer of gravel at the surface.
Vines and Wine
The roughly 11.5-hectare vineyard area is essentially planted with Merlot; Cabernet Franc is also grown in the vineyard. Petrus produces a red wine from the Pomerol appellation. The composition of the Grand Vin varies depending on the vintage: documented younger vintages consist of 100 per cent Merlot or contain a small proportion of Cabernet Franc.
History and Facilities
The Moueix family has owned the estate since 1964. Jean-Pierre Moueix handed over responsibility for the running to his son Christian Moueix. The cellar facilities built for the 2012 vintage include twelve unlined concrete tanks and replaced the previous cellar with eight tanks.
Cellar Work and Production
The available technical documentation lists ploughing with a tractor, fermentation without whole grapes, as well as fining and filtration before bottling. Petrus traditionally has no second wine; in addition, a separate bottling for family and friends under the name Saute-Loup is documented. The annual production amounts to approximately 2,500 cases of twelve bottles each and varies depending on the vintage.
