Healthy red-ruby. Red fruit, espresso, iron, tobacco, brown spices and exotic oak scents on the nose. Round and silky in the mouth, but supported by solid structure. Already shows lovely perfume in the mouth. Compared to the softer '97, this has more penetration and grip. Finishes spicy, firm and quite long.

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Rather a muddy, diffuse nose – though could be interpreted as comforting. Super-rich fruitcake on the palate. Quite dry tannins on the finish. This wine seemed very different from all the other 1996s tasted in this range – fullblown yet not ready to drink. At a decidedly awkward stage.

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Proprietor Christian Moueix's 1996s have turned out well in the bottle. The 1996 Petrus is a big, monolithic, foursquare wine with an impressively opaque purple color, and sweet berry fruit intermixed with earth, pain grille, and coffee scents. Full-bodied and muscular, with high levels of tannin, and a backward style, this wine (less than 50% of the production was bottled as Petrus) will require patience. It is a mammoth example.

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Wild aromas of crushed fruit, forest flower and wild mushrooms. Full-bodied, with incredibly velvety tannins that go on and on. Lovely and exciting fruit. Gorgeous, seductive wine. Hard to resist now. Better than I remember.--'95/'96 Bordeaux retrospective.

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