Back in the days when I was in the money broking business (what a lark), I was offered a few mixed cases of Bordeaux from a colleague’s cousin who was moving back to Australia. I remembered paying very little. When they arrived I recall spotting 4 pristine bottles of Petrus 1982. All of the rest of the wines were lovely; in particular I recall a magnum of 1955 Magdelaine and a 1964 Figeac - I have been a fan of both ever since. Even I knew that the bottles of Petrus were special - but the trouble with special bottles is that you never know when to open them... The Petrus sat in my cellar for 20 years until a few weeks ago.
Who to drink it with? Only one choice. Top Cat or TC, a very dear friend. There are good cellars but very few exceptional cellars: we are talking about a man with 10 cases each (now down to 5) of both DRC La Tache and Richebourg 1985. So, down to Zafferano with a bottle of 1982 Latour to match against the 1982 Petrus. We all know how good the Latour is: it is heart-stoppingly good and will only get better... Sweet ripe fruit, exceptional length and quite frankly pretty much perfect (98+pts GB). The Petrus? Well, better, actually. I never thought it would be like this. Layer upon layer of sweet fruit and intoxicating aromas of sandalwood, plums and exotic spice. The perfect wine (99+pts GB). The strange thing is that the wine will only improve, so the dilemma will be when to drink the last 3 bottles. I notice we are selling a case now. Whatever the price, it’s worth it.