One of our clients had some older wines in his cellar and came to us for an inspection of a Chateau Petrus 1983. We inmediately noticed that the colour was a little off and upon closer inspection saw that a part of the cork was floating inside the bottle. Our client offered us to drink the wine with him, to see if it was still drinkable and we were quite surprised when we opened this fully oxidated wine! ## In the nose there were chemicals like glue and nail polish. we gave up all hope that this wine was drinkable, but tried it anyway. Again the chemicals prodominated and most of us stood up to deposit our glasses in the sink. And that was the exact moment the wine showed its power.
Despite the fact that the wine had been totally oxidated, the Chateau Petrus still maintained his full-bodied and strong character. It had become sweet, with hints of cranberry jam and even some simularities with the Chateau d'Yquem in the finish. The Petrus was absolutely not what it should have been. The suppleness of the Merlot had totally worn of, but we experienced the power of the Chateau Petrus: even when it's bad, it's amazing.
After having decided to decant the wine, the Chateau Petrus developed even further. The smell of chemicals faded and the slight simularity with the Chateau d'Yquem grew even stronger. It became a sweet, but powerful wine that showed us once and for all what high quality is all about.
