Despite being unclassified, like all of Pomerol's properties, Petrus is the most famous and the most prestigious of all of its wines. The legend of Petrus began at the end of the 19th century. The Arnaud family owned the vineyard and Petrus was already enjoying a reputation that was only ever going to get better. From 1925, Edmonde Loubat gradually bought shares in the Arnaud's company, the Société Civile du Château Petrus. She became the sole proprietor in 1945. Dynamic and aware of the exceptional potential of this "little" vineyard (then about 6.5 ha, it has since grown to 11.5 after the purchase of a plot from Château Gazin), she find the ideal partner in 1947 in the form of Jean-Pierre Moueix, a wine merchant in Libourne originally from Corrèze in central France.
Together they made a very talented team and raised the property to extraordinary heights from the beginning of the 1950s. Well-known in France, but essentially with a world-class reputation, Petrus was served at Elizabeth II's engagement party. In the 1960s, President Kennedy displayed a particular fondness for Petrus, indirectly contributing to its popularity in the United States.
Petrus' terroir, located at the appellation's highest point (40 metres), benefits from an excellent position. The soil is mainly clay, and so is particularly favourable for Merlot, which accounts for 96% of the vines. The remaining 4% are Cabernet Franc, very little of which is actually used in the grand vin. The harvests are manual and the wines are aged for an average of 20 months (in 100% new barrels).
Petrus' low acidity makes it a soft, mellow wine, which, combined with the voluptuous character of the Merlot, enables the production of a wine with incredible concentration. It is quite simply majestic, presenting unequalled power and richness; some vintages have aged for more than fifty years.