I have had a case of Petrus 1971 stored properly since shortly after
release, and this is the second bottle of it that I have opened. The
wine cost about US $33 per bottle on release. I now notice that bottles
in good condition now often sell for over $1000 at retail and even over
$2000 in some restaurants. I, of course, would not buy this wine today
at the present price, despite the quality.

The fill was low neck, and the cork was sound. The color still was
quite deep with only slight age showing around the rim. The wine is now
fully mature, but should hold many more years. The wine is quite
complex and intense with mixed black fruit such as cassis, blackberry,
and a bit of black cherry. There is a bit of complex spice, and a bit
of earthy, truffle like character. The tannins are well resolved, and
the acid balance is correct. The aftertaste is extremely long. There
are a few other vintages of Petrus that may be a bit better for current
drinking, but not by much. Some of the more recent highly rated and
expensive vintages of Petrus likely will improve considerably with
several more years of age. Of course storage is all important for a
wine of this age, and you can even manage to harm a vintage port with
35 years of poor storage.

I had the wine with a rack of lamb from Lobel's, which was a very good
match, especially with the sauce that contained true winter black
truffles. Truffles go very well with Petrus, and truffles served as a
side dish with a sauce as sometimes was done in the 1800s likely would
be one of the best matches possible, although exceedingly expensive
today.