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In today’s episode of Our Pour Decisions, we’re comparing two of the most prestigious—and expensive—red wines in the world: Pétrus from Bordeaux and Masseto from Tuscany. And here’s the twist: they’re both 100% Merlot. Yes—Merlot. The same grape variety that was mocked in Sideways, that many wine drinkers associate with supermarket reds. But in the right hands, and in the right terroir, Merlot can produce wines of extraordinary depth, structure, and longevity. Pétrus routinely sells for over $5,000 a bottle, and Masseto, its Tuscan counterpart, has become one of Italy’s most collectible wines, often commanding over $1,000 per bottle. This episode focuses on what makes these two Merlots so rare, so revered, and so expensive. And to check for ourselves, we’ll be tasting a bottle of 2000 Petrus and 2004 Masseto. Let’s find out if this is going to be legendary or letdown.
Have you ever had a legendary wine let down? What about legendary?
Let us know in the comments!
49 Comments
I bought some Masseto from my distributor recently and asked about the comparison to Petrus in a wine group that I'm in. It was decided that folks preferred the Petrus when drinking the wine alone. But a lot of folks thought the Masseto was much better than the Petrus when served with food which I found interesting. Did you have any food later with the wine? My favorite Merlot based wine is Ausone, & think it is just incredible when served with a great steak & sauce. But at those high prices you can find many wines for a lot less money that are comparable in their youth quality wise. The big difference for me is that 25 + years down the road, the Ausone or Petrus will still be kicking & the less expensive bottles may be vinegar.
Great video yall!
this LVMH…paying 500$ for Louis Vuitton plastic sun glasses..just a status symbol.
Great video! You tasting it so that we don't have to is a perfect slogan, given the price. I was chuffed to see you tasting the 2000 Petrus, as I have only ever drunk Petrus once, and that was a bottle of 1973 Petrus I bought my brother as a gift in the late 1990s.
At the time one vintner asked me why I would want to buy 1973 Petrus, as it was a terrible year. My reason was simple. The bottle was $150, and in my experience people fetishise the vintages while great wine makers make decent wine every year or don't release it at all.
That Petrus was nice, but not great. Recently I have seen a bottle of 1973 Petrus on sale for $5K+. That is ridiculous. It wasn't that good a quarter of a century ago.
Great content as usual. Thanks for the honesty. I wonder what the wife thinks, when she checks the bank statement.
That lady’s hair is too distracting to focus on the content.
Awesome review! It honestly broke my heart that the Petrus didn’t live up to the hype. And even the Masseto didn’t seem to blow you away. Such a shame. Fingers crossed you’ll get some real bangers in the next episodes!
Another great video! I have never tried Masseto, however back in 2001 had a chance to try Petrus 1979, which back then had a similar age on it like your Petrus in this video. I remember very well back then it was "only" $750 USD and it was probably the best wine I have ever tried.
Anyone else find Stacy looks like a Karen?
I feel bad that you’ve had some less than ideal luck with your $ bottles. Then again, I’m drinking $25 Pinot so ☠️. Keep up the fun content!
thank you for keeping it real and being honest on some wines most of us can only wonder.. greatly appreciate your "no fear or favor" reviews
Awesome video! Thanks guys. Mind if I ask what the brand is for the wine glasses you use?
Watching all your great videos from Singapore! Thanks for the great works. Bought myself a bottle of masseto a year ago now I’m worried 😂
It’s not just wines, but also restaurants. Two most underwhelming meals I’ve had were Dinner By Heston and Hand & Flowers. The price became the whole story and therefore the food took a back seat. Glad to have had the opportunity but would never do it again. So much better available for cheaper.
Once again love your honesty! It would be so easy to just praise these wines that none of us will never taste but you tell us your real opinon!
So true… it has sadly become a status symbol more than anything else. I'd rather have 12 bottles of Certan de May over one bottle of Petrus, anyday !
Always interesting to see a proper and honest tasting of these bottles! Thank you
Another $5k wine you didn’t seem to like. More $ than sense. Exclusivity doesn’t always make it better, just more expensive. You do have an endearing channel, but when you try $5k wines and not like them, I would submit a wine that more people could actually obtain, not dream about, might just broaden your audience? It’s been 2 years and less than 11k subscribers. You said yourself 100 merlots you’d enjoy more.
It’s amazing how often the bottles you open are off. Not sure what is going on with that other than you might just be catching a bad window of the wines journey. I use to think that was silly, but now that I’ve got a few aged bottles that I drink every 2 years I’m shocked at the aging process. Cheers!
Consistently the best wine channel on YouTube.
Very nice content as usual. I'd love to see you guys try wines from more "underrated" regions like the Loire (I’m thinking Clos Rougeard, Dagueneau Silex, Coulee de Serrant maybe?). It could be a new series. Regions like that usually have better QPR. Keep on the good work!
We bought a 1998 Petrus in 2013 for $900. ( it was part of an auction lot and had a badly damaged label) It was incredible. We decanted it for 1 hour. Every pour was an evolution over 2 hours of drinking it. I have never tasted a wine that did that as dramatically.
I love your content. and your honesty thank you
Great video!!!!!
Jeg håper dere kan gi La Tâche eller en annen DRC en ny sjanse, slik at vi kan se hvordan vinen oppleves uten å være korket.
I found and purchased 3 bottles of 1975 Petrus in 1980 at a wine shop in Canon Beach, Oregon in 1980 for $50 per bottle (~$200 in 2025 dollars) and went on to purchase pairs in vintages 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983. The last bottles were purchased from a wholesaler in 1987 for $263 each ($750 in 2025 dollars) at which point I decided I was priced out of the market. Since that time I have only opened a 1975 and a 1978, both of which were both excellent, but not sufficient to take a position in my top 10 lifetime wines. I have wine friends visiting next month and it's time to see if the 1975 vintage has withstood the test of time. Wine is like art. People appreciate different aspects of the style and techniques, and at the upper tier it becomes a matter of preference.
This is one of the reasons I love this channel; because I truly trust the reviews. Thank you guys 🙋🏻♂️
The best descriptions so far!! Thank you so much!💯
The best wine channel in youtube. Honest and true reviews!
Thanks guys! Very honest tasting! I sometimes had the Same Impression that more expensive isnt necessarily better. I would love to See a comparison of one of These top wines (e.g. Haut Brion Because of its constancy) between expensive and less expensive years. Not 10 years apart but adjacent. Like 2014-400USD vs 2016-1100 USD
Great video!! Please keep up the good work and the valuable additional information and history you provide on each wine
Fantastic channel! love your content
coo video, but one question, how are you guys able to afford all these ultra luxury wines ?
Omg I couldn't be more jealous
I visited Italy in 2003 and everyone said that the heat wave they were having was going to produce some great wines. Did that actually happen?
Really informative and you also have a lot of fun with it as well. Awesome to watch.
It sounds like a faulty Masseto. I think that unpleasant VA shouldn't be so present.
both on the bucket list….. great feedback
As the saying goes, “There are no great wines, just great bottles of wines.”
Seems that bottle Masseto didn’t quite hold up for one reason or another. But I appreciate both of these wines had age on them.
Would’ve been fun to have a “benchmark” wine to compare against to really gauge how good they were or weren’t. And yes, there are better, less expensive bottles. But that’s not the point of these wines, for better or worse. Great video
Americans… just get a cheeseburger and continue to believe you are still no. 1… And give the blonde a Mountain dew.
Every time I open an ultra expensive bottle of wine I inevitably say (or think) damn, I could have had x number of bottles of this wine or that wine that I loved far more. A very honest video, thank you!
I agree with Pops, pyrazines ruin wine, every time I hear a winemaker talking about why they have them I think they are making excuses.
i was shopping at the La Grande Cave in St. Emilion, right across the square from Hotel de Pavie 2 years ago and they had many Petrus vintages, with crazy different prices, from $360 euros to 4000 a bottle. I wanted to grab one, but was on a driving trip and didnt want the bottle to get overheated. Very suprised at price deltas when they dont have a 2nd wine.
Just opened a 2010 Caymus Special Selection on Saturday and was sadly “meh” about it. Followed with a Napanook that blew its doors off!
I think a correct observation!
"These are luxury goods. It's not a measure of quality." and "Almost endless demand from people who have means and don't care what the wines cost." The wine trade also makes good use of this. The final conclusion. "Price and pedigree don't guarantee pleasure." Just as simple, it all remains just fermented grape juice. Regardless of price and prestige.
By the way, in a wine country like Portugal, it is the rule rather than the exception that only a few thousand bottles are made of a prestige wine. But they are unknown and have no prestige. Only among knowledgeable wine lovers. So those prices are a fraction of those of Petrus or Masseto.
Of course I also had setbacks, but that is part of the wine tasting. You only learn from that.
If you are looking for price/quality, forget wines like Petrus and Masseto etc. Because you can seriously doubt that in advance. Nevertheless, as a true wine lover you want to try these wines. And are you willing to spend this money, because tasting yourself is best. To form a serious picture about a wine. Others can only do that for you to a very limited extent. Because we all have our own taste development. And our subjective preferences and that is fortunately everyone's right. That makes wine tasting and the wine world so interesting.
More videos a month! Love your dynamic. 😊
love the honesty! keep it up!
Love the videos! It would be cool to do an episode on your favorite wines in different price categories that are more attainable. Maybe $20-$45, $45-$75, $75-100, $100-$125, $125+
B remains the shizzle