Château Pontet Canet, 5ème Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2004
A candidate for best value wine of the vintage. The Château thinks the Cabernet is 'the best we have ever harvested.' The harvest here was one of the longest and slowest in the Médoc, resulting in a wine of vast depth, structure and polish. The palate erupts with ripe bramble fruits, bitter sweet dark chocolate flavours with savoury suggestions of asian spices.
critic reviews
The 2004 Pontet Canet was when Alfred Tesseron applied biodynamics on the Merlot for the first time. It has a lifted, red berry, blood orange and graphite-scented nose that is nicely focused, perhaps just a little rustic around the edges. The palate is medium-bodied with a minty opening, fine depth and crisp tannins. It's grippy with an almost spearmint fresh finish that lingers nicely. This is a nimble Pontet Canet overall. Drinking perfectly now. Excellent.
Tasted at the Pontet-Canet vertical in London, it seems clear that the 2004 Chateau Pontet-Canet is predestined to always fall under the shadow of the 2005. Don't overlook this gem. The bouquet delivers pure blackberry, pencil lead and tobacco notes that are more generous than the 2005 at the momentopen for business, you might say. There is an element of dried herbs here, a hint of black tar. The palate is medium-bodied and quite sturdy in the mouth, the tannins perhaps "abrasive" when juxtaposed against the 2005, however they are couched in unexpectedly intense earthy black fruit that frame a tannic finish. If you hanker for a sumptuous Pontet-Canet, then opt for 2003 or 2009, but if your predilection is for a more "classic" Pauillac, then 2004 Pontet-Canet fits the bill. Undoubtedly a great wine from Alfred Tesseron for the vintage, I would start, broaching bottles now but keep a stash back for 4-5 years' time when those tannins have softened. Tasted February 2016.