Château Pontet Canet, 5ème Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2019
This is the best Pontet Canet since the magnificent 2010. After more than a decade somewhat in the doldrums, Pontet is back with a beautiful 2023. Justine explained they had a bit of rain in March and June, but they didn't really experience much mildew pressure. Two heat spikes late August and early September required a little kaolin sunscreen, which they adopted in 2022 to cope with the extreme conditions. She describes the 2023 as "éclatant", which is roughly translated as brilliant or bright, an apt depiction. Somewhat muted initially, then revealing hints of dark mulberry and violets. This is measured with a clarity to the dark, mineral fruit; there's also a mineral seam at its core that provides freshness. Lots of clear textured fruit framed by sumptuous, plush tannins. This graceful, unforced style really suits Pontet Canet; a wine of impeccable balance with a long cassis, mineral and fine salt finish. Excellent. 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, matured in 50% new oak, 35% amphorae and 15% one year old barrels.
critic reviews
The 2019 Pontet-Canet is the outlier in the flight with its arresting exotic blueberry, cassis and mulberry scents. It is attractive, seductive even, yet it is cut from a totally different cloth to other wines in the flight of Pauillacs. The palate steers it back towards Bordeaux, albeit not all the way. Grainy tannins, mulberry and game, almost Syrah-like in style. Quite powerful, this has a chewy finish with some dry tannins. Perplexing. Fascinating. Sui generis. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.
The 2019 Pontet-Canet is made from 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it is a little shy to begin, slowly drifting out of the glass with an evocative perfume of violets, black tea, rose petals, and cinnamon stick over a core of cassis, juicy blackberries, and black cherries, plus touches of star anise and cardamom. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and delivering layer upon layer of black fruits and savory accents, it has a firm, ripe, grainy texture and just enough freshness, finishing very long and fragrant. So stunningly vibrant that it shimmers, give it a good four years further in the cellar to open out and enjoy its transformation over the next 40 years+. Tasted three times with consistent notes.
Particularly successful during En Primeur, and even better now, just bursting out of the glass. Plump and fruit forward, plenty of character, with spiced cedar and smoked earth, violet and iris notes play around the edges, but the focus is on creamy cassis, bilberry, cocoa bean and aniseed. Last vintage with Jean-Michel Comme as technical director, and you really now see the skilled use of amphoras, which added notes of austerity in the early years (they introduced them in 2012) but now showcase the precision of the fruit. 100% 1st wine, with the ageing taking place in a mix of 45% new oak barrels, 15% one year barrels and 40% amphoras.