98 Robert Parker
The blend of the 2016 Pontet-Canet is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Around 55% of the wine was aged in new French oak barrels, 15% in two-year-old barrels and 35% in cement amphorae for 16 months. Deep garnet-purple colored, it opens with opulent scents of plum preserves, spice cake, hoisin and crème de cassis with fragrant wafts of potpourri, wood smoke and rose hip tea. Medium to full-bodied, rich and decadent, with loads of spicy layers, it has a firm, velvety texture with great freshness and incredible depth, finishing very long and on a compelling mineral note.<br/>2016 marks the 40th vintage at Pontet-Canet for Alfred Tesseron. Winemaker Jean-Michel Comme mentioned it was wet at the beginning of the year, but thankfully the weather changed in late June. Thus, 2016 was a more normal/typical mildew year, so the disease pressure wasn’t too much of an issue. Then it was very dry until fall. He believes the vintage could be compared to 1961 or 2010. The result is an uninhibited, truly singular showing of Pontet-Canet this year—perhaps the richest, most sumptuous and hedonic expression of the vintage of all the great Left Bank wines.
98 Robert Parker
The blend of the 2016 Pontet-Canet is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Around 55% of the wine was aged in new French oak barrels, 15% in two-year-old barrels and 35% in cement amphorae for 16 months. Deep garnet-purple colored, it opens with opulent scents of plum preserves, spice cake, hoisin and crème de cassis with fragrant wafts of potpourri, wood smoke and rose hip tea. Medium to full-bodied, rich and decadent, with loads of spicy layers, it has a firm, velvety texture with great freshness and incredible depth, finishing very long and on a compelling mineral note.<br/>2016 marks the 40th vintage at Pontet-Canet for Alfred Tesseron. Winemaker Jean-Michel Comme mentioned it was wet at the beginning of the year, but thankfully the weather changed in late June. Thus, 2016 was a more normal/typical mildew year, so the disease pressure wasn’t too much of an issue. Then it was very dry until fall. He believes the vintage could be compared to 1961 or 2010. The result is an uninhibited, truly singular showing of Pontet-Canet this year—perhaps the richest, most sumptuous and hedonic expression of the vintage of all the great Left Bank wines.