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95 By Robert Parker
18 By Rene Gabriel
94 By Wine Spectator
One cannot say enough about the labors of proprietor Alfred Tesseron, who has personally overseen the dramatic increase in quality of the wines at Pontet-Canet which started in a significant manner with 1994. This is a classic Pauillac-styled wine (meaning oodles of cassis flavors), as one might expect from a vineyard on the plateau of Pauillac, across the street from Mouton-Rothschild. One of the great successes of the vintage and certainly one of the most profound Pontet-Canets made over the last decade is the 2003. Deep purple to the rim with a glorious nose of scorched earth, black currant jam, smoke, licorice, and roasted meats, it is full-bodied, incredibly powerful, dense, with low acidity but high tannin, broad-shouldered, and savory. This is a stunning, pure, classic Pontet-Canet that should be at its best between 2010 and 2035.
Producer
Château Pontet Canet
The legendary Médoc estate, Château Pontet-Canet has been under the ownership of the Tesseron family for over four decades. However, its history dates back to the early 18th century, when royal governor of the Médoc, Jean-François de Pontet put together several vineyard plots in Pauillac. Just about a century later, the Universal Exhibition of 1855 confirmed the château’s elite status with a Fifth Growth rank. With 81-hectares of vineyards planted on the best gravel soils of the appellation, Pontet-Canet was one of the first Bordeaux estates to be both Certified Organic and Biodynamic starting with their 2010 vintage. Over the past forty years, in the interest of quality, to better reflect the unique terroir of their wines, the family has made several renovations to the estate, including technical innovations in the winemaking department. Today, the winery is run by Alfred Tesseron and produces quintessential Pauillac wines. They are big, powerful and dense reds with supple, well-rounded tannins that are complimented with intense fragrances of cassis and cedar. Both with spectacular ageing potentials, the estate’s second wine, Hauts de Pontet and the impressive Grand Vin, Pontet-Canet are impeccably made.