2019 Chateau Pontet-Canet Pauillac

The name of this Châteaux comes from the first owner named Jean-François de Pontet, who was the royal governor of the Medoc region. This property is currently owned by the businessman Guy Tesseron; since the Tesseron family took possession, this Châteaux began to notably improve the quality of its wines and has managed to position itself as one of Bordeaux's favorites. Consumers even assure that this wine is comparable in quality to a 2nd  or 3rd Growth wine.

The Tesseron family has other Châteaux, including Lafon Rochet in the appellation of St. Estephe and Pym-Rae, an estate in Napa Valley, which previously belonged to comedian Robin Williams. 

With special care in the vineyard, biodynamic and sustainable agriculture, and the oenological direction of Michelle Rolland, this Châteaux is one to watch! Wine Spectator spoke about Chateau Pontet-Canet “It's a fifth-growth Pauillac that can perform like a first-growth, often offering pure, rich Cabernet fruit that's deeply concentrated.”

Pontet-Canet is located just 800 meters from 1^st Growth, Château Mouton Rothschild. The vineyard is composed of 200 acres placed in a blessed terroir known as the “plateau”, a gentle broad outcrop of Garonne gravel soil dating from the Günz era that sits on a bedrock of limestone.

2019 was an outstanding vintage for Pauillac. It was awarded 97 points by Vinous Media who said it is "Unquestionably a Left Bank vintage. The sweet spot is in Saint-Estèphe and Pauillac, where so many wines are exceptional to profound, at all levels in the hierarchy of terroirs."

Aging: 35% in amphora and the rest in 50% new oak and 15% one-year oak.

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. See Critical Reviews for detailed tasting notes.

The aromas to this are really amazing, with a potpourri of spices and dried flowers, as well as redcurrants, sweet plums and even some peaches. Full-bodied with layers of ripe fruit and ultra-fine tannins that spread across the palate in an encompassing yet always elegant and pure way. It’s succulent and unadulterated. Like crushed, perfectly ripened grapes. The length is rather endless. The tannins build. Fabulous young red. 35% in amphora and the rest in 50% new oak and 15% one-year oak. 65% cabernet sauvignon and 30% merlot, the rest cabernet franc and petit verdot. ~99 James Suckling

This is a luscious, sumptuous wine, with layers of black fruits and wonderfully cushioned tannins. The structure of the wine is initially masked by the great fruits, but then finds balance from a dry edge of spice, smokiness and lifted acidity. It's another great vintage from this biodynamic estate. ~99 Wine Enthusiast 

Clear Pauillac character in terms of its tannic structure, overlaid with the Pontet signature of recent vintages that translates into spirals of peony and iris alongside brambled hedgerow. As it settles, coffee bean and tobacco adds a charred character alongside blackberry and cassis puree. It opens extremely slowly, with so many subtle nuances that gather in confidence. The tannins have unmistakeable Pauillac strength, but the structure and the subtlety of this wine is Pontet-Canet, with the amphoras having an influence in terms of the tannins feeling less silky than they do in many of the appellation's biggest wines, but still with swagger. ~96 Decanter

Very lush out of the gate, with waves of gently mulled plum, blackberry and black currant fruit that roll through slowly, lined with alder, sweet tobacco, worn cedar and singed savory notes. Delivers a late tug of iron that's well-buried on a finish marked by lingering perfume, resulting in an end impression of a rich wine that's very light on its feet. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2023. ~94 Wine Spectator

The 2019 Pontet-Canet offers up an expressive bouquet of plummy fruit, kirsch, dried herbs and peonies. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ample and seamless, with melting tannins, succulent acids, and a long, liqueured finish. Tasted twice, it's a wine I find somewhat perplexing: in a blind tasting, I might be more inclined to place it in Gigondas than Pauillac. I'm far from dogmatic when it comes to what the French call "typicité," and stylistic diversity surely enriches every appellation; but by the same token, I'm not convinced that this is the most compelling aesthetic that a Cabernet-based blend from this part of Bordeaux can realize. Checking in at 13.7% alcohol, some 35% of the production was matured in amphorae, which no doubt contributes to the wine's idiosyncratic identity. ~93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2019 Château Pontet Canet checks in as a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot that was brought up in a mix of barrels and concrete tanks. It shows the new style of the estate with a more savory, exotic, medium to full-bodied style that's a dramatically different beast than the benchmark 2009 and 2010 vintages, which to my mind, are the greatest vintages from this estate to date. The 2019 has a ruby/plum color as well as a perfumed nose of redcurrant and mulberry fruits as well as notes of brambly herbs, wood smoke, peony, leather, and cedar pencil. It's aromatic and complex, although certainly not classic Pauillac, and on the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, with firm, savory, yet quality tannins, good balance, and outstanding length. ~92 Jeb Dunnuck 

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