CHÂTEAU PONTET CANET

The 2016 Pontet-Canet is absolutely breathtaking. Powerful, ample and racy in the glass, the 2016 is one of the most exquisitely well-balanced young Pontet-Canets I can remember tasting. Savory, high-toned aromatics and brisk mineral notes lend energy and delineation as this vivid wonderfully alive wine opens up in the glass. The flavors are dark and incisive, but it is the wine's total sense of harmony that is most compelling. All of the elements are simply in the right place. The 2016 is tremendous. It's as simple as that. As is often the case, Pontet-Canet is one of the most singular wines in Bordeaux. Alfred Tesseron could have chosen to play things safe when he took over the management of the estate in the mid-1990s. Instead, he chose a very different path. No proprietor in Bordeaux has taken more risks over the last two decades than Alfred Tesseron. A commitment to biodynamic farming, sustainability across the entire estate more broadly, and the adoption of new concepts for Bordeaux, such as aging a portion of the wine in terra cotta, set Pontet-Canet apart from other properties in Pauillac and the Left Bank. Not surprisingly, the wine is also starkly different from the wines of neighboring estates. Drinking range: 2026 - 2066 Rating: 99 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

The 2016 Pontet-Canet is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Petit Verdot and 39% Merlot, less Cabernet this year because of the size of the berries. I tasted the wine on two visits to the property around two weeks apart, plus additional tastings at négoçiants. It has an intense bouquet with layers of blackberry, sloes and fresh mint, just a hint of black truffle in the background. It is certainly a little more opulent compared to its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin, a little spicier than I expected (in a positive sense) with gentle grip in the mouth. It fans out with confidence, a voluminous Pontet-Canet with an extremely persistent aftertaste, and a saline and balsamic finish. This is an extravagant Pauillac for the vintage that will age over many years. Drinking range: 2026 - 2050 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

Very dark crimson. More savoury and sumptuous than many of its neighbours. Blackberry compote and very round and rich and satiny. Very round. Almost too sweet but that is to complain needlessly. Already rich and enjoyable but masses of tannins too. Long and throbbing. Excellent with freshness and cleanliness and round. Pretty sweet though so it's a definite style.. Drinking range: 2024 - 2050 Rating: 18 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2017)

Vivid and full of energy with blackberry, currant and salt. Full body, intense and long. Harmony. Purpose. Classicism. The mineral and currant character is all year. A seamless tannin texture. Great wine. You want to drink it now! Rating: 98-99 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)

This is richly layered with seductively ripe fruit. The quality and texture of the brambled blackberries, cassis and bilberries is striking. There is a sense of lightness and juiciness but also depth and flesh - you can feel the joy of that contrast at every step as the wine stretches out in front of you, hard to resist. 2016 is another vintage where they are up at 95%+ of grand vin, this year aged in 55% new casks, 10% in one year old casks and 35% in amphorae. Feel the effects of biodynamics make Pontet Canet stand out for its energy and lush tannins, even with the concentration of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Drinking range: 2027 - 2050 Rating: 97 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2017)

The 2016 Pontet-Canet has been absolutely brilliant on the three occasions I’ve tasted it so far. Exotically ripe, powerful and voluptuous, it brings together the richness of the 2009 with the structure of the 2010. There aren't too many other 2016s where that is the case, but it is undoubtedly true here. The 2016 is a spectacular wine by any measure, while Pontet-Canet confirms its rarefied place as a true original in Bordeaux. Technical director Jean-Michel Comme added that Cabernet Sauvignon plays a slightly lesser role in the blend because the berries had less juice than normal at harvest. Comme also bumped up the new oak slightly, to 55 percent. The rest of the wine was aged in neutral oak (10 percent) and amphora (35 percent). In a word: Superb. Rating: 96-99 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

You’d expect Pontet-Canet’s biodynamic vineyards to have suffered in the rainy first half of the year, but not a bit of it. This is a rich, polished, concentrated wine with plenty of spicy oak, structured tannins, balancing acidity and the power to age. Textured, plush and ambitious. Drinking range: 2026 - 2036 Rating: 95 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2017)

The 2016 Pontet-Canet yet again suggested that there is inconsistency between bottles. It has a decadent bouquet of precocious red fruit laced with truffle, garrigue and meat juice aromas – not the most typical Pauillac that you will find, though not unattractive. The palate is full-bodied with soft, rounded tannins and slightly lower perceived acidity than its peers. There is impressive volume on this lavish Pauillac, but this bottle seems to have mislaid its typicité. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. Rating: 0 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 1899)