-
98
/ 100
Decanter -
99
/ 100
James Suckling -
17
/ 20
Jancis Robinson MW -
98
/ 100
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -
97
/ 100
Vinous
Red
Classification
Cabernet Blend
Variety
2020
Vintage
750ml (Bottle)
Bottle Size
France
Country
Bordeaux, Medoc
Region
14.0%
Alcohol %
15 Plus Years
Cellaring
Scores
98 / 100"Gorgeous bright and juicy cherry and cassis, pencil lead and floral aromas seduce you. The palate is long and spherical. This, the first vintage certified both organic and biodynamic, has impressive depth and power delivered with refinement. The power of Lynch-Bages but with a bit more elegance. A long, palate-enveloping finish. You can serve with haute cuisine, but why not a high-quality hamburger? Sometimes the simplest dishes, with quality ingredients, go best with top wine. Drinking Window 2021 - 2055"
- Decanter
99 / 100
"This is integrated, with superb density and beauty, offering blackcurrant, mineral and some bark. Full-bodied, yet so polished and refined. Crushed stone. Lots of expression and texture to this wine. Creamy. Pure and precise. Elegant, yet layered. Slightly plusher than the 2019. Dense, yet agile. Fresh as always. 60% cabernet sauvignon, 32% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 4% petit verdot. 50% new oak 15% old oak and 35% concrete amphorae."
- James Suckling
17 / 20
"60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot. Cask sample. Dark, dense and very ripe on the nose. Riper than most Pauillacs tasted. Suave attack then a firm charge of grainy tannin. Fresh and persistent but some chew on the finish. (JL)"
- Jancis Robinson MW
98 / 100
"The 2020 Pontet-Canet is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, aging in 50% new French oak barriques, 35% concrete amphorae and 15% in one-year-old barrels. Harvest began on the 14th September for the Merlot, and the final lot of Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested on 30th September. Opaque purple-black in color, it needs significant aeration and swirling to coax out evocative notes of black cherry preserves, raspberry pie, blackcurrant pastilles and damp soil, before launching into gorgeous floral and spice notions of red roses, cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamom, with a waft of crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate reveals a lot of depth and polish, delivering mouth-coating red and black fruits with loads of fragrant earth and floral sparks, framed by velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and mineral tinged. This is a singular, fascinating expression of the vintage and highly recommended!"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
97 / 100
"The 2020 Pontet-Canet is captivating effort from the Tesseron family. The intensely perfumed, savory bouquet is immediately alluring. Deep and substantial, the 2020 is luxuriously rich from start to finish. Swaths of incisive tannin wrap around a core of dark red cherry fruit, gravel, dried herbs and rose petal, and a whole range of floral and savory accents lend aromatic presence. The Pontet-Canet is often a charmer en primeur, but the 2020 comes across as quite serious. I can't wait to see how it develops. As always, one of the signatures of Pontet-Canet is a high proportion of Merlot vis-à-vis its peers among top Left Bank châteaux that lends tremendous midpalate weight. In 2020 production is within historical norms. Mildew pressure was high, but not as severe as in 2018, when two-thirds of the crop was lost in a single day. Harvest took place September 14–30, a bit more of a compact time frame than normal, and a good 7–10 days earlier than is typically the case. Aged in 50% new oak, 35% amphora and 15% once-used barrels."
- Vinous
Tasting Notes
Today Chateau Pontet Canet is one of the most popular and collectable wines in all of Bordeaux, and much of this success has come from the extraordinary quality of wines made in the last two decades. While ranked as a Fifth Growth in the 1855 Classification, today the property would easily be regarded as a Second Growth as the wines often rival the best in the region. Much of the emphasis at Pontet Canet is in the vineyard, and the property has converted to 100% biodynamics as of 2005. The most gorgeous, lifted perfume of lilacs, dark chocolate, Morello cherries and rosehip tea over a core of crème de cassis, plum preserves, licorice and woodsmoke with a waft of fragrant soil. Full-bodied, rich and fantastically opulent, the palate offers layer upon layer of ripe, finely grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and mineral laced. A real head-turner, this beauty is absolutely going to steal your heart!
Tasting Profile
- Light
- Full
- Low Tannin
- Tannic
- Sweet
- Dry
- Low Acidity
- High Acidity