Description
Jeb Dunnuck 97+ points www.jebdunnuck.com 29.03.2023
The flagship from this estate, the 2020 Château Pontet-Canet is a beauty based on 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, and 4% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, brought up in 50% new oak, with 35% in amphora. Deep purple-hued with a great nose of dark currants, plums, tobacco leaf, and truffly earth, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless mouthfeel and a great finish. The higher Merlot content here really shows in its overall sexy, supple, seamless style, and while this already offers pleasure, it’s going to be one for the ages as well.
Le fleuron de ce domaine, le Château Pontet-Canet 2020, est une beauté basée sur 60 % de cabernet sauvignon, 32 % de merlot et 4 % de cabernet franc et de petit verdot, élevés dans 50 % de chêne neuf et 35 % en amphore. D’une couleur pourpre profond, ce vin présente un superbe nez de groseille noire, de prune, de feuille de tabac et de terre truffée. Le palais est riche et corsé, la bouche est étagée et homogène, et la finale est excellente. La teneur plus élevée en merlot de ce vin se traduit par un style sexy, souple et homogène, et bien que ce vin soit déjà un plaisir, il sera aussi un vin de longue date.
Yves Beck 97 points www.yvesbeck.wine
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
A ma surprise, mais au final pas vraiment car je commence à le constater régulièrement, c’est la fraîcheur qui marque le bouquet. Belle mixité entre de nobles nuances végétales, florales et fruitées, complétées par le terroir avec du cèdre et du graphite. L’attaque est légèrement crémeuse et annonce un vin précis, élégant. Il ne brille pas de son ampleur mais bien plus de sa précision. Les tannins affichent un grain fin et son en phase avec la structure acide. Fine amertume en fin de
bouche qui plussoie l’expression aromatique et étire la finale. Un très grand vin, tout en finesse. 2027-2045
Jane Anson 97 points www.decanter.com (at Primeur week tastings in Bordeaux, 01 May 2021)
Highly successful Pontet, one of the few Pauillacs that, for me, overperforms on its 2019. Inky purple with ruby reflections in colour. Lots of firm but upright tannins, a good dollop of graphite, pencil lead and cassis bud, there is depth through the mid palate shot through with wild blackberry, hawthorn, sage, rosemary and wild mint. It has personality, and is a little old school in the best possible way. Recommended. They have avoided the over-concentrated feel of some Pauillacs in the vintage, while remaining true to the appellation. 4% Petit Verdot completes the blend, 50% new oak 35% amphoras, 15% one-year barrels. First full vintage for Mathieu Bessonnet who replaced the previous long-term director Jean-Michel Comme in 2020. 100% first wine, as it has been for the past four years. 45% will be aged in new oak barrels, 15% one year, 40% in amphoras. The mildew pressure was stressful in the early part of the year, but they had learnt from 2018, and brought in the manpower to get around the whole vineyard in a (very long) day, so their yields ended up being close to normal.
Antonio Galloni 95-97 points www.vinous.com
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.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown 96-98+ points www.robertparker.com
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!
Jean-Marc Quarin 95 points www.quarin.com
Couleur sombre, intense et belle. Nez moyennement aromatique, au fruité frais. Moelleux à l’attaque, juteux en milieu de bouche, très savoureux, le vin caresse le palais, charnu, charmant, parfumé, avec du goût en finale. Très belle longueur sans angle tannique. Assemblage : 60 % cabernet sauvignon, 32 % merlot, 4 % cabernet franc, 4 % petit verdot. Degré d’alcool : 13°3. Production : 100 % de la récolte. Rendement : 32 hl/ha.