1994 Pontet Canet

Readers should take note that the Tesseron family is making major efforts to rebuild the image of Pontet-Canet and establish it as one of the finest wines of the northern Medoc. Quality has soared since the 1994 vintage, but prices have not yet caught up with the "new" Pontet-Canet. However, this is not a forward, luscious, rich, sweet, fruity style of Pauillac (such as the charming Pichon-Lalande and Haut-Batailley), but rather, a dense, masculine, massively-styled wine meant for long-term cellaring. One of the finest as well as longest-lived wines of the vintage, this opaque purple-colored 1994 needs 7-10 years of cellaring. A rich, impressive, full-bodied wine, it represents the finest Pontet-Canet produced since the 1961. This full-bodied, purely made wine is crammed with blackcurrant fruit, as well as forbiddingly tannic and backward. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025. Impressive! Feb 1997, www.robertparker.com