2019 Pontet Canet
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Tasting notes
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Very deeply coloured with deep garnet rim. Complex, slowly maturing aroma that retains black fruit and starts to show a tertiary note of leaf mulch. Ripe and spicy and quite open. Smooth, chewy and caressing, with the freshness to balance the rounded texture. It's fresh enough in terms of acidity but the fruit seems a little too ripe for energy, the texture a touch leathery on the finish. The sample is quite warm and I think this would be better served a little cooler. (JH)
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Decanter
More reviews and scores
The 2019 Pontet-Canet is the outlier in the flight with its arresting exotic blueberry, cassis and mulberry scents. It is attractive, seductive even, yet it is cut from a totally different cloth to other wines in the flight of Pauillacs. The palate steers it back towards Bordeaux, albeit not all the way. Grainy tannins, mulberry and game, almost Syrah-like in style. Quite powerful, this has a chewy finish with some dry tannins. Perplexing. Fascinating. Sui generis. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.
Tasted blind. Looks quite evolved. A hint of char on the nose and then very sweet palate entry. Acid sticks out a bit – not integrated with the fruit. Floral. (JR)
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, woodsmoke, 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. It warrants 7-8 years of bottle age and will evolve for 30+ years. While the style of the estate has been gradually shifting with the winemaking moving to hand destemming and aging in concrete and amphora, this is the first time where the winemaking seems to dominate the wine, and the quality is unquestionably not at the same level.
About the producer
Ch. Pontet-Canet is one of Pauillac’s top estates, and one of its largest at 81 hectares. Although classified as a Fifth Growth, these days it consistently competes with the First Growths