Chateau Pontet Canet 2019

- 18 Punkte JANCIS ROBINSON: „65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Harvest 23 September to 10 October.
Deep purple hue. Pure, elegant and precise, the fruit at perfect pitch, the aromatics complex and refined. Tannins finely edged but firm and present. Altogether great harmony and poise. Upright but seductive at the same time. A very complete wine.“

- 94 Punkte WINESPECTATOR, James Molesworth: „Very lush out of the gate, with waves of gently mulled plum, blackberry and black currant fruit that roll through slowly, lined with alder, sweet tobacco, worn cedar and singed savory notes. Delivers a late tug of iron that's well-buried on a finish marked by lingering perfume, resulting in an end impression of a rich wine that's very light on its feet. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2023 through 2036.“

- 20 Punkte VINUM Bordeaux Extra: Primeur 2019 (9/2020): "Wir haben es schon mehrfach angemerkt: Für diesen Wein gelten ganz besondere Regeln, weil er eine ganz besondere Geschichte erzählt, weil seine Macher konsequenter und mutiger weiter gegangen sind als alle anderen. Noten verlieren da ihren Sinn. Dennoch verkosten wir ihn jedes Mal mit Herzklopfen, weil wir uns sagen: selbst Pontet Canet kann nicht jedes Jahr ausserordentlich geraten - was der Geschichte ja an sich keinen Abbruch tun würde. Denkste. Einmal mehr haben wir einen überragenden, aussergewöhnlichen Tropfen im Glas, mit umwerfendem Terroirausdruck, grosser Jahrgangsypizität, aber auch von überragender Machart. Unglaubliche, komplexe Aromatik, voller Ansatz, ideale Verbindung von Gehalt, Tiefe, Fleisch, Kernigkeit, Schliff und Rasse, umwerfende Tanninqualität, betörender, Burgundischer Fruchtgehalt: lässt sprachlos."

- 98-100 Punkte Robert Parkers WINE ADVOCATE, Lisa Perrotti-Brown: "The blend this year is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Very deep purple-black colored, the 2019 Pontet-Canet has 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!"

- 100 Punkte FALSTAFF, Peter Moser: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Erstmals seit 2011 ist der Merlotanteil wieder etwas höher, das Bukett entsprechend mehr von Herzkirschen geprägt, als vom üblich Cassis de Pauillac, zart nach Nougat und Karamell, feine Kräuterwürze. Kraftvoll, engmaschig, zeigt gute Süße, schokoladiger Touch, reife Tannine, große Komplexität, tolle Länge und Würze, eine sehr eigenständige Persönlichkeit, ein Riesenversprechen für die Zukunft, was sich En Primeur bereitsb angekündigtte: dieser Wein hat alles, was ein Weltklassewein braucht.“

- Notizen des Weinguts, von Justine und Alfred Tesseron: "Dear Friends, After fifteen years of research, including ten Ecocert and Biodyvin certified, we have never stopped improving and carry on gaining in precision. Accompanying the vine, rather than manipulating it, by lowering human intervention to the minimum: this is the essence of our philosophy.From the vineyard plots to the cellar, respect for the plant and the fruit is our guiding principle: trimming stopped, work on a substantial part of the vineyard with horses to avoid soil compaction, intimate knowledge of each of our vines to provide them what they really need, to go further than biodynamics only. In the cellars, we have applied, for the first time on a whole “normal” crop, the manual sorting and destemming, without any motor or machine, in an almost religious silence. Vatting has been done with whole berries, followed only by light punching down of the cap.Our elevage method, 50% in new oak barrels, 35% in dolia (bespoke made with concrete containing some Pontet-Canet terroirs elements) and 15% in once used barrels, respects the nature of the fruit and let the magnificent Pontet-Canet vineyard terroirs express themselves.The soul of Pontet-Canet lies in the quest for balance, for the purest and most faithful incarnation of its terroirs, with no artifice nor make-up. With its precision, hitherto unequalled, our 2019 vintage is another step further in our search for the ideal.This year, the blend is as follows: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.We hope to see you again the sooner, to let you taste our new vintage." 

- 19,5+ Punkte WEINWISSER: "65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 % Merlot, 3 % Cabernet Franc and 2 % Petit Verdot. Undurchsichtiges Purpur mit schwarzer Mitte mit rubinroten Rand. Ein erotisches Parfüm nach Alpenheidelbeeren, Holundergelee und zarten Fliedernoten. Im zweiten Ansatz schwarze Johannisbeerdrops und dunkle Schokotrüffel. Am royalen Gaumen mit einer Textur wie Samt und Seide, kakaoartiges Tannin, das bereits integriert wirkt, herrliche lakritzartige Extraktfülle und eine perfekt stützende Rasse mit zarter Terroirwürze. Im delikaten, langanhaltenden Finale mit einer vollen Ladung an blauen Beeren, Crème de Cassis und Graphitnoten; endet mit erhabener Adstringenz. Eine beeindruckende Schönheit, bei der ich völlig vergass, auszuspucken! Perfekte Symbiose aus Finesse und Konzentration, auf direktem Weg zur Bestnote!"

- 98 Punkte JANE ANSON: „Particularly successful during En Primeur, and even better now, just bursting out of the glass. Plump and fruit forward, plenty of character, with spiced cedar and smoked earth, violet and iris notes play around the edges, but the focus is on creamy cassis, bilberry, cocoa bean and aniseed. Last vintage with Jean-Michel Comme as technical director, and you really now see the skilled use of amphoras, which added notes of austerity in the early years (they introduced them in 2012) but now showcase the precision of the fruit. 100% 1st wine, with the ageing taking place in a mix of 45% new oak barrels, 15% one year barrels and 40% amphoras.“

- 98 Punkte DECANTER, Georgina Hindle: „Such gorgeous aromatics of freshly picked violets, cherries and bramble fruits - pretty and quite delicate. The texture is smooth and succulent, mouth coating but full of soft tannins which have the most delicious black cherry, blackcurrant flesh and liquorice tinge to them - so satisfying. Extremely well balanced and well integrated, this has restrained power, it's not rich or particularly round but straight, direct and layered rather than wide. Really long finish with great freshness and touches of cool blueberries. This is just such a great wine, everything you want and you know there's power there promising a long life. Great winemaking on show. 35% aged in concrete, 50% new oak, 15% in barrels of one year, for 16-18 months. This year there's a new label, the drawing of the house has remained but the font is more elegant and modern. A blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Drinking Window 2027 – 2047“

- 97-99 Punkte WINE ENTHUSIAST, Roger Voss: „Barrel Sample. This is a luscious, sumptuous wine, with layers of black fruits and wonderfully cushioned tannins. The structure of the wine is initially masked by the great fruits, but then finds balance from a dry edge of spice, smokiness and lifted acidity. It's another great vintage from this biodynamic estate.“

- 96 Punkte VINOUS, Antonio Galloni: „The 2019 Pontet-Canet was so effusive and generous en primeur. Today, though, it is quite reticent. That won't be an issue for those who can be patient, but patience indeed will be the key here. Dark red fleshed fruit, tobacco, cedar, spice, kirsch, mint and blood orange gradually open with a bit of coaxing. Imposing tannins wrap it all together. The 2019 is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty, but it needs time.“

- 94 Punkte VINOUS, Neal Martin: „The 2019 Pontet Canet was picked from September 23 until October 10, finishing with the Petit Verdot, and bottled in mid-June/July. My sample, tasted at the property, was decanted. Matured in 50% new oak and 35% concrete amphora, this is endowed with an intense, enveloping bouquet of opulent blackberry and boysenberry fruit laced with crushed violet and light fig aromas, becoming more floral with aeration and revealing crushed violet petals. The palate is medium-bodied with layered black fruit, cracked black pepper, hints of pencil lead and a splash of soy. This is one of the most powerful Pauillac wines that I encountered this vintage, very juicy and with plenty of rondeur on the very spicy finish. This should give three decades of drinking pleasure.“

 - 99 Punkte JAMES SUCKLING: "The aromas to this are really amazing, with a potpourri of spices and dried flowers, as well as redcurrants, sweet plums and even some peaches. Full-bodied with layers of ripe fruit and ultra-fine tannins that spread across the palate in an encompassing yet always elegant and pure way. It’s succulent and unadulterated. Like crushed, perfectly ripened grapes. The length is rather endless. The tannins build. Fabulous young red. 35% in amphora and the rest in 50% new oak and 15% one-year oak. 65% cabernet sauvignon and 30% merlot, the rest cabernet franc and petit verdot. From biodynamically grown grapes. Try after 2028, but an absolute joy to taste now.“