96

Antonio Galloni

Vinous

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. 01/2022

94

Neal Martin

Vinous

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. 12/2021

93

William Kelley

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate

The 2019 Pontet-Canet offers up an expressive bouquet of plummy fruit, kirsch, dried herbs and peonies. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ample and seamless, with melting tannins, succulent acids, and a long, liqueured finish. Tasted twice, it's a wine I find somewhat perplexing: in a blind tasting, I might be more inclined to place it in Gigondas than Pauillac. I'm far from dogmatic when it comes to what the French call 'typicité,' and stylistic diversity surely enriches every appellation; but by the same token, I'm not convinced that this is the most compelling aesthetic that a Cabernet-based blend from this part of Bordeaux can realize. Checking in at 13.7% alcohol, some 35% of the production was matured in amphorae, which no doubt contributes to the wine's idiosyncratic identity. 04/2022

96

Jean-Marc Quarin

Jean-Marc Quarin

Double décanté. Couleur sombre intense et belle. Nez très aromatique, fin, au fruité mûr et subtil. Gras à l'attaque, moelleux en milieu de bouche, avec beaucoup de goût et une grande précision tactile, le vin caresse le palais en gagnant du volume et de la puissance en finale. Très grande longueur. Délicieux ! 09/2021

99

James Suckling

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. 03/2022