| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
An absolutely amazing wine, from grapes harvested between the end of September and October 17, this blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot has close to 15% natural alcohol. It comes from one of the few biodynamic vineyards in Bordeaux, but you are likely to see many more, given the success that Tesseron seems to be having at all levels, both in his vineyards and in his fermentation/winemaking. An astounding, compelling wine with the classic Pauillac nose more often associated with its cross-street neighbor, Mouton-Rothschild, creme de cassis, there are also some violets and other assorted floral notes. The wine has off-the-charts massiveness and intensity but never comes across as heavy, overbearing or astringent. The freshness, laser-like precision, and full-bodied, massive richness and extract are simply remarkable to behold and experience. It is very easy, to become jaded tasting such great wines from a great vintage, but it is really a privilege to taste something as amazing as this. Unfortunately, it needs a good decade of cellaring, and that's assuming it doesn't close down over the next few years. This is a 50- to 75-year wine from one of the half-dozen or so most compulsive and obsessive proprietors in all of Bordeaux. Is there anything that proprietor Alfred Tesseron is not doing right? Talk about an estate that is on top of its game! Pontet-Canet's 2010 is a more structured, tannic and restrained version of their most recent perfect wine, the 2009. Kudos to Pontet-Canet.
Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. The Château Pontet-Canet is a very interesting wine to taste blind. For a start, the untrammelled ripeness and precocity is clearly evident on the nose, so much so that I wrote down "New World" before its identity was revealed. A second bottle is more contained but still "glossy" in style. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated ripe tannins on the entry. The acidity is nicely judged and it is very dense, though it needs more tension and terroir expression. It improves in the glass all the time, mustering more composure and finesse, yet here under blind condition, there was no denying that it is out-classed by some of its peers. That said it remains a great wine from Alfred Tesseron. Tasted January 2014.
The aromas to this are incredible with blueberry, minerals, dried flowers, and stones. It goes to dried meat and spices. Full body and incredibly integrated with blackberry, licorice, and minerals. There's a wonderful purity to this. It goes on for minutes. The quality of tannins is amazing. Seamless. There's an amazing transparency that shows you all the elements of the wine's unique terrior. Try after 2018.
The 2010 Pontet-Canet is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-black in color, it sashays out of the glass with opulent scents of Chinese five spice, smoked meats, and cigar box, over a core of prunes, redcurrant jelly, and fruitcake with a waft of espresso. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a firm, grainy structure with tons of freshness supporting the decadent spice and fruit preserves layers, finishing with great length. It is delicious to drink now!
17.5+ Drink 2020-2034
Dense, rich and minty on the nose with real density. Lots of luscious chew. This is clearly from a great vintage with huge vivacity. Heavy undertow. Long. Minerals and firm. Racy.
Alfred Tesseron has been making classic Pauillac here every year since the excellent 1994 and recent vintages have been amongst the best ever, scoring impressively when shown in blind tastings. Pontet Canet is now pushing the Pichons as Pauillac's top non-first growth. Grapes are manually sorted by a team of 30 people on specially made sorting tables. The vineyard is now 100% organic bio-dynamic and even being worked by horses. 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot in two thirds new oak. Pontet Canet is now consistently producing wine of "super-second" quality. This 2010 seem to have the richness of 2009 with added grip and structure. There is an amazingly satured, decanter-staining colour. Thick and oily in texture with an amazingly powerful nose of concentrated creme de cassis, espresso coffee and smoky elegance. Big, rich and viscous on the palate with enormous flesh and impressive structure. Long, long finish. A real show-stopper. Sensational Pontet Canet again.
There is a lot of power on the nose lots of rich black fruits. Dark chocolate and coffee beans back the cassis and black cherry on the palate layers of flavour giving lots of complexity. The richness of the fruit copes well with the structured tannins. This is Pontet-Canet at its best.
Masses of concentrated cassis fruit, but already has wild violet fragrance of the greatest Pauillacs, superb middle sweetness, perfect structure and length, perhaps more elegant than Pontet-Canet's great 2009. Drink 2016-35.
Pontet-Canet's 2010 harvest took place between September 29 and October 17 (this vineyard is one of the few in Bordeaux that is fully certified as biodynamic) and the final blend was 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that achieved nearly 15% natural alcohol. A remarkable, full-bodied effort (as was the estate's 2009 and 2008), like so many recent vintages from proprietor Alfred Tesseron, it is of first-growth quality (some may even argue that it eclipses several first-growths). Dense purple to the rim, it offers classic notes of creme de cassis, graphite, subtle smoke and spring flowers. Multidimensional with massive concentration as well as vivid purity, precision and freshness, this is another astonishing effort from an obsessive/compulsive proprietor who is doing everything right. On the downside, this 2010 will require a decade of cellaring and should evolve for 50+ years. It will be fascinating to drink it side by side with the 2009 and 2008.
Bottled in late July, the Pontet Canet has a very fragrant nose, with a touch more fruit intensity that its peers: raspberry, wild strawberry, a touch of cedar and pencil lead. It is very well defined, less flamboyant than the 2009, more a bouquet of precision and etiquette. The palate is medium-bodied with a tightly coiled, peppery entry. There is real density to this Pontet Canet: powerful, a little introverted, but very focused towards the structured finish. This will certainly be a long-term wine, the finish very long and so elegant. I actually prefer this stylistically to the 2009...but whatever rocks your boat. Gorgeous and classy. Tasted November 2012.
The Pontet Canet has a very pure bouquet that you could almost compare to a Burgundy. Blackberry, dark cherries, a touch of mint and graphite, exceptionally well defined, flowering with 3-4 minutes in the glass. The palate is full-bodied with very fine but firm, tensile tannins, perhaps even more purity than the 2009, not a million miles away (both geographically and stylistically) from Mouton-Rothschild. The finish is very smooth with a sorbet-like freshness, firm grip, long in the mouth towards the finish with some crème de cassis and blueberry towards the finish. The Merlot content lends this a little more opulence than some of the other Pauillac 2010s. There is a lot of volume to this wine, really fills the mouth with a sweet, sensual finish, but keep find myself yearning for more Cabernet Sauvignon . Drink 2020-2050. Tasted March 2011.
What a nose of black currants, minerals and blueberries. Flowers too. Licorice. Full bodied, with a wonderful texture of super refined tannins and a long, long finish. A beautiful concentration of fruit and purity and precision. So clear and focused. Super, super long. The tannins and finish are all in balance. This is the first vintage completely certified for biodynamic. Like a Swiss watch ? A Lange! 65 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 14 percent Merlot, 20 percent Cabernet Franc, 1 percent Petit Verdot.
The 2010 Pontet-Canet offers a very deep garnet color. Whoa—the nose explodes with a vast array of black fruit preserves and savory nuances: plum preserves, blackcurrant cordial, black cherry coulis and licorice with wafts of dried lavender, melted chocolate, charcuterie, black olives, truffles and camphor plus a hint of sandalwood. The full-bodied palate is completely filled with black fruits, exotic spices and earthy nuances with a firm foundation of ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. So much more expressive and seductive than a lot of 2010s at this stage, and yet it is still incredibly youthful!
