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Pontet Canet 2021

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

Alfred Tesseron has been making constant improvements here since the early 1990s and Pontet Canet is now one of the leading names of the Médoc. Grapes are manually sorted by a team of 30 people on specially made sorting tables. The vineyard has been organic and biodynamic for 10 years and is worked by horses. A part of the maturation is now done in egg-shaped concrete amphoras. The vineyard is planted with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Spring 2020 saw the departure of long-standing technical director Jean-Michel Comme, who oversaw the conversion to biodynamics and other technical innovations.

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Pontet-Canet

Label

Tasting Notes

Offering up wild, exotic aromas of blackberries, cloves and Indian spices mingled with notions of rose petal, bruised orchard fruit and cherry pit that evolve rapidly in the glass, the 2021 Pontet-Canet is medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a layered mid-palate and refined tannins that assert themselves on the firm, saline finish. Always one of the Médoc's most singular, idiosyncratic wines, it will be interesting to see how it performs in bottle.

91/93
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (260), April 2022

The 2021 is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot. The abv is just under 13%. Elevage in 50% new oak, 35% concrete amphoras and 15% one year old oak. The fruit was 100% de-stemmed by hand and Alfred Tesseron stressed that the extraction here was "all natural." Deep ruby-purple colour. Peppery, oily steeped cherries burst through on the nose that has real spice and a stony graphite underlay. Richly tannic but equally ripe with boysenberry and damson fruit. This is another idiosyncratic Pontet Canet, offering smoky black forest fruit and pithy, chalky, enveloping tannins. The finish is quite earthy and savoury, contradicting all the sweet fruit before. It is in keeping with recent vintages of Pontet Canet and will certainly appeal to lovers of this style. The bright acidity lingers on the finish and keeps everything in check.

91/94
Thomas Parker MW, Farr Vintners, April 2022

Plenty of blackberry and blueberry with wet earth and crushed stone. Some spice,tobacco and lead pencil, too. It’s full-bodied with layered tannins and brightness. Fine and chewy at the end.

95/96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2022

The 2021 Pontet-Canet is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. Deep purple-black in color, it pops from the glass with vibrant blueberries, Morello cherries, and cassis scents, plus suggestions of violets, cinnamon stick, wet rocks, and forest floor with an exotic touch of cardamom. Medium-bodied, the palate has very finely grained tannins and well-poised freshness supporting the perfumed black fruits, leading to loads of minerally sparks on the finish of this very bright and shimmery wine. Harvest started on 24 September with Merlot, followed by the Cabernets and Petit Verdot on 4 October, and finished on 12 October. The wine is to be aged in 50% new oak barrels, 35% amphorae, and 15% 1-year barrels. 2026-2050

93/95
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, May 2022

Bright berry red in colour, nuanced blackberry and loganberry with bitter black chocolate notes from the first attack. Lovely precision, good level of spice, earthy, unfussy, rose stem and blackcurrant bud. This was the third vintage with mildew pessure, but the team are now experienced, and I can attest to seeing the vines during harvest and remarking on how healthy they looked, with no-till farming helping concentration. Plenty of tannins give structure and are shot through with sinew and juice, this is an impressive wine from technical director Mathieu Bessonet, with Pauillac typicity. Harvest 24 september until 12 October. 50% new oak, 35% amphora, 15% one year barrels, 15% press (aged in the amphora).

95
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, April 2022

58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample.
Purple-crimson hue. Dark, dense and rich with a brush-stroke of vanilla oak. Broad across the palate on attack then prominent tannins on the finish. Certainly, chalky, dry and chewy. Elévage should help. Awkward at present but hopefully will pull together. (JL) 13.1%
Drink 2027 – 2038

16+
James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com, May 2022
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.