Château Pontet-Canet - Pauillac 2016 (750ml)
Price: $185.00
| Producer | Château Pontet-Canet |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Subregion | Pauillac |
| Varietal | Bordeaux Blend |
| Vintage | 2016 |
| Sku | 1005444 |
| Size | 750ml |
"
Wine Enthusiast: 100 Points
A voluptuous wine this is rich and fruity yet properly balanced by a magnificent structure. Pure crisp and packed with a black currant flavor this will be a remarkable wine as it develops. Still young it needs many years to develop. Don't think about drinking before 2025.
Vinous: 99 Points
The 2016 Pontet-Canet is absolutely breathtaking. Powerful ample and racy in the glass the 2016 is one of the most exquisitely well-balanced young Pontet-Canets I can remember tasting. Savory high-toned aromatics and brisk mineral notes lend energy and delineation as this vivid wonderfully alive wine opens up in the glass. The flavors are dark and incisive but it is the wine's total sense of harmony that is most compelling. All of the elements are simply in the right place. The 2016 is tremendous. It's as simple as that. As is often the case Pontet-Canet is one of the most singular wines in Bordeaux. Alfred Tesseron could have chosen to play things safe when he took over the management of the estate in the mid-1990s. Instead he chose a very different path. No proprietor in Bordeaux has taken more risks over the last two decades than Alfred Tesseron. A commitment to biodynamic farming sustainability across the entire estate more broadly and the adoption of new concepts for Bordeaux such as aging a portion of the wine in terra cotta set Pontet-Canet apart from other properties in Pauillac and the Left Bank. Not surprisingly the wine is also starkly different from the wines of neighboring estates.
Wine Advocate: 98+ Points
Deep garnet-purple in color the 2016 Pontet-Canet hits the ground running with a hedonic nose of Black Forest cake crème de cassis and blueberry pie plus suggestions of candied violets hoisin chocolate mint charcuteries and forest floor with a waft of star anise. Full-bodied rich profoundly layered and powerfully fruited the palate is built like a brick house with very firm super ripe grainy tannins and harmonious freshness finishing with incredible length and depth. Still incredibly primary and yet already strutting so many layers I wouldn't be at all surprised if this warrants the three-digit score in a few years' time.
Jeb Dunnuck: 98+ Points
Reminding me of the 2010 and I suspect a wine that will merit a triple-digit rating in a decade or so (I tasted this on multiple occasions and thought it was perfect on one of them) the 2016 Château Pontet-Canet comes from 65% Cabernet Sauvignon 30% Merlot 3% Cabernet Franc and the balance Petit Verdot that spent 16 months in 50% new French oak 35% in concrete amphora and the rest in second fill oak. Thrilling notes of pure crème de cassis lead pencil shavings crushed mint graphite and crushed rock notes all emerge from this deep powerful yet elegant Pauillac. The style of this wine has become more and more finesse-driven and pure yet it hasn?t lost a beat on concentration or length. This singular beautiful Pontet-Canet needs 7-8 years of cellaring (it has some accessibility today given its purity and balance) and will keep for 4-5 decades.
vJames Suckling: 97 Points
The aromas of ripe blackcurrants iodine sweet tobacco and fresh flowers are spellbinding. Full-bodied with mouth-expanding massive and natural tannins. Impressive fruit with hints of prunes. The finish is long and powerful. Needs six to seven years to soften and come together. Try from 2025.
Wine Spectator: 95 Points
This is sappy and rich in feel with waves of red and black currant preserves raspberry and bitter plum coulis. The long finish drips with sweet tobacco and anise notes while a brambly layer courses underneath. The vivacious finish kicks into second gear as the fruit and grip come together.
