Pontet Canet 2016

Oh this is good. We are fully up to 2010 level here and coming close to surpassing it. A full wall of tannins, one of those wines that you have to scale to get to the heights but the views are great at the top. Cassis, bilberry, liqourice, black chocolate, aniseed, all with a sense of enegy and such freshness on the finish. Clear depth and vivacity to all elements of this wine. It needs time, because the tannins are a little forbidding right now, but it is going to be worth the wait. Harvest September 28 to October 12.

Score: 98

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2021-2050 15 October 2021

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.

Score: 99

Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2026-2066 01 January 2019

This is richly layered with seductively ripe fruit. The quality and texture of the brambled blackberries, cassis and bilberries is striking. There is a sense of lightness and juiciness but also depth and flesh - you can feel the joy of that contrast at every step as the wine stretches out in front of you, hard to resist. 2016 is another vintage where they are up at 95%+ of grand vin, this year aged in 55% new casks, 10% in one year old casks and 35% in amphorae. Feel the effects of biodynamics make Pontet Canet stand out for its energy and lush tannins, even with the concentration of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

Score: 97

Decanter, - Maturity: 2027-2050 20 April 2017

Very dark crimson. More savoury and sumptuous than many of its neighbours. Blackberry compote and very round and rich and satiny. Very round. Almost too sweet but that is to complain needlessly. Already rich and enjoyable but masses of tannins too. Long and throbbing. Excellent with freshness and cleanliness and round. Pretty sweet though so it's a definite style. Picked 28 September to 12 October. Director Jean-Michel Comme says maybe a bit earlier than some. I'm not sure. They've been biodynamic for 12 years but 2007 was so bad that they had to abandon status. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. 34 hl/ha – reduced to that from spring pruning.

Score: 18

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2024-2050 18 April 2017