Château Pontet-Canet 2018

Special Price $149.85 Average US Price $164.00
In Stock   Usually ships in 2-5 days, weather permitting
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SKU
4537-2018
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• Domaine: Château Pontet Canet
• Appellation: Pauillac
• Classification: Fifth Growth, 5ème Grand Cru Classé
• Origin: Left Bank, Bordeaux, France

Many estates in Bordeaux have no qualms embracing the most cutting-edge viticultural technology to improve their chances at producing quality wines.  From cryogenic extraction to hail cannons, countless Classified Growths use these sophisticated instruments and constantly look toward the future. At Château Pontet-Canet, they often look to practices of the past both in the vineyards and the vat room.  The results speak for themselves.  Without a doubt, Château Pontet-Canet has experienced a meteoric rise in demand, producing knockout wines of astounding quality vintage after vintage. 

Château Pontet-Canet is a Pauillac estate with origins dating back to the 18th Century. It derives its namesake from the owner, Jean Francois de Pontet, who expanded the vineyard holdings by purchasing new property around the estate.  Several years after his death, his descendants acquired newer plots of land including some in the Canet area and thus, it was aptly named Château Pontet-Canet.  Once the vineyard was fully established, it was one of the largest estates in the Médoc.  Château Pontet-Canet was classified as a Fifth Growth in 1855 and acquired by the Cruse family who owned the estate for 110 years.  By 1975, the vineyards had fallen into a state of disrepair.  The Cruse family sold it to the Tesseron family, a well-known name in the Bordeaux Wine Trade.  They were faced with the momentous task of bringing the vines of Pontet-Canet to its former glory. It was a task perfectly fit for the legendary figure Alfred Tesseron.

Since the Tesseron family took over the estate, they implemented radical changes.  Alfred Tesseron does not view himself as a winemaker, he views himself as a farmer.  Because of this, the majority of the work at Château Pontet-Canet is about cultivating the best fruit possible and creating wines people want to drink, not taste. Tesseron partnered with Jean Michel Comme, who introduced him to biodynamic viticulture.  With commitment and determination, the entire estate was certified biodynamic.  Today, everything is done by hand at Château Pontet Canet, and no electricity is used during picking or sorting whatsoever.  There is a very firm ethos here based on the idea that less is more - and it definitely shows.  Donkeys and Cows are on the property to cultivate organic fertilizer and the fields are ploughed by horses (who occasionally eat the grapes.)

In the Vat Room, there are no computers surveying the fermentation process or electronic devices pumping the wines.  Instead, it is a gravity flow operation with members of the Pontet-Canet team surveying the fermentations that occur, 24 hours a day.  The wines are aged in a mixture of French Oak barrels and special amphorae that are created from the same limestone in the soil of the vineyards, reintegrating the wine with the terroir it came from.  The results are powerful, friendly, and charming wines that are meant to be enjoyed, appreciated, and laid down to age.

Tasting Notes

"When I tasted the 2018 Pontet-Canet in barrel I described it as a "freak of nature." The 2018 is more than that, it is a freak of nature. Made from yields of just ten hectoliters per hectare, the 2018 possesses off the charts richness, phenomenal balance and head-spinning intensity. Crushed red berries, flowers, mint, cedar and rose petal saturate the palate in a Pauillac of breath-taking richness. The silkiest of tannins frame the phenomenally pure, long finish. This is a towering achievement from the Tesseron family and former Technical Director Jean-Michel Comme, who together spearheaded biodynamic farming in Bordeaux and built the present-day estate around a philosophy of non-interventionalist winemaking. In 2018, grapes were crushed solely by hand. Because of the tiny yields, the entire production was vinified in Pontet-Canet's new smaller concrete vats. All winemaking was done manually, without the aid of external temperature control or electricity. Put in another way, if Lalou Bize-Leroy made Bordeaux, it would taste like this." - Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, Ratings: 98

"The 2018 Pontet-Canet is made up of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Picking began on September 24 and finished on October 5; aging is in 55% oak barriques and 45% amphorae. Very deep purple-black in color, it comes rolling sensuously out of the glass with all the opulence and seduction of Cleopatra on a carpet. It emerges with flamboyant scents of crème de cassis, preserved plums and blueberry compote, and after a few moments, it bursts with nuances of molten licorice, sandalwood, Chinese five spice, candied violets, dark chocolate and dried roses, followed by underlying earthy suggestions of fallen leaves, black truffles, underbrush and wild sage. Full-bodied, wonderfully dense, rich, impossibly layered and very, very decadent, the palate delivers all it promises on the nose, with a firm, wonderfully velvety frame and finishing with epic length, a scintillating wave of freshness and a beguiling perfume. This is one for true hedonists." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate, Ratings: 97-99

 


More Information
Stock Status In Stock
Appellation Pauillac
Vintage 2018
Brand Chateau Pontet-Canet
Shipping Weight 3.000000

 

Pauillac is best known as the appellation that produces 3 of the 5 First Growths estates in Bordeaux. Blessed by an exceptional terroir, Pauillac is located in the northern part of the Médoc peninsula, on the Left Bank along the Gironde estuary, an ideal placement contributing to moderating the climate and providing optimal conditions for wine cultivation. Pauillac is bordered by two other prestigious wine appellations: Saint-Estèphe to the north and Saint-Julien to the south.

Pauillac's terroir, characterized by gravelly soils, is often considered one of the finest for the production of Cabernet Sauvignon, the predominant grape in Pauillac’s blends. The gravel helps with drainage and reflects heat, encouraging ripening and concentration of flavors in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec grapes. Such exceptional predispositions explain that Pauillac is home to some of Bordeaux's most renowned and iconic wine estates. They include First Growths estates such as Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Mouton Rothschild, and Château Latour. Other famous estates include Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, Château Pichon-Lalande, Château Duhart-Milon, Château Pontet-Canet, Château Batailley, Château Lynch Bages, Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Château Grand-Puy Ducasse, Château Haut-Batailley, Château Lynch-Moussas, Château d'Armailhac, Château Haut-Bages Liberal, Château Pedesclaux, Château Clerc Milon, Château Croizet-Bages.

Pauillac wines are known for their deep color, complex aromas, and rich, full-bodied flavors, including notes of cassis, blackcurrant, cedar, tobacco, and graphite, with a pronounced tannic structure, which require several years or even decades of bottle aging to reveal their full potential. 

Footnotes on Futures, Pre-Arrivals, and potential US Tariffs: 

1. As of June 15, 2021, the US and the EU agreed to suspend tariffs resulting from the Boeing-Airbus aircraft trade disputes. Accordingly, such import taxes are now suspended for the next five years.

2. Futures are expected to be available for delivery two years after the sales (e.g., the 2022 vintage, sold in 2023, will be delivered in 2025 mostly, or 2026 if the producer ages the wine longer).

3. Pre-Arrivals are items currently stored in our Bordeaux cellar or in transit from France to the US. It usually takes 1-6 months for Pre-Arrivals to become available for delivery, depending on the stage of the import process.

4. Regarding futures and pre-arrivals, we cannot guarantee specific delivery dates, which factors beyond our control may impact. However, we will notify you once your wine arrives in our cellar.

5. While a buyer of Bordeaux wine futures locks in an allocation of the specified items, the final delivery of the purchased items from France to the US may be impacted by intervening and unforeseeable events. Despite our due diligence, additional costs or delays may be caused by such intervening and unforeseen events and "an irresistible, superhuman cause, or by the act of public enemies of the state of California or the United States."  In such circumstances, if a buyer does not accept unforeseeable costs or delays, the sole and exclusive remedy is a cancellation of the futures order concerned and a refund of the original purchase price. We are NOT liable for any lost profits on a canceled order.

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