Château Pontet-Canet 2020
• 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
"The 2020 Pontet-Canet is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, aging in 50% new French oak barriques, 35% concrete amphorae and 15% in one-year-old barrels. Harvest began on the 14th September for the Merlot, and the final lot of Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested on 30th September.
"Deep plum in colour at 11 years old, barely budging through the mid palate. A vintage that rivals the best ever in Bordeaux, this is richly layered with sweet liqourice, eucalyptus, cigar box, blackberry and cassis, with a fennel twist on the finish. Classically Pauillac, stately, ageing slowly but surely, and only now at the stage where you can confidently open it to drink over supper - with a long carafe first of up to 6 hours. Relatively high alcohol for a Pauillac wine adds to the round mouthfeel but not a trace of heat. Harvest September 29 to October 17. First year of biodynamic certification." - Jane Anson, (09/17/2021), Ratings: 98, Drink: 2021-2050
"The flagship from this estate, the 2020 Château Pontet-Canet is a beauty based on 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, and 4% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, brought up in 50% new oak, with 35% in amphora. Deep purple-hued with a great nose of dark currants, plums, tobacco leaf, and truffly earth, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless mouthfeel and a great finish. The higher Merlot content here really shows in its overall sexy, supple, seamless style, and while this already offers pleasure, it's going to be one for the ages as well." - Jeb Dunnuck, (03/30/2023), Ratings: 97+, Drink: 2031-2066
"Opaque purple-black in color, it needs significant aeration and swirling to coax out evocative notes of black cherry preserves, raspberry pie, blackcurrant pastilles and damp soil, before launching into gorgeous floral and spice notions of red roses, cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamom, with a waft of crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate reveals a lot of depth and polish, delivering mouth-coating red and black fruits with loads of fragrant earth and floral sparks, framed by velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and mineral tinged. This is a singular, fascinating expression of the vintage and highly recommended!" - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate (05/20/2021), Ratings: 96-98+, Drink: 2026-2056
"The 2020 Pontet-Canet is captivating effort from the Tesseron family. The intensely perfumed, savory bouquet is immediately alluring. Deep and substantial, the 2020 is luxuriously rich from start to finish. Swaths of incisive tannin wrap around a core of dark red cherry fruit, gravel, dried herbs and rose petal, and a whole range of floral and savory accents lend aromatic presence. The Pontet-Canet is often a charmer en primeur, but the 2020 comes across as quite serious. I can't wait to see how it develops. As always, one of the signatures of Pontet-Canet is a high proportion of Merlot vis-à-vis its peers among top Left Bank châteaux that lends tremendous midpalate weight. In 2020 production is within historical norms. Mildew pressure was high, but not as severe as in 2018, when two-thirds of the crop was lost in a single day. Harvest took place September 14–30, a bit more of a compact time frame than normal, and a good 7–10 days earlier than is typically the case. Aged in 50% new oak, 35% amphora and 15% once-used barrels." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, (06/01/2021), Ratings: 95-97
LWIN | 1014307 |
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Stock Status | In Stock |
Appellation | Pauillac |
Vintage | 2020 |
Brand | Chateau Pontet-Canet |
Shipping Weight | 3.000000 |