Château Pontet Canet 2013
Review of the Estate
Positioned adjacent to Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Pontet-Canet is blessed with excellent terroir. Extensive improvements to vineyard practices over the past twenty years have built on this natural advantage. This has elevated the wines created at Chateau Pontet Canet to impressive heights challenging and surpassing the wines of nearby top estates, particularly in difficult vintages.
Chateau Pontet Canet is unique in Bordeaux in that they have been certified both biodynamic and organic since the 2010 vintage. Synthetic chemicals are not used and there are now horses to work the vineyards because they are gentler on the soils than tractor tires. Soils which are repeatedly worked by machines may become compacted over time and this makes it more difficult for vine roots to penetrate deeply enough into the subsoil.
All fruit at Chateau Pontet Canet is handpicked and is placed into small crates that minimise the possibility of the grapes being crushed before they reach the winery. Careful sorting is done with both vibrating machines and a large group of workers in order to remove all but the healthiest grapes.
A new and improved vat room was built in the cellars for the Chateau Pontet Canet 2005 vintage. Upgrades included cone-shaped stainless steel tanks and cement vats. The cellar also operates entirely by gravity, ensuring that the grapes, must and wine are all handled as gently as possible.
Chateau Pontet Canet uses very precise blending techniques, with parcels being fermented in small lots. After fermentation, the wine is run off into barrels, 60% of which are new, where it is then matured for 16 to 20 months.
Vineyard
Surface area: 160.5 acres
Grape Varieties: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot
Average age of vines: 40 years
Density of plantation: 10,00 vines per hectare
Average yields: 45 hectoliters per hectare
Average cases produced: 14,500 per year
Plateau of maturity: 15 - 50 years
Château Pontet Canet 2013 Reviews / Tasting Notes
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate
Point Score: 92
Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2013 Pontet-Canet is evolving into tobacco, new leather and dried mulberries scents with a core of kirsch, baked plums and cigar box plus a waft of Indian spices. Medium-bodied, elegantly styled and wonderfully refreshing in the mouth, it has a solid line of grainy tannins and loads of mineral sparks on the finish.
Antonio Galloni - Vinous
Point Score: 87-90
A soft, utterly exquisite wine, the 2013 Pontet-Canet graces the palate with small red berries, a kiss of spice, mint and French oak. The 2013 is a wine of detail and nuance. I am curious to see how the 2013 ages. Today, the mid-weight structured suggests the 2013 is a wine to drink in the near and medium term. It's all polish here. The 2013 is a very pretty wine, with good balance, but also slight elements of dilution. I also had a chance to taste the 2009 and 2010 on this trip. While it is unfair to compare the 2013 to those two epic vintages, the gap is significant. The 2013 was aged in 50% new oak, 35% concrete and 15% one year-old oak. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.
Point Score: 92-93
An aromatic wine with a delicacy and suppleness that is exceptional for the vintage with blackberry, mineral, spice and flower character. Very fine tannins. Seamless structure. It's a wine that makes you want to drink it with its pleasant savory, fruity character. Harmonious.