Château Pontet Canet 2014
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 2014 Reviews / Tasting Notes
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate
Point Score: 95
Deep garnet with a hint of purple to the color, the 2014 Pontet-Canet gives a very serious, classic Pauillac nose of blackcurrant preserves, baked blackberries and warm black plums with suggestions of menthol, pencil lead, woodsmoke, cassia and cast-iron pan plus a hint of baking spices. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the mouth with black and blue fruit preserves with a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and bold freshness, giving lift to the long, exotic spice-laced finish. It is approachable now, but really should start to make jaws drop in another 4-5 years.
Antonio Galloni - Vinous
Point Score: 95+
The 2014 Pontet-Canet seems to have put on quite a bit of weight and volume since I first tasted it from barrel. Ripe, juicy tannins wrap around a core of intense dark cherry, plum, spice, lavender and tobacco. Today, it is the wine's sheer intensity and vertical structure that stands out. I wouldn't dream of touching a bottle until at least age ten, and even that is almost certainly not going to be enough time for the 2014 to show the full breadth of its potential. The transformation the 2014 has undergone from a delicate, nuanced Pauillac to a wine of depth is quite remarkable. Tasted three times. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, vinified in equal parts cement and oak and aged in a combination of 50% new oak, 35% amphora and 15% once used barrels. This is a gorgeous wine from the Tesseron family and the team led by Technical Director Jean-Michel Comme.
James Suckling
Point Score: 98
A stunning wine for this vintage although it's still a bit shy on the nose (more spice than fruit showing than now). There's wet earth, too, but on the palate it's bursting with ripe yet subtle flavors. Very long and complex finish that goes on and on.