CRITIC REVIEWS
Neal Martin
The 2019 Pontet-Canet is the outlier in the flight with its arresting exotic blueberry, cassis and mulberry scents. It is attractive, seductive even, yet it is cut from a totally different cloth to other wines in the flight of Pauillacs. The palate steers it back towards Bordeaux, albeit not all the way. Grainy tannins, mulberry and game, almost Syrah-like in style. Quite powerful, this has a chewy finish with some dry tannins. Perplexing. Fascinating. Sui generis. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.
William Kelley
The 2019 Pontet-Canet offers up an expressive bouquet of plummy fruit, kirsch, dried herbs and peonies. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ample and seamless, with melting tannins, succulent acids, and a long, liqueured finish. Tasted twice, it's a wine I find somewhat perplexing: in a blind tasting, I might be more inclined to place it in Gigondas than Pauillac. I'm far from dogmatic when it comes to what the French call "typicite," and stylistic diversity surely enriches every appellation; but by the same token, I'm not convinced that this is the most compelling aesthetic that a Cabernet-based blend from this part of Bordeaux can realize. Checking in at 13.7% alcohol, some 35% of the production was matured in amphorae, which no doubt contributes to the wine's idiosyncratic identity.
JancisRobinson.com
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot.Very deeply coloured with deep garnet rim. Complex, slowly maturing aroma that retains black fruit and starts to show a tertiary note of leaf mulch. Ripe and spicy and quite open. Smooth, chewy and caressing, with the freshness to balance the rounded texture. It's fresh enough in terms of acidity but the fruit seems a little too ripe for energy, the texture a touch leathery on the finish. The sample is quite warm and I think this would be better served a little cooler. (JH)