2008 | Chateau Pontet-Canet | Pauillac

Very intense color. On the nose, both refined and complex, it is dominated by an expressive fruit of great purity. On the palate, the tannins have great amplitude characterized by finesse and a rare precision.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: A candidate for the “wine of the vintage,” Pontet Canet’s 2008 boasts an opaque purple color as well as copious aromas of sweet blueberries, blackberries and black currant fruit intertwined with lead pencil shavings, subtle barbecue smoke and a hint of forest floor. Full-bodied, with fabulous richness, texture and tremendous freshness, this first-growth-like effort is more developed than the uber-powerful 2010. Give it 5-8 years of cellaring and drink it over the following three decades. Bravo!

• James Suckling: I love the nose of sweet tobacco, currants, minerals, flowers, and stones. Full bodied, with dark chocolate flavors, silky tannins, and beautiful fruit. Long and beautiful, with a succulent finish and a great overall balance. Best in three or four years.

Producer Information

Château Pontet-Canet is a critically lauded wine estate located in the Pauillac appellation of Bordeaux's northern Médoc region. The estate was ranked as a fifth growth in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification although in contemporary critical and popular circles, the estate is considered worthy of a much higher ranking. Its grand vin is a classic, structured claret with great finesse, regularly achieving high scores and much in-demand worldwide. The second wine of the estate is Hauts de Pontet-Canet. Château Pontet-Canet was founded by Jean-Francois de Pontet, royal governor of the Médoc, who combined several Pauillac vineyard plots in the 1720s. His descendants added neighboring parcels in Canet. The wine was not château-bottled until 1972. Pontet-Canet has been owned by the Tesseron family of Cognac fame since 1975, and under the family's control quality has risen greatly, along with auction prices and popularity. Pontet-Canet is Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant, and is full bodied with significant long-term cellaring potential. The 81-hectare (200-acre) vineyard is located at the heart of the Pauillac appellation, just south of châteaux Mouton Rothschild and d'Armailhac. The soil is made up of Garonne gravel on a limestone bedrock and is warm and well drained, providing perfect conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon, which accounts for 62 percent of plantings. Merlot makes up 32 percent of the rest, and there are small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot as well. Viticulture is certified organic and biodynamic and, in recent years, a team of working horses have been introduced. At harvest, grapes are picked into small crates that are transferred directly to the sorting table, keeping damage to the fruit to a minimum and allowing winemakers to keep plot and variety separate. Since 2005, the must has been fermented in modern, temperature-controlled concrete vats located directly under the sorting tables on the floor above. Grapes from each plot are vinified separately, and aged in barrel (never more than two-thirds new oak) for 16-20 months depending on the vintage.

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