Pontet Canet - Pauillac 2021

matthewjukes.com

18,5 / 20

byMatthew Jukesthe8/2/2022

Vintages like 2021 play havoc with biodynamic operations, and Justine Tesseron explained that despite the desperately rainy weather in June, and the accompanying mildew pressure, the viti-team at Pontet-Canet earned their spurs in 2021. They have built a new ‘tisanerie’ (herbal tea room in which they make their biodynamic preparations), and this has meant that there is no time delay when they need to react to inclement weather. In addition, and this was not the only time this year when the conversation turned to tractors, P-C has bought one more tractor, and they now have 15 members of staff, fully-trained as tractor operators. This might sound somewhat mundane, but when Mother Nature turns on the waterworks and you are left helpless in a soggy vineyard, you might as well pack up and go home. Pontet-Canet has proved that you can make a jaw-dropping wine in a vintage like 2021, thanks to the tea and tractors at this illustrious property! This is an all-enveloping wine that is open, expressive, perfumed and possesses a stunning colour (I never write about colour, but P-C’s was captivating). Justine said that these arresting characters emerged extremely early during fermentation. There is delicious exoticism here over a black cherry theme, and the tannins are vital, raspy and frictional, and they perfectly offset the exuberant fruit. 18.5

Jamessuckling.com

95-96 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe6/8/2022

Plenty of blackberry and blueberry with wet earth and crushed stone. Some spice,tobacco and lead pencil, too. It’s full-bodied with layered tannins and brightness. Fine and chewy at the end.

Jeb DUNNUCK

93-95 / 100

byJeb Dunnuckthe6/2/2022

The 2021 Château Pontet-Canet is rock solid in the vintage and certainly shows the vibrant, vivid style of the estate today with its bright, exotic blue fruits, violets, and graphite-like aromatics. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, I love its mid-palate density, it has notable freshness and purity, some chalky tannins, and outstanding length. The 2021 checks in as 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 6% petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, and the aging consists of 50% in new barrels, 35% in concrete amphora, and the rest in second-fill barrels.

Bettane & Desseauve

94 / 100

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/24/2022

D’un naturel de constitution parfait, d’une texture soyeuse comme aucune autre à Pauillac permise par un tannin millimétré. Encépagement médocain complet, tout à l’honneur des merlots (le cépage le plus difficile à réussir en 2021) retenus, qui habillent dignement les cabernets et le petit verdot. 58 % cabernet-sauvignon, 32 % merlot, 4 % cabernet franc, 6 % petit verdot.

The Vintage Journal

95-96 / 100

byAndrew Caillard MWthe5/17/2022

Deep crimson. Lovely dark chocolate, blackberry, graphite aromas. Richly concentrated and voluminous dark chocolate, blackberry, blackcurrant flavours, integrated fine chocolaty/ cedary textures and savoury nuances. Beautifully balanced with very good density, mid-palate richness and vigour. 58% cabernet sauvignon, 32% merlot, 4% cabernet franc 6% petit verdot. 50% new oak, 35% amphoras, 15% 1-year old oak.

The Wine Cellar Insider

94-96 / 100

byJeff Levethe5/16/2022

The wine opens with flowers, tobacco leaf, currants, herbs and a touch of spice. Medium/full-bodied, elegant, refined, fresh and vibrant, there is a gorgeous sense of purity to the red fruits along with vivid freshness and a touch of spice in the endnote. The wine is aging in a combination of 50% new, French oak, and 35% Amphora. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2028-2055. 94-96 Pts

Alexandre Ma

95-96 / 100

byAlexandre Mathe5/16/2022

The outstanding ripeness, the creamy mouthfeel, and the incredible concentration are all included in the answer sheet that Pontet Canet 2021. In addition to the classic aromas of licorice, cedar, and black pepper of Pauillac, the wine also gives off some unique fresh scents of blueberry, black plum, and medicinal herbs. It is pure and bright on the first sip, with a fine, dense and plumpy mouthfeel. The furry tannins amalgamate with the well-polished baking aroma, playing a waltz on my palate. Mathieu Bessonnet, the technical manger, has told me that the vineyard was not weeded in 2021, because they wanted them to absorb the excessive water underground. This ambious attempt has delivered to the wine some smaller and more concentrated grapes in the rainy vintage of 2021, thus indirectly contributing to the ideal flavours intensity. ??????????????????????,???Pontet Canet?2021????????????????????????????????,????????????????????????????,????????????????????????????,???????????“???”????Mathieu Bessonnet???,???????????,??????????????????????,???????????2021??????????????,??????????????

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

95 / 100

byJane Ansonthe5/13/2022

Vinous

91-93 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/12/2022

The 2021 Pontet Canet is quite perfumed on the finely delineated nose of blackberry, briar and pressed iris flower, a touch of inkwell coming through with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a pinch of white pepper on the entry and gentle grip. Not as enormously deep as other vintages, as you would expect, but it displays a fine bitter edge and a graphite-infused finish. This should drink earlier than other vintages yet has the substance to mature in bottle.

Vinous

93-95 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe5/11/2022

The 2021 is the most classically Pauillac Pontet-Canet I have tasted in modern times. Medium in body, with striking aromatic presence, the 2021 screams with character. Grilled herbs, incense, leather, lavender and plum open with a bit of coaxing, all framed by beams of tannin and bright, salivating acids that give the wine shape and real sense of direction. There's a bit more Petit Verdot in this year's blend, and that comes through in the wine's intensely savory profile. Aging is 50% in new wood, 35% in amphora and 15% in one year-old barrels. The 2021 was impressive all three times I tasted it.

vvwine

95-97 / 100

byAdrian Van Velsenthe5/10/2022

58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot. Kräftiges Rubin. Reiffruchtige Nase, sehr tief, viel schwarze Johannisbeere, Pflaumen, florale Noten, Veilchen, ein Hauch Schokolade, auch Minze, super komplex. Im Gaumen straff, der Wein hat viel Druck, zeigt Konzentration, die Frucht ist ausgezeichnet gereift, knackig, getragen von Massen an Tanninen, diese umgarnen die Frucht wie ein Seidentuch, das hat viel Kraft und dennoch Finesse. Im Abgang sehr langanhaltend, endet frisch und mit delikater Würze. Ein sehr schöner, ausgewogener Pontet Canet. (Verkostet im April 2022. Château Pontet-Canet)

Anthocyanes

94-96 / 100

byYohan Castaingthe5/6/2022

Assemblages non réalisés. Nez de réglisse, de fumée, élégamment racinaire et terrien avec des notes de poivre, de fruits noirs, de cerise noire et de fleurs de printemps dès une légère aération. Bouquet un peu timide mais frais et élégant. Joli toucher de bouche gracieux, crémeux et velouté, une densité moyenne et équilibrée avec de beaux tanins structurants et parfaitement fondus. Droiture et structure aérienne. Belle bouteille en devenir même si l'ensemble me semble un peu ferme. Les élevages seront décisifs. 94-96+

Wine Advocate

91-93 / 100

byWilliam Kelleythe4/29/2022

Offering up wild, exotic aromas of blackberries, cloves and Indian spices mingled with notions of rose petal, bruised orchard fruit and cherry pit that evolve rapidly in the glass, the 2021 Pontet-Canet is medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a layered mid-palate and refined tannins that assert themselves on the firm, saline finish. Always one of the Médoc's most singular, idiosyncratic wines, it will be interesting to see how it performs in bottle.