【A Fifth Growth (Grands Cru Classé) in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification】
【The winery received a perfect 100 points from Robert Parker for two consecutive years, 2009 and 2010, exceeding the quality of a Second Growth】
【Recommended in episode 24 of "Drops of God," described as having an elegant, delicate, and magnificent impression, reminiscent of "the stage of Takarazuka"】
【Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines】
【Wine Enthusiast 97pts】
【Wine Spectator 92pts】
【James Suckling 95pts】
【Decanter 91pts】
ZTF625E - Chateau Pontet Canet 2021
Price: $620/bottle
Region/Grade: France/Bordeaux/Pauillac
Grape varieties: 58 % Cabernet Sauvignon - 32 % Merlot 4 % Cabernet Franc - 6 % Petit Verdot
Alcohol content: 13%
Volume: 750ml
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【Wine Advocate 96】
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Pontet-Canet gives up beautifully fragrant notes of rosehip tea, lilacs, cinnamon stick, cloves, dried leaves and underbrush with a core of kirsch, raspberry coulis, warm plums and red and black currants plus a waft of pencil shavings. Medium-bodied, the palate is refreshing, minerally and wonderfully elegant with a well-played texture of approachable, plush tannins and a long, fragrant finish. Beautiful.
【James Suckling 96】
This has ethereal transparency to it with a fresh, red-berry and cherry nose. Terra-cotta and dried-flower notes. Plums, too. Quite complex. The palate has a very detailed tannin texture with attractive cassis and blueberries that hold very long, fresh and pure. Fruity and fresh.
【Wine Enthusiast 96】
The perfume intensity of this wine is remarkable. Firm yet velvety at the same time, the tannins are the prelude to the pure, opulent blackberry fruits and balanced acidity. The lines of the wine are clear and direct, a true promise for aging.
【Decanter 94】
This is a very charming Pauillac with texture, rippling energy and undoubted finesse. It's deceptive, because the dark, luscious blackberry, bilberry, and damson notes are fairly fresh, with a luscious lipsmacking quality, but the tannins build over the palate. It almost tastes like a St-Julien rather than a Pauillac as they're so fine and elegant, but the Pauillac character becomes more apparent by the close of play - there's no hiding those swirling cassis, smoke and menthol notes. This has a really gorgeous tension and freshness without sacrificing concentration.
【Wine Spectator 94】
Very tight, with notes of wet stone, plum pit and chalky minerality leading the way, backed by an ample core of steeped currant, blackberry and black cherry fruit waiting to unfurl. The finish smolders with cast iron details. Should round into form with cellaring.
【Jeb Dunnuck 93】
It's an exceedingly elegant Pontet-Canet that has textbook Pauillac notes of blackcurrants, unsmoked tobacco, lead pencil shavings, new leather, and flowery incense. It's not a blockbuster and reminds me slightly of the 2004, yet it has wonderful depth of fruit, ultra-fine tannins, and beautiful purity and elegance.
Pontet Canet is located in the village of Pauillac, adjacent to Chateaux Mouton Rothschild. It has excellent terroir and has a history of three centuries. It has been managed by three families and was classified in the Medoc in 1855. It was rated as a fifth-level village! The winery changed ownership in 1975 to Cognac wine merchant Guy Tesseron, who also owns the fourth-level winery Château Lafon-Rochet. Under the leadership of Alfred Tesseron and his team, the vineyards of the winery have since undergone earth-shaking changes, from traditional viticulture to organic and biodynamic methods. In 2004, biodynamic methods were first tried on 14 hectares of vineyards for one year. The wines of this vintage were brighter in color, firmer and better, so the winery began to fully adopt biodynamic methods.
Through the winemaking philosophy of minimal human intervention, as winery manager Jean-Michel Comme said, "the grapes will grow more than we know what they need." Horses plow the land to protect the soil and green compost in the fields makes the soil more active and improves the soil structure. Set up fences to provide habitats for animals and plants, protect biological diversity, spend more time patrolling the vineyard, pruning grape branches, and observing the ecological balance around the vineyard. Small baskets are used during harvesting to ensure that the grapes are intact and not damaged by crushing. Use natural yeast for fermentation and timely artificial temperature adjustment to return more to nature. Wherever there is a cause, there must be a fruit. In the end, the grapes harvested are healthier and purer, the brewed wine appears fresher and brighter, the aroma and fruity taste are purer, the terroir is clearer, and the wine body level is more obvious. The combination of these is just right. In the long run, by protecting the soil and environment of the grape fields and establishing a sustainable ecosystem, the harvest will become more stable year by year and the quality will become more excellent. In 2010, Chateau Pontet Canet obtained the Ecocert organic certification and Biodyvin's more stringent biodynamic certification. In the same year, it continued to receive a perfect score of 100 from Robert Parker in 2009, and then obtained the biodynamic certification issued by Demeter in 2014. .
The average age is 40-45 years old. After picking, the grapes are screened and skinned, then undergo temperature-controlled fermentation, followed by 15 months of oak barrel aging. The proportion of new oak barrels used is 50%, and not all wines in 2012 The liquid is aged in oak barrels. For the first time, 1/3 of the wine is matured in amphorae, which enhances the texture of the wine and retains the original and delicate fruit aroma and flavor. It is clarified with egg white before bottling.
