【Wine Enthusiast 97pts】
【Wine Spectator 92pts】
【James Suckling 95pts】
【Decanter 91pts】
WF1247 - 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%
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.
