Chateau Pontet-Canet 5. Cru Classé Pauillac 2016

2016 Château Pontet-Canet er et lysende eksempel på at Bordeaux’ klassifikation fra 1855 ikke længere står ved magt. Slottet er ”kun” 5. Cru Pauillac men vinen er i klokkeklar 1. Cru-kvalitet. Efter Alfred Tesserons overtagelse af ejendommen blev produktionen omlagt til biodynamik (i 2010), og mange maskiner blev skrottet til fordel for manuelt arbejde. Traktorerne er blevet erstattet af heste, og både afstilkning og sorteringen af druerne foregår nu pr håndkraft. Der eksperimenteres på livet løs, for eksempel med at modne en del af vinen på terracotta-amforaer. Vinmagerne på 1. Cru-slottene Château Margaux og Château Latour indrømmer blankt at de ”gør som på Pontet-Canet” for resultaterne er ikke til at diskutere.

Pontet-Canets 100 point-scorende 2016’er er endnu et argument for at revidere 1855-klassifikationen. Vinen har en fantastisk rigdom og kompleksitet, og typisk for den store årgang smager den allerede forbløffende godt nu, selvom den har potentiale til mindst tre årtiers udvikling. Og så koster den en tredjedel af vinen fra naboslottet Mouton Rothschild!

"The 2016 Pontet-Canet is absolutely breathtaking."- Antonio Galloni

Anmeldelser af Chateau Pontet-Canet 2016

100/100 Wine Enthusiast
"A voluptuous wine, this is rich and fruity yet properly balanced by a magnificent structure. Pure, crisp and packed with a black currant flavor, this will be a remarkable wine as it develops. Still young, it needs many years to develop."

99/100 Vinous
"The 2016 Pontet-Canet is absolutely breathtaking. Powerful, ample and racy in the glass, the 2016 is one of the most exquisitely well-balanced young Pontet-Canets I can remember tasting. Savory, high-toned aromatics and brisk mineral notes lend energy and delineation as this vivid wonderfully alive wine opens up in the glass. The flavors are dark and incisive, but it is the wine's total sense of harmony that is most compelling. All of the elements are simply in the right place. The 2016 is tremendous. It's as simple as that. As is often the case, Pontet-Canet is one of the most singular wines in Bordeaux. Alfred Tesseron could have chosen to play things safe when he took over the management of the estate in the mid-1990s. Instead, he chose a very different path. No proprietor in Bordeaux has taken more risks over the last two decades than Alfred Tesseron. A commitment to biodynamic farming, sustainability across the entire estate more broadly, and the adoption of new concepts for Bordeaux, such as aging a portion of the wine in terra cotta, set Pontet-Canet apart from other properties in Pauillac and the Left Bank. Not surprisingly, the wine is also starkly different from the wines of neighboring estates."

98-99/100 Vert de Vin Magazine
"The nose is fruity, fresh, fine and offers a beautiful finesse / concentration. It reveals notes of crushed blackberry, slight notes of fresh cassis and fresh/ripe blueberry associated with discreet hints of licorice stick, slight notes of flowers as well as discreet hints of spices, mocha and cardamom. The palate is fruity, juicy, well-balanced, nicely mineral, fresh and offers a beautiful tension, a very beautiful finesse, a nice fat/suavity, a nice fresh and ripe fruit as well as a slight unctuosity and silky matter. In the mouth this wine expresses notes of cassis, blackberry and slight notes of cherry/red berries, licorice, caramelized oak as well as a discreet hint of vanilla and tobacco. Tannins are well-built and elegant. There is a slight hint of almond on the finish/persistence."

98+/100 Jeb Dunnuck
  Reminding me of the 2010 and, I suspect, a wine that will merit a triple-digit rating in a decade or so (I tasted this on multiple occasions and thought it was perfect on one of them), the 2016 Château Pontet-Canet comes from 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot that spent 16 months in 50% new French oak, 35% in concrete amphora, and the rest in second fill oak. Thrilling notes of pure crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, crushed mint, graphite, and crushed rock notes all emerge from this deep, powerful, yet elegant Pauillac. The style of this wine has become more and more finesse-driven and pure, yet it hasn’t lost a beat on concentration or length. This singular, beautiful Pontet-Canet needs 7-8 years of cellaring (it has some accessibility today given its purity and balance) and will keep for 4-5 decades. 98+   (2/2019)

98/100 Decanter
"The 2016 is a vintage that shows off the best of Pontet, and is similar in feel to their 2010. Gorgeously rich right from the first nose, it opens stunningly in the glass, showing waves of tight black fruits, touches of redcurrant, liquorice and aniseed, fine tannins and mouthwatering salinity. It manages to remain balanced without losing the punch and concentration of Pauillac, rising up through the palate. It's hard not to fall in love with this wine, and it will clearly age with grace and ease."

98/100 Robert Parker
"The blend of the 2016 Pontet-Canet is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Around 55% of the wine was aged in new French oak barrels, 15% in two-year-old barrels and 35% in cement amphorae for 16 months. Deep garnet-purple colored, it opens with opulent scents of plum preserves, spice cake, hoisin and crème de cassis with fragrant wafts of potpourri, wood smoke and rose hip tea. Medium to full-bodied, rich and decadent, with loads of spicy layers, it has a firm, velvety texture with great freshness and incredible depth, finishing very long and on a compelling mineral note."

98/100 Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
20/20 Vinum
19,5/20 La Revue de Vin de France