Château Pontet Canet 2019 Pauillac 5e Grand Cru Classé

Falstaff
100/100 punten
Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, subtle brightening on rim. For the first time since 2011, the proportion of Merlot is somewhat higher, the bouquet accordingly more characterised by heart cherries than by the usual cassis de Pauillac, delicate nougat and caramel, fine herbal spice. Powerful, tightly meshed, shows good expression, chocolatey touch, ripe tannins, great complexity, great length and spiciness, a very independent personality, a huge promise for the future, already evident: this wine has everything a world-class wine needs.

Robert Parker
93/100 Punten
The 2019 Pontet-Canet offers up an expressive bouquet of plummy fruit, kirsch, dried herbs and peonies. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ample and seamless, with melting tannins, succulent acids, and a long, liqueured finish. Tasted twice, it's a wine I find somewhat perplexing: in a blind tasting, I might be more inclined to place it in Gigondas than Pauillac. I'm far from dogmatic when it comes to what the French call "typicité," and stylistic diversity surely enriches every appellation; but by the same token, I'm not convinced that this is the most compelling aesthetic that a Cabernet-based blend from this part of Bordeaux can realize. Checking in at 13.7% alcohol, some 35% of the production was matured in amphorae, which no doubt contributes to the wine's idiosyncratic identity.