Chateau Pontet Canet 2023

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "The 2023 Pontet-Canet is deep garnet-purple in color. Notes of juicy blueberries, black cherries, and blackcurrant jelly spill from the glass, giving way to nuances of violets, black truffle, fertile loam, and mossy tree bark with a hint of cardamom. The medium-bodied palate is so, so silky, elegant, and fine, with perfumed black and blue fruit layers and beautiful tension, finishing long with lots of shimmery mineral and floral sparkles. The blend is 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, aged in 50% new oak, 35% amphorae, and 15% used barrels. With an alcohol this year of just 13.8%, this is a beautifully poised, tightly packed powerhouse that promises to keep the firework displays bedazzling collectors for many years to come."

JAMES SUCKLING: "A very structured Pontet-Canet that expands in the mouth with a gorgeous combination of beautifully ripe fruit and intense tannins. Very structured for the vintage. Full-bodied with excellent presence and length. So much raw pencil shavings to the blackcurrants. Graphite and tar. Fresh and vivid. They picked cabernet at the right time at the end of September. 52% cabernet sauvignon, 39% merlot, 6% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "With the 2023 vintage, this estate has crafted a wine of unprecedented aromatic intensity and precision that marks a significant evolution. Revealing an elegant, fresh bouquet of mulberries and cassis mingled with notions of violets, gentian and menthol, the 2023 Pontet-Canet is medium to full-bodied, seamless and multidimensional, with a pure and precise core of fruit that's framed by ultra-refined tannins and a powerful but controlled profile, concluding with long, mineral, licorice-inflected finish. It's the result of more daring harvest decisions than in previous years: By picking the Merlot earlier to highlight fresh, fruity notes rather than baked, sun-kissed flavors and simultaneously delaying the Cabernet Sauvignon harvest until after September 28 to refine tannins, the 2023 Pontet-Canet marks a significant evolution at this renowned estate. At this early stage, its élevage appears to be more discreet, too. This wine, which I'd be delighted to own, is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, matured in 50% new oak barrels, 35% amphorae and 15% once-used barrels."

WEINWISSER: "52 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 39 % Merlot, 6 % Cabernet Franc und 3 % Petit Verdot, 50 % neue Barriques, 35 % Amphoren und 15 % in gebrauchten Barriques. Dicht verwobenes elegantes Bouquet, frischgepflückte Alpenheidelbeere, Veilchenparfüm und edle Cassiswürze. Am sublimen saftigen Gaumen mit samtiger Textur, energiegeladener Rasse, engmaschigem, lakritzeartigem Tanningerüst und perfekt geformtem Körper. Im konzentrierten, nicht enden wollenden Finale Heidelbeere, Schattenmorellensaft, dunkles Graphit und erhabene Adstringenz. Der Pauillac besticht dieses Jahr durch unglaubliche Frische und Präzision und sollte ein Muss-Kauf dieses Jahr sein."

VINUM: "Tiefdunkel und reiffruchtig strahlt Pontet Canet auch dieses Jahr, tiefgründig im Duft, reichhaltig am Gaumen, das ist ein Fruchtkonzentrat, getragen von einem massiven Tanningerüst, druckvoll, dabei tänzerisch leicht, knackig, saftig, salin und endlos lang. Einmal mehr ein berührendes Weinerlebnis, das für eine kleine Ewigkeit halten dürfte."

DECANTER: "The longest harvest ever at this estate, and it paid off magnificently: lovely red berry and mint freshness, the Cabernet Franc coming to the fore. On the palate, it shows freshness and gorgeous wet stone salinity that rises above many other Pauillac peers. The acidity is very well managed and felt in a tangy (rather than tart) fashion and the wine exhibits superlative ripe Cabernet Sauvignon with tannic finesse as well as structure for the long haul. Normally the estate needs three or four days to harvest the Merlots but extra care was a taken - picking over a 10 day period for the Merlots - to obtain only the very best for the blend, resulting in veritable juiciness, too."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubongranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randufhellung. Reifes Cassis, Brombeerkonfit, etwas Nugat, feine Kräuterwürze ist unterlegt. Komplex, saftig, reife schwarze Herzkirschen, reife Tannine, feine Extraktsüße, frisch und lange anhaftend, rotbeerige Nuancen, straff, sicheres Reifepotenzial."

JEB DUNNUCK: "Blue fruits, sappy herbs, flowers, and subtle graphite notes all emerge from the 2023 Château Pontet-Canet, a medium to full-bodied, concentrated Pauillac that has plenty of mid-palate flesh and texture, ripe, polished tannins, and outstanding length. It's incredibly well-balanced, has a round, layered mouthfeel, and a brilliant sense of salinity and minerality on the finish. It's going to need just short-term cellaring, but this is a gorgeous Pauillac. The blend is 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, from healthy yields of 55 hectoliters per hectare."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Flowers, cedar, tobacco leaf, black with red currants, and a hint of smoke create the perfume. The palate is full-bodied, ripe, round, and loaded with sweet, fresh, elegant, juicy, pure, black cherries, and blackberries. The wine is relaxed. Nothing is forced. Everything is in the right place. The tannins are long, there is sweetness, length, and nuances of black currants, chocolate, licorice, and mint that make an appearance in the lengthy finish. The wine blends 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot.13.8% ABV, pH 3.75. Harvesting took place September 7 - October 10. This is the earliest, as well as the longest harvest in the history of the estate. The success of the vintage is due to the ability to wait for maturity on a parcel-by-parcel basis. The wine is aging in a combination of 50% new, French oak barrels, and 35% Amphora. Drink from 2029-2060."