Château Pontet-Canet 2020

Alfred Tesseron, currently at the helm of Château Pontet-Canet, describes himself as a farmer, not as an oenologist (despite being one), and justifies his choice of description with an irrefutable argument: "my work and that of my team is focused on the vineyard, not on the winery". The Château Pontet-Canet wines emanate energy and intensity, expressing themselves freely. The powerfulness, an unexpected fruit precision and irrefutable quality have become the house's hallmarks. Its wines are seductive because of the fruit's density, the palate's refinement and their natural elegance. Appearing purple in colour, the nose exudes an interplay of forest fruits and spices with a graphite undertone. On the palate they're expressive, dense and rich, led by a balancing acidity. You have a feeling that you're biting into pure fruit, pure pleasure. Of the wines produced at Pontet-Canet, the one which displays solely the winery's name on its label is its great wine: the Château Pontet-Canet. In a style usually composed of two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and one third Merlot, with small amounts of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, it exhibits a perfumed, clear-cut bouquet of Picota cherries, plums and violets which keeps on growing with aeration; the graphite and a hint of incense round off the aromatic element. The palate is medium-bodied, with a slightly grainy texture, measured acidity, moderate depth and rounded tannins which give it a silk-like texture. Its lightly-spiced and very lively finish delivers pure balance. The Château Pontet-Canet, the assertive neighbour of Mouton-Rothschild, is a Pauillac with very special minerality and character which have made it fully deserving of the epithet "the Pauillac Pinot Noir". Unquestionably, an astounding Bordeaux wine, to get to know and enjoy at your leisure.