2005 Ch. Pontet-Canet, Pauillac

Owner Alfred Tesseron has produced an utterly extraordinary wine in 2005. The verdict was unanimous amongst our buying team: it was without question the best Pontet-Canet anyone could ever remember tasting. With incredible silky tannins, and perfect balance, this has everything you could ever want from a wine. Creamy blackberries, and an incredibly precise shape, lead to a spellbounding finish that makes your tongue tingle. Tasting this wine is one of those experiences where you wonder how a few grapes can be transformed into such an elixir. Unmissable.

"Concentrated, powerful" (Wines of the Year - Decanter Award 5/5 Stars- Decanter Nov 08)

Their first 100% organic/BD vintage. This is as deep as the 2008 from cask! Very shiny, healthy crimson. Lip smacking. Spicy nose and velvety texture. Just oozing life. Great balance. Really lots of tannin but lovely soft tannins. Masses of tannin there but masses of fruit too. Great exuberance yet balanced. Kerpow! But still extremely youthful.
(Jancis Robinson – www.jancisrobinson.com – Jan 10)

The work that Alfred Tesseron and his winemaking team have done at this estate since 1994 is remarkable. At this fabulous terroir just south of Mouton-Rothschild, Tesseron has made major investments, and instituted incredibly severe selections in both the vineyard and winery. The result is a succession of extraordinary wines. It is difficult to know whether the 2005 Pontet-Canet will ultimately eclipse the hedonism and density of the flamboyant 2003, but it is unquestionably a stunning effort. Inky/black-colored with a classic Pauillac perfume of licorice, black currant liqueur, graphite, cedar, and spice box, it is full-bodied, with magnificent concentration, formidable tannins, and an Arnold Schwartzenegger-like structure (when he was 25 years younger). This backward, formidably endowed 2005 will require patience. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2040.
(Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Apr 08)

Owner Alfred Tesseron has masterminded one of the most remarkable turnarounds on Bordeaux's Left Bank in the past decade, elevating the quality of Pontet-Canet's wines beyond that of fifth-growth. While Pauillacs such as Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Latour draw much higher prices, Pontet-Canet too crafts powerful wines, built for aging, that express its vineyards planted on poor, gravel soils half a mile from the Gironde River.
(Wine No 7 - The Top 100 of 2008 - Wine Spectator - Nov-2008)