2014 Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
The first year certified as Demeter. Biodyvin as of 2010, so this is a second biodynamic certification. Harvest September 29 to October 10.
A clear step upwards from both the 2012 and 2013 in terms of Pauillac definition and punch, and it is following the usual trajectory of a wine from this corner of Bordeaux - meaning that it is still young at 7 years old, and needs another few years in bottle. Packed full of bilberry and cassis fruits, a deliciously cool and savoury style of Cabernet with crushed mint and blue fruits, concentrated and finessed. There is plenty of juice on the finish also; I just love the progress of this wine through the palate, as it travels slowly but surely towards its destination.
Drink 2021 - 2042
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (September 2021)
Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Pontet-Canet dinner in Washington DC.
The bottle of 2014 Pontet-Canet showed better than the previous one at the 10-Year-On tasting in London. This offers much more restraint on the nose. It's quite precise, with greater mineralité seeping through the black cherry and cassis fruit. The palate has a sorbet-fresh entry, fine tannins and a silky sheen. The oak is fully subsumed after a decade, plus there is a little more depth on the finish compared to previous showings. This is a fine example of the vintage, and bottles should drink well over the next 12 to 15 years.
Drink 2024 - 2044
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (June 2024)
Tasted three times. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, vinified in equal parts cement and oak and aged in a combination of 50% new oak, 35% amphora, and 15% once-used barrels.
The 2014 Pontet-Canet seems to have put on quite a bit of weight and volume since I first tasted it from barrel. Ripe, juicy tannins wrap around a core of intense dark cherry, plum, spice, lavender and tobacco. Today, it is the wine's sheer intensity and vertical structure that stands out. I wouldn't dream of touching a bottle until at least age ten, and even that is almost certainly not going to be enough time for the 2014 to show the full breadth of its potential. The transformation the 2014 has undergone from a delicate, nuanced Pauillac to a wine of depth is quite remarkable. This is a gorgeous wine from the Tesseron family and the team led by Technical Director Jean-Michel Comme.
Drink 2024 - 2044
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (February 2017)
Deep garnet with a hint of purple to the colour, the 2014 Pontet-Canet gives a very serious, classic Pauillac nose of blackcurrant preserves, baked blackberries and warm black plums with suggestions of menthol, pencil lead, woodsmoke, cassia and cast-iron pan plus a hint of baking spices. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the mouth with black and blue fruit preserves with a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and bold freshness, giving lift to the long, exotic spice-laced finish. It is approachable now, but really should start to make jaws drop in another 4-5 years.
Drink 2024 - 2050
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (May 2020)
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Harvest 29 September to 10 October.
Crimson to the rim. Initially subdued but opens with aeration. Firm, minerally and upright with dark-fruit notes and a dash of mint. Tannins compact and fresh. It's really quite classic and Pauillac in style, but the appealing fruit makes it approachable already. A pleasant surprise among the less celebrated years. Should be good value.
Drink 2020 - 2034
James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com (October 2021)
This is a stunning wine for this vintage, although it’s still a bit shy on the nose (more spice than fruit showing than now). There’s wet earth, too, but on the palate, it’s bursting with ripe yet subtle flavours. It has a very long and complex finish that goes on and on.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (February 2017)
Aged 50% new oak, 35% amphora.
Similar to the 2011, the 2014 has added aromatic steeliness, especially compared with the 2012. However, the 2014 displays lovely fruit purity of cassis, red and black berry on the palate, and I like the tension, even if 2012 wins on sumptuousness.
Drink 2025 - 2045
Panos Kakaviatos, Decanter.com (September 2021)
A final blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2014 Pontet-Canet is brilliant stuff, and I was able to taste this wine from barrel as well as multiple times from bottle, both at the estate and from a bottle purchased in the United States. It offers a sensational bouquet of crème de cassis, black raspberries, tobacco leaf, and minerals, as well as an unmistakable Pauillac lead pencil characteristics that I just adore.
Possessing full-bodied richness, a rounded, surprisingly opulent, sexy texture, awesome purity, and sweet, succulent tannin, it’s a sensational 2014 that might just surpass what they accomplished in 2015. This is a 2014 you won’t regret buying in bulk as it’s going to keep for 2-3 decades and be drinkable for the vast majority of it. Bravo to Alfred Tesseron and his team!
Drink 2020 - 2045
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (November 2017)
About this WINE
Chateau Pontet-Canet
Château Pontet-Canet is a large Pauillac estate that can trace its origins back to 1725, when Jean-François Pontet gave his name to the estate he had acquired. The wine was not château-bottled until 1972 and in 1975 the property was sold to Guy Tesseron, of the Tesseron family, one of the finest exponents of luxury, very old, aged Cognacs (Cognac Tesseron).
The Tesserons also own Château Lafon-Rochet in St-Estephe. Today, Château Pontet-Canet is owned and run by Alfred and Michel Tesseron.
Pontet-Canet's 78 hectares of vineyards adjoin those of Mouton Rothschild and are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (63%), Merlot (32%) and Cabernet Franc (5%).
The Tesserons have vastly improved the quality of the Pontet-Canet wines which are now full-bodied and packed with ripe, chewy, black fruits and finely integrated tannins. The wines posseses marvellous ageing potential.
Pontet-Canet is classified as a 5ème Cru Classé.
Pauillac
Pauillac is the aristocrat of the Médoc boasting boasting 75 percent of the region’s First Growths and with Grand Cru Classés representing 84 percent of Pauillac's production.
For a small town, surrounded by so many familiar and regal names, Pauillac imparts a slightly seedy impression. There are no grand hotels or restaurants – with the honourable exception of the establishments owned by Jean-Michel Cazes – rather a small port and yacht harbour, and a dominant petrochemical plant.
Yet outside the town, , there is arguably the greatest concentration of fabulous vineyards throughout all Bordeaux, including three of the five First Growths. Bordering St Estèphe to the north and St Julien to the south, Pauillac has fine, deep gravel soils with important iron and marl deposits, and a subtle, softly-rolling landscape, cut by a series of small streams running into the Gironde. The vineyards are located on two gravel-rich plateaux, one to the northwest of the town of Pauillac and the other to the south, with the vines reaching a greater depth than anywhere else in the Médoc.
Pauillac's first growths each have their own unique characteristics; Lafite Rothschild, tucked in the northern part of Pauillac on the St Estèphe border, produces Pauillac's most aromatically complex and subtly-flavoured wine. Mouton Rothschild's vineyards lie on a well-drained gravel ridge and - with its high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon - can produce (in its best years) Pauillac's most decadently rich, fleshy and exotic wine.
Latour, arguably Bordeaux's most consistent First Growth, is located in southern Pauillac next to St Julien. Its soil is gravel-rich with superb drainage, and Latour's vines penetrate as far as five metres into the soil. It produces perhaps the most long-lived wines of the Médoc.
Recommended Châteaux
Ch. Lafite-Rothschild, Ch. Latour, Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, Ch. Pichon-Longueville Baron, Ch. Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Ch. Lynch-Bages, Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Ch, Pontet-Canet, Les Forts de Latour, Ch. Haut-Batailley, Ch. Batailley, Ch. Haut-Bages Libéral.
Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
The 2014 Château Pontet-Canet has a deep, rich colour that comes from beautifully ripe grapes. The nose is shy at first but opens up to reveal balsam and dark cherry notes that are seriously impressive. The rich cherry fruit shines through on the palate, backed by clean acidity and fine tannins. It has a classy, structured feel, suggesting it will age brilliantly.
There’s a lovely balance here, with waves of wild strawberry and raspberry, plus a hint of savoury aged beef and tapenade for extra depth. The wine is pure and refined, with silky tannins and great acidity, which gives it energy and precision. It’s another superb vintage from Pontet-Canet, showing incredible finesse and proving they keep raising the bar.
Berry Bros. & Rudd
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