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| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.2 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 21 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Juliansi on 12/30/2023 & rated 88 points: Bordecembre, no. 42. The penultimate Bordeaux in my crazy December!
Musky nose, most if not all the fruit is gone. Luckily, the whiff cleared after about 15 minutes. Acidity M-, tannins are completely resolved.
Brownish, luckily still clear and not cloudy. Clear rim was perhaps 4mm wide. Is this a Bordeaux, Left Bank.. Perhaps mid-1980s? BINGO!
Sois-bois, mushroom and wet soil notes. Perhaps about 3-5 years past its zenith, all secondary and tertiaries now.
Medium length finish, light tobacco and mainly leathery. Still fun to try, but drink up!
With this being a near 40 year vintage, I could not determine the precise blend. I can only assume it is somewhat similar to 62% Cab, 32% Merlot, 4% Cab Franc and 2% Petit Verdot which is how the vines in the estate have been planted.
Alfred Tesseron only took over (From his father, Guy) running the estate in 1994. By 2010, the estate had gone fully biodynamic. Our dear host and provider of this bottle, RN, reminded that this was from a time over 2 wine-makers previous to the current one when Pontet-Canet was a different world.
Jean-Michel Comme, started with Pontet Canet in 1989, introducing the non-interventionist flame, so this 1985 vintage is certainly from the yesteryear as reminded by brother RN.
Vintage:
1985 vintage for Bordeaux is described as an absolute stand-out, a vintage of the decade.
Winter frosts kicked off the year before the arrival of a cold, wet spring that saw some storms.
Hot weather followed in time for flowering. July remained hot and saw some rainfall while August, although cooler, saw very little rain.
September was both hot and record-breakingly dry, ideal for ripening. The harvest began late September continuing through to October. Reds were both elegant and exquisitely balanced.
Critics:
Robert Parker - His first book he ever wrote was his guide to the wines of Bordeaux from 1985.
Parker was not unimpressed by Pontet-Canet, but still had it on a level below other Fifths such as Lynch-Bages and Grand-Puy-Lacoste and could not bring himself to recommend elevating it past Fifth.
In fact, his scores for Pontet-Canet, besides for the legendary 1961, never went above 86. Even another iconic year, 1982, only managed 85.
Pontet-Canet is a Fifth Growth in the 1855 Classification, but for the last 15 years, Pontet-Canet has been considered the equivalent of a top Second Growth.
Some may say Pontet-Canet is the "first of the Fifth Growths" but mind you, is it better perhaps then the wonderful Lynch-Bages?
Pre NY Eve at Grand Imperial, Happy New 2024 lads!
Grand Imperial, Hartamas in KL, Malaysia
30th Dec 2023 (573 views) | | | Tasted by stjl on 10/22/2021 & rated 90 points: debouchee 24h avant carafee 5h avant belle robe bordeaux, nez complexe avec arome de truffe, bouquet moins complexe que le nez mais belle longueur pour son age (2031 views) | | | Tasted by glucker on 5/1/2020 & rated 90 points: - Ruby color - Surprisingly drinking well.Cork was intact .Didnt need screwpull. Great with food. (3239 views) | | | Tasted by Remedy on 11/26/2019: Drank with my 2 bosses and bedrock bar and grill.
Still drinking well but towards the end of life.
Secondary flavours. (3528 views) | | | Tasted by Bathtub58 on 3/22/2019 & rated 91 points: Ullage in neck. Cork 2/3 wet, falling apart at base. Poured into a narrow decanter. Fine sediment. Nose of dark fruits, touch of menthol, and earth. Flavors of red/dark fruits, a touch of sourness/tart, hint of cigar ash, integrated tannins, earth, and constantly evolving. Began to show some age after 30 minutes, but still lots of acidity. Moderate+ complexity/Long finish. Past or at its peak. (4240 views) | | | Tasted by ChjonesVino on 3/22/2018 flawed bottle: Old earthy, leather smell with a little fruit - Taste no more body, oak, and tobacco trying to hang on with a little dirt, turning sour or sour (4917 views) | | | Tasted by retired_and_roving on 1/14/2018 & rated 91 points: First offline of 2018 & a birthday celebration (Amali, NYC): Decanted for about two hours, definitely very mature and probably time to drink up, but still very enjoyable. Drank side by side with the '96 Pontet-Canet - it was clear that this was all tertiary flavors now - not much fruit left, but those flavors were really interesting. Reminded me of old library smells, well oiled leather, pencils, tobacco. Someone thought of the scratch & sniff version of the board game Clue - where you could smell the library. I really enjoyed this and actually preferred to the '96 which was way more primary. Thanks to M&L for sharing. (4217 views) | | | Tasted by ETT95 on 8/14/2015 & rated 90 points: Tannin has all gone and fruit is going. Relatively strong tertiary flavour (as compared to its fruit) and oaky. Leather and earthy. The finish is moderate but acidity is a bit lacking making the wine too heavy. (6550 views) | | | Tasted by Wine_lvr on 8/1/2015 & rated 93 points: °°° Bordeaux 1985 °°° (Emmen, Switzerland): Deep red. Nose shows tar, roasted coffee and dark fruit. Plenty of power. Nice sweetness. This is a quite easy drinking wine. The only negative are the somewhat dry tannins, but this bottle definitely was a pleasant surprise as old Pontet Cantets are often difficult. Drink now (6925 views) | | | Tasted by stayhappy21 on 4/11/2015 & rated 92 points: Drank this at a wine mate's baby shower last night.
Red in colour (showing its age) but the structure and body is still holding up well. Nice nose with notes of blackberries, flowers and oak.
On the palate the wine reminds me of redwood, blackcurrant and chocolate.
This bottle has proven the ability of the wine (and wines from the appellation) to age, gaining a lot of charm and character along the way. Can drink now or keep for the next few years. (5192 views) | | | Tasted by hkm520240 on 4/11/2015 & rated 93 points: Dark garnet with brownish tinge showing maturity. Beautiful bouquet of tobacco, earth, cigar box, dried herbs and blackcurrant.
Still robust after 30 years, showing black fruits, blackcurrant, cigar box on palate. Good solid mid-palate, nice long finish with hints of spice and fine chewy tannins.
This bottle is holding very well. (6042 views) | | | Tasted by hkm520240 on 4/10/2013 & rated 92 points: Casual Wines Session on Wednesday night (Extra Space, Boon Keng): Dark garnet with brick red hues, it has dark fruits, mineral, blackberry and floral notes on the nose. Soft and smooth entry, showing blackcurrant, tobacco and hints of floral. Good acidity with chewy tannins and long finish.
Holding very well and clearly the better wine for tonight. Can still keep for another few more years. (8168 views) | | | Tasted by haBu on 3/10/2013 & rated 90 points: Quickly opened up when the bottle was opened without aeration. Rusty Claret(old brick) in color, yet light around the edges, with an classic style creation, delivers old world Bordeaux palate with that wonderful wet leather delivery, with subtle hints of white pepper. (4127 views) | | | Tasted by beaunehead on 3/8/2013 & rated 88 points: Rusty garnet core to brick on the rim; aromas of (with a few minutes of airing) dried berries, cranberry, wet clat and sand, some gravel, dried spices and horse leather; in the mouth, it still shows some ripe tannins, good acidity and grip, medium body, lots of dried fruit and spice character, bitter tea and an echo of cigar smoke. Still alive and kicking. Would be awesome with a rack of lamb. (4238 views) | | | Tasted by TheBusiness724 on 11/8/2009 & rated 89 points: Old, smells like a chai in Bordeaux. Not bad though - the fruit that is left (not much) has a little sweetness to it, maybe a little tobacco. Medium-length finish during which you can tell that at one time this wine had some complexity to it, though now you have merely hints at past pleasures. Starting to think there are only a few wines left from the '85 Bordeaux vintage that are not in decline. Sadly, this isn't one of them. (6100 views) | | | Tasted by NVWINE79 on 2/14/2009 & rated 88 points: Fully mature, perhaps in decline. Wonderful aromatics, very little fruit left, a pleasant wine, much more left on the nose than on the palate, finish was a bit short. Not overly complex but thoroughly enjoyable. Matched well with Squab. (6143 views) | | | Tasted by jrufusj on 11/6/2004: 40th Birthday Dinner (Au Petit Paris (Tokyo)): This one was also mine and was served with a choice of two dishes:
Roasted quail stuffed with rice and garnished with foie gras
or
Entrecote with sauce Bordelaise
I really enjoyed this vintage in the early and mid-90s but, strangely enough, have had fewer examples recently. The wines drank well when they were relatively young, but seemed to have enough stuff to hang on for a while as well. This vintage also seemed to be priced pretty well, as it got lost a bit in the run of the ‘80s. Though they are at different ends of the spectrum, I've probably drunk and enjoyed more ‘85s and ‘88s than anything else from that decade. I certainly think those two have presented the best QPR over time.
I recently drank an '89 Pontet Canet that stunned me and had seen some older good notes on the '85 (though the reviews on the '85 PC have not been universally good).
I double decanted these at the same time as the Bouree bottles. While these didn't have the exploding funk of the burg, they were – all in all – showing more fruit and gave me more confidence they would work at dinner. More evolution in color, but still solid and reasonably deep. No longer opaque, but not something I could hold up to a soft light to figure out how much sediment I was dealing with before opening. Nose was restrained but classic Pauillac. Cedary, tiny bit of vanilla, clean sharp dark berry. Palate was very slightly chewy with tannin, but tannin was more underneath the same fruit that showed on the nose. At that point, little complexity, but enough structure and fruit to make me comfortable.
When served with the quail, it underwhelmed me. I wasn't sure whether it had closed up or fallen apart. In retrospect, I think two things happened. First, the fat in the foie garnish may have been a bit much. Second, I do think it went dumb for a while. It was the same wine, same Pauillac aromas, but basically little to no fruit on the nose or palate. Perfectly pleasant drinking (and more pleasing to those who had the entrecote), but a bit of a disappointment.
(Next morning, a quick sip from an unfinished bottle had opened up nicely and had fruit once again. Next evening, the last bit with a piece of well-aged Comte was really enjoyable, but fading again. I've got three more of these and would love thoughts from anyone with recent experience. My best guess is that I'll pop one soon with a little plain roast chicken, see how it does over six to eight hours and make a decision on the other two then. I don't have the feeling there's any evolution left, but I'm baffled as to why these went dumb for hours.) (6296 views) | | | Tasted by chbeaumont on 3/15/2001: Still enjoyable, needs to be drunk up, Mouton puts in its place. 14? (4700 views) |
| Château Pontet-Canet Producer website – Read more about Chateau Pontet CanetRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanMédoc Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc
VdB
The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.Pauillac Read more detailed information about Pauillac Looking full onto the river from the earliest days, with an important port activity, traces of which go back to ancient times (shipment of bronze as long ago as 2000 B.C.), Pauillac's life has always been intimately linked to the history of wine. Although port activities were at the root of its prosperity, Pauillac had to wait until the eighteenth century when Bordeaux ceased to hold its privileged position to become a wine port. The town then became the natural outlet for the wine production of neighbouring cantons before reaching its zenith in a period when the vineyards were exceptionally prosperous.
The characteristic of the Pauillac terroir is its exceptional relief: the many undulating ridges make it unique morphologically speaking. Highly favourable conditions facilitate the dissection of the layer of gravel. This thin, Garonne gravel from whose very poverty springs great richness, has an extremely effective natural drainage.
With their velvet red colour with a hint of amber, the wines from the Pauillac appellation, full-bodied and rich in tannin, are vigorous. Powerful when young, their aromas of red fruits (black-currant, raspberry) or flowers (violets, roses, irises) melt with the passing of time into a bouquet which is long in the mouth.
Rich and complex, the wines of Pauillac deserve to be laid down for a little longer.
Production conditions (Decree dated November 14, 1936)
In order to have the right to the Pauillac appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:
- come from the commune of Pauillac and from precisely defined parcels in the communes of Cissac, Saint-Julien, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Sauveur, "excluding the parcels situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils",
- satisfy precise production conditions : grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare). |
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