2000-2009 vertical of Chateau Pontet-Canet, with Alfred Tesseron

Roberson Wine, South Ken, London
Tasted Wednesday, September 19, 2012 by Papies with 1,479 views

Introduction

A great vertical presented by Alfred Tesseron at the Roberson Wine in High Street Ken. AT described the evolution of wine making at PC the help he got in understanding the grape to wine journey by Michel Rolland and the genius of his wine maker Jean-Michel Comme who he credits for a lot of the beauty in PC.
We liked his philosophy in wine making especially his note that OAK is like make up and on beautiful grapes you don’t need to add a lot . This is something that we agree 100% as we usually use the analogy of the wall and paint were a skilfully made wall needs very little paint, enough to enhance it but no need to overdo it to hide the flaws. His wines express this 100% and even the 100RP 09 is elegant and balanced with nothing overdone or monstrous about it. Not even in the heat wave of 2003 did this dogma get affected and one would struggle to place PC 03 as 2003.

Interesting notes: Went organic and biodynamic in 2004 but in 2007 given the mildew AT lost his nerve (in his own words) and ordered the chemical spray , something that he regretted ever since. Since then this has not happened and are now fully certified.

We asked Alfred Tesseron if he changed anything on the wine making for the 2008 and 2009 as both wines felt a lot more supple and fruit fwd than any of the others we had on this vertical, especially 2005-2007. He credited Biodynamic and organic farming as well as the rest of the improvements on the vineyards but to us it wasn’t convincing to be honest.

Flight 1 (10 Notes)

Wines were served from 2000 > 2009 to show the evolution of the winemaking at the Chateau

  • 2000 Château Pontet-Canet 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Open nose, minty, herby with light fruit. A touch tight to start but develops nicely so some decanting helps here. Classical in a way. Light earth notes too and quite developed for a 2000 and just about to start going secondary. No oak. On the Palate the youth is there and it has a bit of sharp tannin a touch of green, that spoils an otherwise greatly balanced and elegant wine. This is a beautiful wine which needs 5 mores year and then will last another 20+ easily. 92-93

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  • 2001 Château Pontet-Canet 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    WOTN among the 2000>2009 flight of PC. Quite similar to the 2000 and needs some decanting too. A bit more evolved and much better structure than the 2000 though with good acidity and a solid vibrant mid palate and finish. The nose is “classic”, herby, eucalyptus, spice overlaying the fruit. Quite pleasant to drink at the moment, with round silky yet vibrant tannins. True to the form of PC it is elegant, balanced and with no make-up (AKA no oak). A truly beautiful wine. 95

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  • 2002 Château Pontet-Canet 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    It lacks the magic of a good Bordeaux and the 1 hour of decanting much like the 2004 didn’t help. Back to the wine, it has a light muted nose. Quite light on the palate almost on the thin side yet it maintains a good balance and elegance and good to see that the wine maker here didn’t try to overdo something to compensate for the vintage. Lacks concentration in a way and has some dry tannin on the finish. 90 and not sure how it evolves from here.

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  • 2003 Château Pontet-Canet 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    The colour does not speak of 2003 and in general the wine has none overdone elements so common in the heat wave vintage. Alfred Tesseron said he is very proud that they managed to keep that elegance in such a hot vintage. A hint of oak on the nose, has a little bit of the 2003 sweetness, but true to form of PC is not overripe or over extracted and still very fresh. Good tannin, no harshness. A touch reserved at this age but not austere and has a pretty good life ahead of it. On the young side for sure. 92

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  • 2004 Château Pontet-Canet 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Much like the 2002 it lacks the magic of a good Bordeaux and the 1 hour of decanting took away quite a bit of its “vibrancy” vs when we tried it at the start of the year with almost no decanting. Definitely didn’t help that we tried it with great PC wines like the 01 and 00. Very light on the nose. Good silky tannins on the palate, quite a bit of fruit. The elegance is there but it lacks the magic. Drink sooner than later. 91

    For the record 2004 was the first year Pontet-Canet went Organic& Biodynamic.

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  • 2005 Château Pontet-Canet 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    The beauty of youth. Red fruit on the nose, quite primary and young interlaced with floral notes . A hint of caramel too. Such a lovely open Nose Vibrant and fresh on the palate, with firm tannins but with no wall of youth full harsh tannin and one could enjoy it even at this stage. Supple , good ripeness, complex and with a long finish. Once again true to form on the balance and elegance that goes with PC wines. Good to drink now for the fruit fwd palate, but this has easily 5yrs to reach its peak and can last for a long long time. 94 now but easily in the high 90s as it evolves.

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  • 2006 Château Pontet-Canet 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Quite similar to the 05 yet more restrained. Once again impressive balance and elegance. Almost no oak feel and true to the Tesseron moto that good grapes dnt need a lot of make up! This wine will develop slower than the 2005 but will be an elegant beauty . Easily needs another 10years. Very nice on he nose, floral and much like the 2005 with quite a bit of fruit. Mineral, structured , meaty and concentrated and with a lot of tannin at this stage. A touch on the dry side. You do feel that once it evolves it will end up something special. Definitely one for the future. 92 now but look for high 90s once it hits is stride.

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  • 2007 Château Pontet-Canet 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    A wine that divided the Papies on whether it will evolve into something very good .
    For the moment it starts of with an open, Herby, floral nose with good fruit which is quite a bit developed even at this age. Granted it is young and sharp, with good, firm tannins but in no way is this a thin wine or an average vintage wine like we would expect from an 07. Only on the finish you feel it is a bit thin. We did not agree if this has any future or not… (Nicol 90 / Andreas 92)

    As a note from AT, in 2007 due to mildew he said that he lost his nerve and ordered to spray with chemicals ( thus breaking from the Organic tradition since 04) something he has regretted since. Never again he said.

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  • 2008 Château Pontet-Canet 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    On the wine, Nice nose of black fruits, light red fruit, biscuit/toasty notes. On the palate there is quite a bit of ripe(not overdone though) fruit , wit good density. Very fruit forward with silky round yet vibrant tannins. Delicious now and with a lot of life ahead of it. 93/94 and such a nice surprise.

    We asked Alfred Tesseron if he changed anything on the wine making for the 2008 (and 2009) as it (so was the 2009) felt a lot more supple and fruit fwd than any of the others we had on this vertical. He credited Biodynamic and organic farming as well as the rest of the improvements on the vineyards but to us it wasn’t convincing to be honest.

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  • 2009 Château Pontet-Canet

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    The wine has a lovely purity of fruit and balance. Light on the nose yet very elegant. On the palate it has a fruit forward feel, ripe red fruit, harmonious and while the tannins are alive and firm they are not harsh and to be honest the wine can even be enjoyed this young. We expected to see a monster of power and weight here given its 100RP rating however to the contrary this is very elegant and balance. Very happy to have some tucked away. A touch too young to rate for us but we loved what we tasted.

    Like with the 2008, we asked Alfred Tesseron if he changed anything on the wine making for the 2009& 08 as they felt more supple and fruit forward than any of the others we had on this vertical. He credited improvements on the vineyards but to us it wasn’t convincing to be honest.

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Closing

Wines of elegance and balance amazingly well made with a purity of fruit and consistent quality. We are very happy we have quite a few vintages and for sure we will continue to buy them.

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