2018 Château Pontet-Canet

Community Tasting Notes

Community Tasting Notes (29) Avg Score: 94.7 points

  • Still needs at least an eight hour decant at this point. Best to open a few years later. This is an amazing wine. Strong and complex and fruit forward. Does not have the bell pepper you’d expect from a Bordeaux. It’s more fruity than that, but very elegant nonetheless.

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  • Aerated in wide bottom decanter for two hours. Exuberant nose shows good place and energy/freshness. Nice blend of red and black fruits, good soil and some forest notes. Keeping most cards close to the vest, but good sapidity and structure makes up for its youthful bent. Worth the $125 @ Costco. HOLD for another 4-5 years at least as there's much more to come. For its full potential it's highly recommended

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  • Don't open it just yet! Great potencial, but way too young.

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  • great wine. PnP. good dark color. lots of insity of fruit in the nose. on the palate well balanced. tannines are soft. lots of layers coming through. included some interesting spiciness. very long finish. good to enjoy know and will be interesting to follow in future

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  • Intense nose showing cassis forest floor raspberry - feels "whole bunch" even if it is not. Serious on the palate with power grip iron filings more savoury red fruits and tannins are v present yet melt away. Real sense of freshness. I like this, no sense of being overly done - in fact, it seems v balanced. 1 hour in the decanter at time of writing this initial impression. Later on during lunch it seemed to have closed up a little.

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  • Quite enjoyable with no decant. Red and black fruits. Good balance, grippy tannins after 45 mins. Will wait a few more years before I open others.

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  • Decant 8-10 hours. Super complex wine. Earth and wood on the nose. Unknown fruit, vegetables, spicy black pepper, and mushrooms flavor. Changing constantly.

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  • Medium ruby

    Incredible nose - great intensity, lovely depth. Black currant, black plum, mint, cedar, graphite. Quite savoury.

    Incredible concentration on the palate. Lovely long finish. Great wine.

    *** Tasted as part of a walkaround 2018 Bordeaux tasting. Not full notes ***

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  • Vin très jeune. Je l'ai ouvert en raison de la critique un peu acerbe de rdf et que j'en ai 6 bouteilles; histoire d'en avoir le coeur net.
    Effectivement, le vin est un peu hostile à prime abord. Est-ce parce que les tanins très présents se réveleront dans le long terme? Ou est-ce qu'ils deviendront asséchants?
    Note optimiste: on dénote une pointe de cerise noire si bien défini chez Pontet (souvenir du 2009...)
    On croise les doigts....
    Ne pas ouvrir d'autre bouteille avant 2030

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  • Inky in color, you have a hard time seeing into the glass. The wine opens with notes of wet clay, flowers, black plums, truffle, black currants, and blackberries. On the palate, the wine is intensely concentrated with seemingly endless layers of rich, deep, opulent, black, and red fruits. There is an opulence to the fruits, along with freshness and velvet-textured tannins that make you want to go back for sip after sip. The endnote with a refreshing touch of mint and spice is exactly the perfect touch. Give this another decade in the cellar to age and it will be incredible for at least another 2-3 decades after that. Not much of this gem is going to be available as yields were only 11 hectoliters per hectare due to outbreaks of mildew. This is a candidate for triple-digits when fully mature! The wine blends 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. 14.5% ABV. Drink from 2032-2065.

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  • 3hr decant
    Effusive spice box and cherry on the nose
    Super structured tannins, very prominent but not harsh. This is a tiny baby, needs a good 5yrs to start showing true colors. Fairly balanced with cinnamon and blackberry on palate. Medium long finish.
    A bit more jammy than the 16’.
    Tasty but currently embryonic. Give it time.

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  • Mammoth tannins! The finish lingers seemingly forever, and leaves a constricting grip on the palatte. Stoney aromas and not much else to report there. The fruit is tight and taught. Very silky and dry with the typical PC graphite and mineral notes. Two days to finish this.

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  • I've had many vintages of PC - this one leaps to the top, along with the 2005 and 2010. Decanted 6 hours. Not so much a cedar profile this time, but great structure and length. One of the best wines i've had in the last twelve months.

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  • Corked. Subdued aromas and flavours. Unbalanced. Wet cardboard.

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  • This needs 3.5 hours in a decanter. Once you let it breathe, it comes to life like a phoenix! The light, juicy, missing something wine emerges over time to be quite a thrill. Lovely currants and blackberry accents come out with splendid texture and delightful smooth finish. It even gains body over time, and is certainly one for the ages. Time will make this wine stellar. If you must, allow plenty airing time before drinking it. It's reminiscent of Pichon Lalande in style, and equally full of finesse and beauty.

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  • Velvety and elegant with lots of berries of black currant, raspberry, pencil tip, herb, tobacco and leather. Good full-bodied and Fresh wine that creates a real harmony in the mouthfeel. Almost a little soft in style, with delicate fruit of red berries, leather, clear salt and tobacco. The acidity impresses, the wine is fresh and keeps the alcohol in check. The tannins bite lovingly. There may be a little punch missing in the wines of Pontet Canet at the moment, but the charm, that charm…

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  • Interesting for sure. Red and black fruits. Complex spectrum. Pleased i have a few but unlike some of the 2018’s for me it lacks the drink early appeal so im happy to sit on mine and start sipping them in 10 years.

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  • Nose: [58°-64°+] Subtle tangerine skin, pleasant florals, subtle black currants, fresh dark red currants, forest floor, a light layer of new dried oak and a bit of forest funk (like wet and decaying shrubbery though this fades away with air time).

    Palate: [58°-64°+] An intense rush of dark red and black fruits, pure earth from a forest floor, dark pencil lead, pleasantly spiced tree bark with a deep natural undergrowth flavors. Finishes with river stones, heavily steeped tea and a deep drop of lead at the tail end - like a dark horror trying to claw its way back up after sending it down whatever hellhole it came from (in a good way.. might've not been the best analogy).

    Attributes: Clear dark medium ruby. Dry with high amounts of fine, grippy tannin. Medium body with medium-plus acidity. Decent finish of at least 12-14 seconds.

    Thoughts: This was crazy. Straight from the bottle, this was high-toned with unripe tart cherries, bright cranberry skins and something like sour tobacco leaf. I thought it was a wrap for me, screwing up by killing a young bottle as always.. so I decided to exercised some patience and left this thing in a decanter for 3-4 hours at cellar temp and wow did this transform (proud of myself there). This was such an eye opener and finally a wine that really showed me what decanting can do. Previous high-toned notes were all gone. Tons of energy that brings liveliness and flavors to life. The flavors are intense and clean without being too big and fatiguing (is this what Bordeaux is really like?!). The reason this didn't get more points is because of the length on the finish. With so much acidity and tannin, you'd think that the tannin would act like a sponge that slowly oozes out flavors on the finish.. unfortunately, it doesn't. I think cellaring a minimum of at least 5 more years before opening or a hefty decant if drinking soon. 96-97+

    Other notes: Bordeaux glass. Poured one glass, emptied rest of bottle into a decanter at cellar temp ~55° for the duration of consumption of ~7 hours. Recommend serving ~58°-64° and decant for 4-5 hours at cellar temp if serving now.

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  • One of the best wines I have consumed. Need to wait minimum 5 years or more. Have 8 more bottles, lucky me!

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  • Vinous Seminar: unique for biodynamic farming, way ahead of everyone else. Was effected by mildew and low yields here in 2018. Is this typical for the appellation or just a wild child. Neal Martin feels it’s not traditional or offers typical area.

    Big black and cherry sweet exotic fruit aromas, big bold dark chewy dense, ripe, powerful, loads of everything. Maybe need a knife it’s so dense. Large scale with big bones. Broad shouldered just so much stuffing. Not as pleasurable today, yet so packed with potential. Everything turned up to 11 here. An extreme wine.

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  • This is about as rich and decadent as a wine can get but it is not at all heavy, an almost overwhelmingly complex range of smoky but powerful dark fruit notes, with also the most delicate floral notes along with forest floor, very tannic but they are very fine and delicate tannins, invites, even demands prolonged investigation and contemplation, I can picture what must have been some really densely ripe fruit on the vine. Another outstanding 2018 that I actually prefer to the 100 point 2009 and 2010s. A decent value compared to those years, which I have in my cellar but am reluctant to drink due to the value. My favorite 2018s so far: Pontet Canet, Canon, Smith Haute Lafitte.

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  • 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot
    from 81 ha with vines of average age 45+ yrs planted 9,500/ha.
    One of the first in Bordeaux to experiment in biodynamics since 2004
    and Demeter certified in 2014.
    100% manually sorted and de-stemmed.
    Vinified by lot in various size conical concrete vats.
    55% aged in new oak barriques and 45% in concrete amphorae.
    14.5% Abv.
    History: 1705 Jean-François de Pontet
    1865 Herman Cruse
    1975 Guy Tesseron
    Proprietors: Alfred Tesseron and family:
    Justine (daugter), Mélanie and Philippine (nieces)
    Technical Director: Jean-Michel Comme (till mid-2020)
    Mathieu Bessonnet (since 2020)

    From bottled sample.

    A(ccuray)=2: Deep crimson/red. Expressive, seductive Cab blend.
    B(alance)=3: Elegant, focused fruit with firm, textured structure.
    C(omplexity)=2: Ripe berries, spices, flowers, smoke, chocolate.
    D(epth)=2: Plush mouthfeel. Full length and expansive finish.

    Wine Tally Score [2,3,2,2]= 9/10.

    Irresistible even at this young age.

    For story-telling label graphics, see:
    [https://www.instagram.com/WineTally2020/]
    [https://www.facebook.com/WineTally/]
    For a unique multimedia resource, see
    [https://winetally.wixsite.com/vingnette]

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  • Completely opaque, with a dark, purple sheen, the wine pops with blackberry, crème de cassis, smoke, graphite, licorice, spice and just a tinge of vanilla in the background. Viscous, concentrated, fresh, round, lush and layered with crushed stones and fresh squeezed blackberries, the creamy, plush finish lingers, enticing you to take another sip. This sublime vintage of Pontet Canet needs at least 12 years or more in the cellar and it should deliver the goods for at least another 2-3 decades after that. Not much of this gem is going to be available as yields were close to 25% of their normal production due to extremely difficult climatic conditions.

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  • Tasted next to the 2009. Not sure the tasting sample was representative. Odd and atypical nose, quite sweet and creamy, almost lactic, very soft red and black fruit, spices, tobacco. On the palate grippy tannins, very pure and quite vibrant. Excellent length. 93-94+(+?)

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  • Vintage Club - Bordeaux 2018 En-Primeur and Gala Dinner (Andaz Hotel): Bright orange-peel on the nose. Acidic, tannic, and an intense orange and plum, as well as some yeasty, grassy notes, and chocolates on the backpalate, which persisted towards the long finish. Exceptional!

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  • EP2018 tasting: Initials of blood iron, iodine, violets, ripe plums, opening up to flowers and creme. The wine jumps out at you from first mouth - dark fruits, ripe berries and plum, spices, with sandalwood tertiaries. Fruit forward, jammy. Full bodied, concentrated and big flavours. For me, this is very un-pontet canet. Whilst this is too much for me tonight, I am compelled to see how this evolves. 90-93

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  • Bordeaux 2018 - En Primeur in Australia (pyrmont wharf, sydney): Positively jammy sweet fruit, pretty though with a touch of spice. Over concentrated on the palate. Tight tannins. Time and lots of it.

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  • Opaque in color, the wine explodes from the glass with black fruit, tar, wet forest floor, currants and licorice. Full-bodied, intense and powerful, this wine is also graceful on your palate. There is an impressive amount of weight and yet the wine feels light. The fruit coats your mouth, teeth and gums for over 60 seconds, which is a good thing as you will not want this wine to end. Not much of this gem is going to be available due to climatic conditions keeping the yields under ten hectoliters per hectare and making it much harder to find than usual. 97-99 Pts

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  • Geproefd op Château Pontet-Canet op woensdag 03.04.2019.
    Open neus. Heel rijp. Heel veel materie. Heel licht drogende finish. 94-96

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