After seeing many 2019 posts, couldn’t resist to open one of my favorites two nights ago and drink a glass a day to see the evolution!
👁️ dark crimson, purple rim
👃 and 👄: intense blue and blackberries, floral, underbrush, graphite, the tannins are still massive and even after a very long slow ox show that this wine needs probably another 5+ years. This is far less open than upon delivery.
There is superb quality here and I have no doubt that it will come out roaring with bottle aging.
Les arômes de ce vin sont vraiment étonnants: épices, fleurs séchées, groseilles. Tanins ultra-fins. La bouche est charnue, avec de l’ampleur et surtout une très grande classe en finale. La longueur est plutôt interminable. Un jeune rouge fabuleux
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Always a wonderful wine. Beautiful nose of graphite, blue fruits, creamy but not cloying or over the top. Rich mouthfeel, substantial tannins but well integrated. This will age beautifully. Love Pontet wines.
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I am not going to score this wine. It was so a-typical. The bottle had been tasted earlier with the Coravin and I don’t know if this has influenced the development of the wine. The wine had a very ripe and sweet bouquet with red berries and impressions of cocoa and oak. On the palate some sweetness and overripe impressions, full bodied, good length, round tannin and lush. I have a few bottles myself, so eventually there will be a tasting note from one of my own bottles, but that will not be on the short term.
Overripe, smooth, developed. Tastes more like a Southern Italian wine than a Bordeaux imo. I'm not a fan of the direction Pontet-Canet is going lately.
This took a long time to open up and got better with the passage of time. Initially however, this wine was just ok and does not represent a good QPR. The most recent vintage I have had from this producer was the 2003 and it is much better.
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This delivered infinitely more of everything appealing and interesting, even if in somewhat off the beaten path fashion, than its stablemate, particularly on the second day.
The bouquet puts the mind to France, partially Bordeaux, partially the Rhone, and partially the southwest, particularly Madiran. The perfume also features striking bio-dynamic elements, which accounts for its (French) mixed signals, and to central Italian wines based on Sangiovese and Aglianico. One also finds highly appealing savoriness, which puts the mind to the Rhone, Calabria, and Etna reds on Nerello Mascalese. In sum: unique. Amphora aging likely accounts for some of the olfactory melange.
The wine tastes like it smells, in mind-bending waves. Here is the thing though: It brings the substance, truck-tons of it! Medium plus acid and medium to medium plus tannin frame its layered intensity. Tanninphobes, beware the gripping back. The long finish changes inflection with ridiculous frequency.
Traditional? No! Appealing? Abso-friggin'-lutely! The Bordeaux purist within me tips its cap to the wine's depth and range.
Will it age? Certainly, through at least 2040. Will it evolve? Likely. Will it improve? Possibly. Whatever turns this may take, decidedly worth seeking out. 96-97.
Drank at a Pontet Canet/Lagrange wine dinner at Mattison’s 41 in Sarasota including with Emilien Bouchab fr the chateau and chef Mattison in attendance. This was a very young wine, inky black opaque color, intense nose, but unexpectedly the initial mouthfeel impression was more thin than huge as one taster noted below. With time, the wine took on weight in the glass and started to open with deep dark black fruit, some pepper, maybe flint/iron, forward tannins, pretty high acidity and a long finish. It was interesting to taste so young but did not blow me away, ans it seemed a bit austere and didn’t have the typical brightness of pauillacs. However, I imagine it will continue to improve over the years. I probably won’t try one of my few bottles until 2029 at least…
Deep reddish purple. Some funk on the opening. A small sip before decanting was surprisingly thin (or did I just not taste enough?) Three hours later, however, we were in business. Dark blue and black fruits and some graphite on the nose. Continued to evolve and open up over the next couple of hours, showing some warm spice notes and even some black cherry toward the end of the evening. Beautiful. My wife detected some tobacco but I can't say it registered for me. Beautifully judged acidity and, as expected, prominent tannins. The tannis didn't soften over the course of five hours but - and this was a surprise to me - the fruit profile definitely grew in intensity, which is where the black cherry came into profile. If my wife was rating this she'd give it a solid 95; she adored it. I like my tannins a bit more tamed and so I give it a 92 for now, but years from now I have no doubt my score will increase several points. One glass left on day two but no noticeable difference from day one.
Three hour decant. Very very deep intense magenta color. Blackberry, blueberry, tobacco, marshmallow, and hints of black pepper and barnyard. Very dry, slightly chalky palate, with nice sandy acidity. Full tannins on the longish finish.
Decanting Queen was kind enough to bring this to our wine-fueled New Year’s Eve weekend. The buzz around this particular wine and vintage appears to be legit. I need to pick up a few more.
A Wine Fueled Goodbye to 2023; 12/29/2023-12/31/2023 (College Station, TX): As part of our drink em young theme this weekend, I am doing the unthinkable, opening a 2019 Bdx. But sure am glad I did. Obviously too young for my palate and has years to being optimal, but pretty damn good already and great to see the elements of a nearly perfect wine in place. The nose is tobacco and pencil lead with a hint of farm and cassis. More tobacco and stones on the palate with the fruit presence increasing over the evening with air. Beautiful acidity, obvious but manageable tannins, almost integrated. Opened and tasted before decanting, then in the decanter for a couple hours before consuming. For me this is drinking like a 92 now with the bones to get to a 97 so my score is a combo of now and potential. Compared to a 2009 provided by AGELVIS which was also excellent and more accessible. But fun to see the chateau signature (and perhaps terrior) so clearly in both of these. You would not miss that these two were related.
YES not now. So too young but has long term potential to be much much better. A deep dark opaque purple wiht caramel black berries on the nose. But young…damnit…way too young .
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Fortunate to have acquired several bottles and I’m curious to watch how this expresses itself over time versus how my palate evolves in appreciating, understanding this wine. Dark red to touch of purple, dark cherry, floral, plum, bramble with leather, spice, graphite, sense of earthiness. There is length, depth, complexity present but I found the tannin, while present, to be softer. Somewhat intrigued, felt this was subdued, mellow, maybe overly homogeneous compared to my preconceived expectation for more expressive, lively attributes and a more pronounced tannic presence. I do enjoy this wine but left a little puzzled.
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**I bought 3 bottles of this because I cant help it. I am curious...Like a little monkey. It keeps my mind fed and my my eyes alive. And...the price was good too! So what the hell...or hey
This is where everyone should just relax and drink this wine instead of believing in Santa Claus. In its depth of deepest red, there is so much energy and pull, making the smallest sip, last the longest time. This is definitely a date night wine right now...A bottle you can enjoy with someone you want to get to know better or again, because it takes its time. Lots of evolution during 5 hours. Twists and turns take you from one region to another though the language of a rainbowed wine with many tales. We go from a hot Napa summer day to a trip across the ocean to Rhone, where the dry and tannic ceylon tea like notes flare like a peacock in the finish, bringing much confusion. As we take a rest, the cocoa appears. Wrapped in cold graphite with notes of pen ink and then the wood influences come back in the form of decimated cozy little baking spices. A long, punctuated clean finish takes you back around to...California.
This wine can replace any 200+ dollah Napa with ease. But like most big voluptuous things, the weight will eventually shrink it down to less than what it is today. Drink, Drink and be merry! Happy Holidays and what a GREAT HOLIDAY WINE!
A lot has been said about this wine, Neal Martin and William Kelley certainly questioned this wine. Tasting blind this is far from a Paulliac, and honestly a Bordeaux, maybe a Californian Syrah, Napa Cab or Rhone varietal. Certainly a little messy, not a bad wine just very far from a 99-100 point wine which certain critics have stated. There is certainly no terroir aspects to this wine. Nil.
Notes of dark spicy cherry, bruised plum, kirsch, cassis and currents, along with spice, dark bitter chocolate, nutmeg and bay leaves. The palate shows some sort of Syrah style current, fresh herbs, Christmas cake spices , melting tannins, yet the mid-palate struggles to properly fill out leading a medium style of finish. This wine just feels a little messy for the quality. To repeat the wine is fine, I just don't think this is a true representation of the estate.
It took a few hours for this to open up, but boy did this hit all the notes for me. There was an elegance through the nose and palate. Bright blue and black fruits, oolong tea, and a hint of chocolate and spice. Long finish. One of my favorite Bordeaux bottles to date.
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Tasted over two days, alongside the same vintage Duhart-Milon and d'Armailhac. Those two wines showed equally well, for different reasons, although I preferred the latter. This delivered more of everything good, than either.
The bouquet features bright, crunchy, and sweet berries, seemingly more red and than purple, along with focused savoriness, reminiscent of the Rhone, sweet herbs, tobacco, light roast coffee grounds, and distinctive, Left Bank terroir. In a word: tantalizing!
The wine tastes like it smells, presented in intriguing, inflect-changing waves. Savory and juicy attack. The precise and expansive middle dances across the palate, touching every part. Unsurprisingly, the wine reveals its structure and profoundly tannic substance at the back. The shape-shifting finish knows no quit.
The wine's depth and range is matched by its seamless balance. Does it show exactly like Pauillac? Not exactly...on account of its deceptive lightness and complex savoriness. This house excels at adapting to and showcasing what nature offers, across vintages. The amphorae touch, certainly unique, enhances the wine's complexity.
I do not know if this will age as long as the best vintages, all indications point to a no less than a medium plus maturation curve, with the wine likely to enter is drinking window round or about 2040, or later. Costco was giving bottles away and even at retail, this is worth a look.
Preserved currants, slightly jammy nose,plums, only slight minerality. Very structured on the palate, sweet, big and bold, almost bitter on the finish. Both the 2022 primeure and the 2019 reference felt slightly overripe to me.
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No clue what the pros were tasting, but it certainly wasn't what was in my bottle, purchased from provincial monopoly on release. Opened and consumed by me over 5 hours. Very light bodied, with unripe watery light purple fruit (perhaps a little wild or savoury). Think $15 generic french wine in a poor year (and bordeaux, and pauillac in particular, is my go-to). Not flawed, just not good. Not juicy, not complex, not aromatic, not interesting, not long, not full bodied, not deep coloured, not bursting out of the glass, and it seems like the notes below suggest that I wasn't the only one to find this sorely lacking. I wonder how many of the high scores here are from those who were starry-eyed for the high scores and tasted non-blind; I'll probably give it another go in a few years and if it is anything like the first bottle (consumed several months ago) then the rest is on the chopping block. Meh at its finest.
From a half bottle, decanted for about three hours. Hard to rate this as it is so young, but this felt quite lightweight and missing the depth and range of say Lynch Bages, from the same vintage, which felt so rich and complete by comparison. I guess I really need to forget about this for a decade or so before trying again.
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The standout of a flight of four 2019 Classed Growth Pauillac wines.
The bouquet features highly appealing traditional Pauillac markers (blackcurrant, pepper garden, light roast coffee beans, dark chocolate, tobacco, worn leather, and gravel), with savory, sous-bois, and Crème de cassis top notes. Oak and alcohol in check. In sum, interesting and singular.
Delightful balance of power, finesse, and depth. The savory and Crème de cassis elements show prominently. Continuous, inflection-changing layers and nuance. Medium plus acid and deceptive, medium to medium plus tannins, provide a stalwart frame and indicate noteworthy cellaring potential. Exceptional, long, thought-provoking finish.
This has begun locking down...and I would not expect it to emerge from its initial bottle slumber for three to five years. Likely best after 2040.
I have to defer on rating this bottle. This is the first time I acquired any Bordeaux on a futures basis, and it arrived seven months ago. I decanted this one for about 4-5 hours. There was cherry on the nose. On the palate, the wine showed fruit that was not long lasting, and then was followed by another flavor I can't describe. It wasn't oak. I'm still optimistic about this wine, and I plan to revisit it in a few years.
This was thoroughly enjoyed by four tasters over about one hour, and only with a pop-n-pour. Nose was on the prettier side of thing for Pauillac, with a little leathery note. If we're going to pick nits, you could say the aromatics were a bit unfoucsed. On the palate, this was not dominated by oak and tannins, as is often the case with young Bdx.. I'd put this in the low 90s.
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There's freshness, precision, and purity of black cherry fruit here as expected. Fine balance, touch of mineral, thankfully light on graphite notes. Really appreciate the purity and lack of oak influence, but I give the edge to the '18 for its depth and lengthy finish.
Dark red. Mostly dark berries. Tannic, we sense the seeds in a good wine. Balanced and very complex with many layers. I rarely disagree with Jeb Dunnuck, but I do on this one. It is terrific!
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Five 2019 Left Bank Wines, First through Fifth Growths: The loudest bouquet, featuring red berry liqueurs (impressions, if not whiffs, of VA, perhaps the result of amphora aging), meadow flowers, and alongside the other four, this features unmistakably Pauillac characteristics. No one ever accused Pauillac of pretty perfume, yet unabashedly bold it is.
This makes its mark on the palate. Rustic purity and precision throughout. Focused, primarily red fruited attack. The highly expansive, ultra gripping middle features a core of purple and black berries. Seamless, ripe, clamp-down tannins show prominently at the back. Persistent, inflection-changing finish; the longest of the five. Straightforward, high-quality, and deeply satisfying. Stylistically, a hybrid of the rustic '14 vintage and the ethereal '15.
Likely to enter its wheelhouse after 2040 and hold through 2050.
EHC placed this last (on account of the bouquet). I placed it first (although the Margaux might be the better wine over the long haul).
Deep garnet-purple in colour. The nose is not overly exuberant, but drifts from the glass with pure notes of creamy cassis, mulberry, dried flowers, cocoa powder and layers of sweet baking spice. The merest hint of charred wood embers, underneath it all. Not your classic Pauillac, but sweet-toned, creamy, pure and quite idiosyncratic. The palate is laced with layers of sweet blackberry and plum, very concentrated, but kept precise by ultra-fine yet firm tannins, succulent acidity and an expansive texture. Incredibly ripe and concentrated, yet with a cool precision. 95+
Dark garnet in color. Full, fragrant & attractive nose of ripe fruit aromas of dark cherries, blackberries & cassis with overtones of earthy/dusty/gravel & floral notes, spices, tobacco, pencil shavings, cocoa, herbs & a hint of cedar in the background. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, lush, ripe fruit flavors of sweet cherries, mulberries & dark cassis with spices, herbs, minerals, cocoa & a hint of oak/vanilla. Long lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting & extended airing but will develop further with additional aging at which time it may merit a higher score (95+).
Had plenty of these in the cellar but couldn't resist the $85.99 price tag in my local Costco. Pnp'd tableside for the group tonight....a bit thin at first and the nose was classic but nowhere near the beauty of the '16. Classic cab taste profile and it was a bit thin to start.....by 3-4 hours of air this one grew darker in fruit and heavier in the glass, Balance is the key here with this one at 13.5% alc. So smooth and integrated and 'balanced'.......what a nice wine. I agree with others here....pick this one up if you can........cheers!
My local Costco is practically giving these away so after buying a few, I had to coravin a glass to see what we're working with (side note, I just had to update my Coravin from the original that ive had for YEARS and the new aerator attachment is awesome!). This is a killer wine. Super young for sure but there's no denying the quality and long-term potential. Black cherry, minerality, and a bit of graphite with a long, tannin-filled finish. Load up boys and girls - this is a great wine!
Chose this of a restaurant list as I thought the 2019 might be still open for business but that’s not case. We open and decanted it and then followed the wine over two hours. Only towards the end it opened up a bit more but a) the structure always stayed a bit coarse and b) the fruit has clearly retreated.
The 2016 (rated 97pts) and the 2015 (96pts) were the last two young Pontets I had at the same age and both showed open and ready.
Better not open this for a few years. Decanting will help but not bring all the fruit back. 91pts today but I hope the potential is higher…
Light dark nose, not very expressive at the moment, a bit of dust... Quite light on it's feet, little tannin present, red fruit, not very long, quite disappointing... Improved quite a lot with aeration from 91/100 to 95/100!!
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Coravin access. Tasted alongside the same vintage Alter Ego...which cannot hold a candle to this.
Effusive perfume! Fresh picked berry medley, pomegranate, spring flowers, early summer potpourri, raspberry leaf tea, and light, bright fruit liqueurs, backed by traditional variety and terroir markers. In a (compound) word: knee-weakening. Very much appreciated the absence of IN-MY-FACE oak and BLAST-THROUGH-MY-NASAL-MEMBRANE alcohol.
Incredible tension, lift, and austerity! Strikingly juicy attack. Piercing and tangy mid-palate. Gripping back. Layered, inflection-changing finish of un-clockable length. Medium plus to high acid, medium, fully ripe, steely tannins. Here again, the absence of heavy extraction, oak, and alcohol enhance the experience. Profoundly satisfying!
If blind, initially, I would have placed this in Saint-Estèphe...particularly, Montrose. The longer it breathed, the more its Pauillac character came forward. Any modern vintage Left Bank offering that comes in at 13.5 abv merits at least a full courtesy bow, and probably a standing ovation.
This packs the substance to evolve for at least fifteen years, probably twenty, and it should hold through 2050 with ease. Less Burgundian than the 2015 vintage, but no less appealing. Improvement all but certain. 96-97...98?
Youthful but already approachable. It need min 2-3 hours on decanting. Fine tannin and not austere. Medium+ acidity. Pronounced nose intensity with pencil lead, vanilla, chocolate and black fruits. This will just get better with time.
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From a half bottle - it was infanticide to try this now, but I got a case of half bottles so thought I'd treat myself to one. This is definitely not one to open up soon as it's quite unformed but the potential is surely there. I had some good luck with some other '19s drinking early like d'Issan in particular.
Wow so approachable. Aired in bottle for about 5 hours already. Drank in Grassl 1855. Appearance is clear, deep intensity, medium+ intensity, with aromas of earthiness with hint of emerging forest floor, deep cassis, blackcurrants, blackberries, dark black cherries, bit of salted cured meat. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (13.5%), structured yet pillowy high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of deep cassis, blackcurrant, blackberries, dark black cherries, dark meatiness, Pauillac muscle. Long finish. Very good quality. Didn't have a good impression of Pontet-Canet before but looks like I'll eat my words. Will go on and develop well. So promising.
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Day 1: almost hostile and not very pleasant even after 4-5 hrs. No fruit, tannic etc. Day 2: a compleatly different wine, it starts to open up with some fruit and balance. It obviously has great potential, but I will let it rest at leas 5 yrs before next attempt.
Consumed over 2 days. The first day I decanted half of the bottle for 2h and followed during 2 hours. The wine had a lot of tannins, was not so much fun. The second day (decanted another 2+ hours) the wine was much more accessible. I think the 2019 Pontet Canet will need a lot of time to develop its full potential. BUT from my point of view, the wine has great potential. 93 pts. at the moment.
Magnifique précision fruitée au nez, qui se poursuit en bouche. On se rapproche ici des bordeaux de grands millésimes à l'ancienne, c'est mûr sans être surmûri, les tanins sont de toute beauté et l'équilibre est parfait (le taux d'lacool affiché est modeste, 13.5%). Il ira très loin, mais c'est déjà succulent aujourd'hui - je ne regrette pas d'avoir commis un infanticide.
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It is the purity of the fruit, along with the soft, silky, polished layers of freshness that matter here. The wine kicks off with an array of flowers, plums, currants and blackberries along with spice, savory herbs, tobacco leaf and a touch of cherry. The wine exudes its red fruit quality with ease, leaving you with an elegant, refined, soft, polished, mid-palate and a long, vibrant, fresh finish that provides you with a gorgeous display of purity in the fruits. Please allow the wine some time for aging before pulling a cork. Drink from 2030-2060.
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Dark fruit, herbs, green pepper and a dusty attic. The profile was horizontal and long showing red and dark red fruits throughout. Strong, round silky tannins, balanced acidity and a long finish made for a lot of pleasure.
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Wild flowers, sweet crunchy, bright black and red fruits. Bell pepper, blackberry, blueberry, some tarry minerals, low key oak sensational. Velvet, smooth, sweet jammy fruits, delicious charming.
Opaque, intense, vibrant and flawless. This wine just sticks with you forever. The 2018 was pretty incredible, but this one feels even better. Plus, quality/price ratio is a freaking steal! 98-100 pts.
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3/26/2024 - Simba-wine Likes this wine: 97 Points
After seeing many 2019 posts, couldn’t resist to open one of my favorites two nights ago and drink a glass a day to see the evolution!
👁️ dark crimson, purple rim
👃 and 👄: intense blue and blackberries, floral, underbrush, graphite, the tannins are still massive and even after a very long slow ox show that this wine needs probably another 5+ years. This is far less open than upon delivery.
There is superb quality here and I have no doubt that it will come out roaring with bottle aging.
2029 - 2050
97p++
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3/26/2024 - ChrisB75 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Les arômes de ce vin sont vraiment étonnants: épices, fleurs séchées, groseilles. Tanins ultra-fins. La bouche est charnue, avec de l’ampleur et surtout une très grande classe en finale. La longueur est plutôt interminable. Un jeune rouge fabuleux
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3/16/2024 - CorkandFork Likes this wine: 94 Points
Always a wonderful wine. Beautiful nose of graphite, blue fruits, creamy but not cloying or over the top. Rich mouthfeel, substantial tannins but well integrated. This will age beautifully. Love Pontet wines.
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3/15/2024 - firstgrowth Likes this wine: 90 Points
Young
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2/29/2024 - burlingtonm Likes this wine: 93 Points
Suckling Wines of the World: no detailed notes but still young with ripe fruit, cassis and needs more time to see how this it will evolve.
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2/12/2024 - Zweder wrote:
I am not going to score this wine. It was so a-typical. The bottle had been tasted earlier with the Coravin and I don’t know if this has influenced the development of the wine. The wine had a very ripe and sweet bouquet with red berries and impressions of cocoa and oak. On the palate some sweetness and overripe impressions, full bodied, good length, round tannin and lush. I have a few bottles myself, so eventually there will be a tasting note from one of my own bottles, but that will not be on the short term.
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2/12/2024 - Strikermax wrote: 84 Points
Overripe, smooth, developed. Tastes more like a Southern Italian wine than a Bordeaux imo. I'm not a fan of the direction Pontet-Canet is going lately.
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2/11/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:
This took a long time to open up and got better with the passage of time. Initially however, this wine was just ok and does not represent a good QPR. The most recent vintage I have had from this producer was the 2003 and it is much better.
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1/25/2024 - Motz wrote: 96 Points
Tasted over two days, alongside the 2020.
This delivered infinitely more of everything appealing and interesting, even if in somewhat off the beaten path fashion, than its stablemate, particularly on the second day.
The bouquet puts the mind to France, partially Bordeaux, partially the Rhone, and partially the southwest, particularly Madiran. The perfume also features striking bio-dynamic elements, which accounts for its (French) mixed signals, and to central Italian wines based on Sangiovese and Aglianico. One also finds highly appealing savoriness, which puts the mind to the Rhone, Calabria, and Etna reds on Nerello Mascalese. In sum: unique. Amphora aging likely accounts for some of the olfactory melange.
The wine tastes like it smells, in mind-bending waves. Here is the thing though: It brings the substance, truck-tons of it! Medium plus acid and medium to medium plus tannin frame its layered intensity. Tanninphobes, beware the gripping back. The long finish changes inflection with ridiculous frequency.
Traditional? No! Appealing? Abso-friggin'-lutely! The Bordeaux purist within me tips its cap to the wine's depth and range.
Will it age? Certainly, through at least 2040. Will it evolve? Likely. Will it improve? Possibly. Whatever turns this may take, decidedly worth seeking out. 96-97.
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1/25/2024 - Sperls Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank at a Pontet Canet/Lagrange wine dinner at Mattison’s 41 in Sarasota including with Emilien Bouchab fr the chateau and chef Mattison in attendance. This was a very young wine, inky black opaque color, intense nose, but unexpectedly the initial mouthfeel impression was more thin than huge as one taster noted below. With time, the wine took on weight in the glass and started to open with deep dark black fruit, some pepper, maybe flint/iron, forward tannins, pretty high acidity and a long finish. It was interesting to taste so young but did not blow me away, ans it seemed a bit austere and didn’t have the typical brightness of pauillacs. However, I imagine it will continue to improve over the years. I probably won’t try one of my few bottles until 2029 at least…
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1/7/2024 - IlliniWine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep reddish purple. Some funk on the opening. A small sip before decanting was surprisingly thin (or did I just not taste enough?) Three hours later, however, we were in business. Dark blue and black fruits and some graphite on the nose. Continued to evolve and open up over the next couple of hours, showing some warm spice notes and even some black cherry toward the end of the evening. Beautiful. My wife detected some tobacco but I can't say it registered for me. Beautifully judged acidity and, as expected, prominent tannins. The tannis didn't soften over the course of five hours but - and this was a surprise to me - the fruit profile definitely grew in intensity, which is where the black cherry came into profile. If my wife was rating this she'd give it a solid 95; she adored it. I like my tannins a bit more tamed and so I give it a 92 for now, but years from now I have no doubt my score will increase several points. One glass left on day two but no noticeable difference from day one.
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12/31/2023 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 95 Points
Three hour decant. Very very deep intense magenta color. Blackberry, blueberry, tobacco, marshmallow, and hints of black pepper and barnyard. Very dry, slightly chalky palate, with nice sandy acidity. Full tannins on the longish finish.
Decanting Queen was kind enough to bring this to our wine-fueled New Year’s Eve weekend. The buzz around this particular wine and vintage appears to be legit. I need to pick up a few more.
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12/31/2023 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 95 Points
A Wine Fueled Goodbye to 2023; 12/29/2023-12/31/2023 (College Station, TX): As part of our drink em young theme this weekend, I am doing the unthinkable, opening a 2019 Bdx. But sure am glad I did. Obviously too young for my palate and has years to being optimal, but pretty damn good already and great to see the elements of a nearly perfect wine in place. The nose is tobacco and pencil lead with a hint of farm and cassis. More tobacco and stones on the palate with the fruit presence increasing over the evening with air. Beautiful acidity, obvious but manageable tannins, almost integrated.
Opened and tasted before decanting, then in the decanter for a couple hours before consuming.
For me this is drinking like a 92 now with the bones to get to a 97 so my score is a combo of now and potential.
Compared to a 2009 provided by AGELVIS which was also excellent and more accessible. But fun to see the chateau signature (and perhaps terrior) so clearly in both of these. You would not miss that these two were related.
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12/31/2023 - mukden wrote: 90 Points
YES not now. So too young but has long term potential to be much much better. A deep dark opaque purple wiht caramel black berries on the nose. But young…damnit…way too young .
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12/15/2023 - Phillip.Panda Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fortunate to have acquired several bottles and I’m curious to watch how this expresses itself over time versus how my palate evolves in appreciating, understanding this wine. Dark red to touch of purple, dark cherry, floral, plum, bramble with leather, spice, graphite, sense of earthiness. There is length, depth, complexity present but I found the tannin, while present, to be softer. Somewhat intrigued, felt this was subdued, mellow, maybe overly homogeneous compared to my preconceived expectation for more expressive, lively attributes and a more pronounced tannic presence. I do enjoy this wine but left a little puzzled.
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12/5/2023 - Purple Tooth wrote: 95 Points
**I bought 3 bottles of this because I cant help it. I am curious...Like a little monkey. It keeps my mind fed and my my eyes alive. And...the price was good too! So what the hell...or hey
This is where everyone should just relax and drink this wine instead of believing in Santa Claus. In its depth of deepest red, there is so much energy and pull, making the smallest sip, last the longest time. This is definitely a date night wine right now...A bottle you can enjoy with someone you want to get to know better or again, because it takes its time.
Lots of evolution during 5 hours. Twists and turns take you from one region to another though the language of a rainbowed wine with many tales. We go from a hot Napa summer day to a trip across the ocean to Rhone, where the dry and tannic ceylon tea like notes flare like a peacock in the finish, bringing much confusion. As we take a rest, the cocoa appears. Wrapped in cold graphite with notes of pen ink and then the wood influences come back in the form of decimated cozy little baking spices. A long, punctuated clean finish takes you back around to...California.
This wine can replace any 200+ dollah Napa with ease. But like most big voluptuous things, the weight will eventually shrink it down to less than what it is today. Drink, Drink and be merry! Happy Holidays and what a GREAT HOLIDAY WINE!
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12/1/2023 - Alexander Smith wrote: 91 Points
A lot has been said about this wine, Neal Martin and William Kelley certainly questioned this wine. Tasting blind this is far from a Paulliac, and honestly a Bordeaux, maybe a Californian Syrah, Napa Cab or Rhone varietal. Certainly a little messy, not a bad wine just very far from a 99-100 point wine which certain critics have stated. There is certainly no terroir aspects to this wine. Nil.
Notes of dark spicy cherry, bruised plum, kirsch, cassis and currents, along with spice, dark bitter chocolate, nutmeg and bay leaves. The palate shows some sort of Syrah style current, fresh herbs, Christmas cake spices , melting tannins, yet the mid-palate struggles to properly fill out leading a medium style of finish. This wine just feels a little messy for the quality. To repeat the wine is fine, I just don't think this is a true representation of the estate.
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11/20/2023 - anstruletz Likes this wine: 95 Points
It took a few hours for this to open up, but boy did this hit all the notes for me. There was an elegance through the nose and palate. Bright blue and black fruits, oolong tea, and a hint of chocolate and spice. Long finish. One of my favorite Bordeaux bottles to date.
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9/22/2023 - Motz wrote: 96 Points
Tasted over two days, alongside the same vintage Duhart-Milon and d'Armailhac. Those two wines showed equally well, for different reasons, although I preferred the latter. This delivered more of everything good, than either.
The bouquet features bright, crunchy, and sweet berries, seemingly more red and than purple, along with focused savoriness, reminiscent of the Rhone, sweet herbs, tobacco, light roast coffee grounds, and distinctive, Left Bank terroir. In a word: tantalizing!
The wine tastes like it smells, presented in intriguing, inflect-changing waves. Savory and juicy attack. The precise and expansive middle dances across the palate, touching every part. Unsurprisingly, the wine reveals its structure and profoundly tannic substance at the back. The shape-shifting finish knows no quit.
The wine's depth and range is matched by its seamless balance. Does it show exactly like Pauillac? Not exactly...on account of its deceptive lightness and complex savoriness. This house excels at adapting to and showcasing what nature offers, across vintages. The amphorae touch, certainly unique, enhances the wine's complexity.
I do not know if this will age as long as the best vintages, all indications point to a no less than a medium plus maturation curve, with the wine likely to enter is drinking window round or about 2040, or later. Costco was giving bottles away and even at retail, this is worth a look.
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9/5/2023 - HenrikJ wrote: 90 Points
Preserved currants, slightly jammy nose,plums, only slight minerality. Very structured on the palate, sweet, big and bold, almost bitter on the finish. Both the 2022 primeure and the 2019 reference felt slightly overripe to me.
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8/19/2023 - Machine1 wrote: 89 Points
No clue what the pros were tasting, but it certainly wasn't what was in my bottle, purchased from provincial monopoly on release. Opened and consumed by me over 5 hours. Very light bodied, with unripe watery light purple fruit (perhaps a little wild or savoury). Think $15 generic french wine in a poor year (and bordeaux, and pauillac in particular, is my go-to). Not flawed, just not good. Not juicy, not complex, not aromatic, not interesting, not long, not full bodied, not deep coloured, not bursting out of the glass, and it seems like the notes below suggest that I wasn't the only one to find this sorely lacking. I wonder how many of the high scores here are from those who were starry-eyed for the high scores and tasted non-blind; I'll probably give it another go in a few years and if it is anything like the first bottle (consumed several months ago) then the rest is on the chopping block. Meh at its finest.
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7/27/2023 - John McCabe wrote: 93 Points
From a half bottle, decanted for about three hours. Hard to rate this as it is so young, but this felt quite lightweight and missing the depth and range of say Lynch Bages, from the same vintage, which felt so rich and complete by comparison. I guess I really need to forget about this for a decade or so before trying again.
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7/1/2023 - Motz wrote: 96 Points
The standout of a flight of four 2019 Classed Growth Pauillac wines.
The bouquet features highly appealing traditional Pauillac markers (blackcurrant, pepper garden, light roast coffee beans, dark chocolate, tobacco, worn leather, and gravel), with savory, sous-bois, and Crème de cassis top notes. Oak and alcohol in check. In sum, interesting and singular.
Delightful balance of power, finesse, and depth. The savory and Crème de cassis elements show prominently. Continuous, inflection-changing layers and nuance. Medium plus acid and deceptive, medium to medium plus tannins, provide a stalwart frame and indicate noteworthy cellaring potential. Exceptional, long, thought-provoking finish.
This has begun locking down...and I would not expect it to emerge from its initial bottle slumber for three to five years. Likely best after 2040.
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6/18/2023 - Recreation Chef wrote:
I have to defer on rating this bottle. This is the first time I acquired any Bordeaux on a futures basis, and it arrived seven months ago. I decanted this one for about 4-5 hours. There was cherry on the nose. On the palate, the wine showed fruit that was not long lasting, and then was followed by another flavor I can't describe. It wasn't oak. I'm still optimistic about this wine, and I plan to revisit it in a few years.
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6/10/2023 - grafstrb wrote:
This was thoroughly enjoyed by four tasters over about one hour, and only with a pop-n-pour. Nose was on the prettier side of thing for Pauillac, with a little leathery note. If we're going to pick nits, you could say the aromatics were a bit unfoucsed. On the palate, this was not dominated by oak and tannins, as is often the case with young Bdx.. I'd put this in the low 90s.
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6/4/2023 - ShadowIII Likes this wine: 93 Points
youthful nose of currants, blackberry, spice, good structure, moderate tannins, long finish
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5/31/2023 - wineotim Likes this wine: 94 Points
There's freshness, precision, and purity of black cherry fruit here as expected. Fine balance, touch of mineral, thankfully light on graphite notes. Really appreciate the purity and lack of oak influence, but I give the edge to the '18 for its depth and lengthy finish.
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5/14/2023 - Neras Likes this wine: 97 Points
Dark red. Mostly dark berries. Tannic, we sense the seeds in a good wine. Balanced and very complex with many layers. I rarely disagree with Jeb Dunnuck, but I do on this one. It is terrific!
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5/10/2023 - Motz wrote: 96 Points
Five 2019 Left Bank Wines, First through Fifth Growths: The loudest bouquet, featuring red berry liqueurs (impressions, if not whiffs, of VA, perhaps the result of amphora aging), meadow flowers, and alongside the other four, this features unmistakably Pauillac characteristics. No one ever accused Pauillac of pretty perfume, yet unabashedly bold it is.
This makes its mark on the palate. Rustic purity and precision throughout. Focused, primarily red fruited attack. The highly expansive, ultra gripping middle features a core of purple and black berries. Seamless, ripe, clamp-down tannins show prominently at the back. Persistent, inflection-changing finish; the longest of the five. Straightforward, high-quality, and deeply satisfying. Stylistically, a hybrid of the rustic '14 vintage and the ethereal '15.
Likely to enter its wheelhouse after 2040 and hold through 2050.
EHC placed this last (on account of the bouquet). I placed it first (although the Margaux might be the better wine over the long haul).
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4/24/2023 - Sun_Ship Likes this wine: 95 Points
Deep garnet-purple in colour. The nose is not overly exuberant, but drifts from the glass with pure notes of creamy cassis, mulberry, dried flowers, cocoa powder and layers of sweet baking spice. The merest hint of charred wood embers, underneath it all. Not your classic Pauillac, but sweet-toned, creamy, pure and quite idiosyncratic. The palate is laced with layers of sweet blackberry and plum, very concentrated, but kept precise by ultra-fine yet firm tannins, succulent acidity and an expansive texture. Incredibly ripe and concentrated, yet with a cool precision. 95+
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4/11/2023 - Philippe_C wrote: 93 Points
Nez leger, fruits rouges, très standard, sous-bois... light and muted, not at it's level.
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4/10/2023 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark garnet in color. Full, fragrant & attractive nose of ripe fruit aromas of dark cherries, blackberries & cassis with overtones of earthy/dusty/gravel & floral notes, spices, tobacco, pencil shavings, cocoa, herbs & a hint of cedar in the background. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, lush, ripe fruit flavors of sweet cherries, mulberries & dark cassis with spices, herbs, minerals, cocoa & a hint of oak/vanilla. Long lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting & extended airing but will develop further with additional aging at which time it may merit a higher score (95+).
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4/3/2023 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 96 Points
Had plenty of these in the cellar but couldn't resist the $85.99 price tag in my local Costco. Pnp'd tableside for the group tonight....a bit thin at first and the nose was classic but nowhere near the beauty of the '16. Classic cab taste profile and it was a bit thin to start.....by 3-4 hours of air this one grew darker in fruit and heavier in the glass, Balance is the key here with this one at 13.5% alc. So smooth and integrated and 'balanced'.......what a nice wine. I agree with others here....pick this one up if you can........cheers!
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3/24/2023 - RichEB1 Likes this wine: 95 Points
My local Costco is practically giving these away so after buying a few, I had to coravin a glass to see what we're working with (side note, I just had to update my Coravin from the original that ive had for YEARS and the new aerator attachment is awesome!). This is a killer wine. Super young for sure but there's no denying the quality and long-term potential. Black cherry, minerality, and a bit of graphite with a long, tannin-filled finish. Load up boys and girls - this is a great wine!
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2/12/2023 - Cailles wrote: 91 Points
Chose this of a restaurant list as I thought the 2019 might be still open for business but that’s not case. We open and decanted it and then followed the wine over two hours. Only towards the end it opened up a bit more but a) the structure always stayed a bit coarse and b) the fruit has clearly retreated.
The 2016 (rated 97pts) and the 2015 (96pts) were the last two young Pontets I had at the same age and both showed open and ready.
Better not open this for a few years. Decanting will help but not bring all the fruit back. 91pts today but I hope the potential is higher…
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1/6/2023 - Parko82 Likes this wine: 94 Points
13.5% ABV
Not giving a lot till day 3
More about savoury goodness although there is underlying cassis fruit.
Earthy soil, cigar box, mocha, licorice, brewed black tea and of course Crème de cassis.
Terrific balance and wonderful length.
This has a bright bright future and I don't regret checking in at such an early stage although it did take 3 days to give me much.
NIce
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12/25/2022 - Philippe_C wrote: 95 Points
Light dark nose, not very expressive at the moment, a bit of dust... Quite light on it's feet, little tannin present, red fruit, not very long, quite disappointing... Improved quite a lot with aeration from 91/100 to 95/100!!
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12/14/2022 - Motz wrote: 96 Points
Coravin access. Tasted alongside the same vintage Alter Ego...which cannot hold a candle to this.
Effusive perfume! Fresh picked berry medley, pomegranate, spring flowers, early summer potpourri, raspberry leaf tea, and light, bright fruit liqueurs, backed by traditional variety and terroir markers. In a (compound) word: knee-weakening. Very much appreciated the absence of IN-MY-FACE oak and BLAST-THROUGH-MY-NASAL-MEMBRANE alcohol.
Incredible tension, lift, and austerity! Strikingly juicy attack. Piercing and tangy mid-palate. Gripping back. Layered, inflection-changing finish of un-clockable length. Medium plus to high acid, medium, fully ripe, steely tannins. Here again, the absence of heavy extraction, oak, and alcohol enhance the experience. Profoundly satisfying!
If blind, initially, I would have placed this in Saint-Estèphe...particularly, Montrose. The longer it breathed, the more its Pauillac character came forward. Any modern vintage Left Bank offering that comes in at 13.5 abv merits at least a full courtesy bow, and probably a standing ovation.
This packs the substance to evolve for at least fifteen years, probably twenty, and it should hold through 2050 with ease. Less Burgundian than the 2015 vintage, but no less appealing. Improvement all but certain. 96-97...98?
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10/22/2022 - Sean Tay Likes this wine: 96 Points
Youthful but already approachable. It need min 2-3 hours on decanting. Fine tannin and not austere. Medium+ acidity. Pronounced nose intensity with pencil lead, vanilla, chocolate and black fruits. This will just get better with time.
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10/20/2022 - Bigdong wrote: 92 Points
NYC, not up there with other super seconds
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10/17/2022 - bigdogsteve Likes this wine: 94 Points
Nice bouquet, still so very young. Tannic.
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10/14/2022 - John McCabe wrote: 93 Points
From a half bottle - it was infanticide to try this now, but I got a case of half bottles so thought I'd treat myself to one. This is definitely not one to open up soon as it's quite unformed but the potential is surely there. I had some good luck with some other '19s drinking early like d'Issan in particular.
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9/16/2022 - Derek Darth Taster Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow so approachable. Aired in bottle for about 5 hours already. Drank in Grassl 1855.
Appearance is clear, deep intensity, medium+ intensity, with aromas of earthiness with hint of emerging forest floor, deep cassis, blackcurrants, blackberries, dark black cherries, bit of salted cured meat. Developing.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (13.5%), structured yet pillowy high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of deep cassis, blackcurrant, blackberries, dark black cherries, dark meatiness, Pauillac muscle. Long finish.
Very good quality. Didn't have a good impression of Pontet-Canet before but looks like I'll eat my words. Will go on and develop well. So promising.
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9/7/2022 - LingonTuvan Likes this wine: 95 Points
Day 1: almost hostile and not very pleasant even after 4-5 hrs. No fruit, tannic etc. Day 2: a compleatly different wine, it starts to open up with some fruit and balance. It obviously has great potential, but I will let it rest at leas 5 yrs before next attempt.
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8/28/2022 - Romol Likes this wine: 93 Points
Consumed over 2 days. The first day I decanted half of the bottle for 2h and followed during 2 hours. The wine had a lot of tannins, was not so much fun. The second day (decanted another 2+ hours) the wine was much more accessible. I think the 2019 Pontet Canet will need a lot of time to develop its full potential. BUT from my point of view, the wine has great potential. 93 pts. at the moment.
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4/10/2022 - tloir Likes this wine: 97 Points
Magnifique précision fruitée au nez, qui se poursuit en bouche. On se rapproche ici des bordeaux de grands millésimes à l'ancienne, c'est mûr sans être surmûri, les tanins sont de toute beauté et l'équilibre est parfait (le taux d'lacool affiché est modeste, 13.5%). Il ira très loin, mais c'est déjà succulent aujourd'hui - je ne regrette pas d'avoir commis un infanticide.
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3/29/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
It is the purity of the fruit, along with the soft, silky, polished layers of freshness that matter here. The wine kicks off with an array of flowers, plums, currants and blackberries along with spice, savory herbs, tobacco leaf and a touch of cherry. The wine exudes its red fruit quality with ease, leaving you with an elegant, refined, soft, polished, mid-palate and a long, vibrant, fresh finish that provides you with a gorgeous display of purity in the fruits. Please allow the wine some time for aging before pulling a cork. Drink from 2030-2060.
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3/16/2022 - Tudz Drkl Likes this wine:
Dark fruit, herbs, green pepper and a dusty attic. The profile was horizontal and long showing red and dark red fruits throughout. Strong, round silky tannins, balanced acidity and a long finish made for a lot of pleasure.
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12/4/2021 - wineappellation Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wild flowers, sweet crunchy, bright black and red fruits. Bell pepper, blackberry, blueberry, some tarry minerals, low key oak sensational. Velvet, smooth, sweet jammy fruits, delicious charming.
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11/28/2021 - wineappellation wrote: 92 Points
Very fresh and ethereal, crunchy black and red fresh fruits, wild floral, bright with underlying oak. Nice approach but not classic. 92
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12/11/2020 - watcheslover Likes this wine: 94 Points
Little deception? I thindk it loosed a little of his splendour from june 2020
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9/12/2020 - Ramonee Confit Likes this wine: 95 Points
Entre dans une phase difficile à gouter mais tout le potentiel est là
94-96 (à revoir)
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7/5/2020 - lachance89 Likes this wine: 100 Points
Opaque, intense, vibrant and flawless. This wine just sticks with you forever. The 2018 was pretty incredible, but this one feels even better. Plus, quality/price ratio is a freaking steal! 98-100 pts.
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6/7/2020 - watcheslover wrote: 99 Points
Really beautifull 98-99
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