Pontet Canet Tasting with Alfred Tesseron and Jack's Birthday Dinner
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Tasted Friday, November 22, 2013 by vinole with 1,037 views
Introduction
Joined Jack and his lovely bride for a tasting of wines from Pontet Canet hosted by proprietor Alfred Tesseron. I found him to be a very unassuming, down to earth man who displayed his passion for making great wine and always striving to improve it. They began using Biodynamic principles with the 2005 vintage and became certified in 2010. Some of the more interesting stories he shared was the estate now has 5 horses used to pull wagons that tend 32 of the estate's 81 hectares. This is done to minimize the compaction and disturbance of the soil caused by tractors. He also talked about using amphorae to age wine (rather than oak barrels) starting with the 2012 vintage. They will be used with about 15% of the wine and intend to vary the amount depending on the vintage. They typically use 60% new oak and he would like to reduce the oak influence and allow the fruit and terroir to express itself more directly. They actually use soil and crushed stone from the vineyards in the making of the vessels to allow the wine to continue its interaction with its native soil. More on this can be found here - http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2013/04/pontet-canet-seeks-emotion-via-amphorae/
He also said that if visiting the estate, to contact him directly and gave out his business cards. Comes across as a guy who is hands on in how his wine is made and how visitors interact at his estate. A very impressive gentleman indeed.
Flight 1 - Pontet Canet Tasting - Palm Beach Gardens, FL (5 Notes)
All wines were double decanted one hour before the start of the tasting which lasted for 1.5 hours.
Flight 2 - Dinner at Entre Nous - North Palm Beach, FL (2 Notes)
After the tasting, my wife joined us to celebrate Jack's recent birthday at Entre Nous in North Palm Beach. Jack knows how to celebrate as his choice of wine attests. Their menu had many great offerings and I was quite pleased with my rack of lamb and the service. Highly recommended. Overall, a terrific evening.
2003 Château Pontet-Canet 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Full minus body and medium minus acidity with black cherry and currant fruit upfront and blackberry at the back end. Tannins were still firm despite one hour of decanting. Fruit forward and ripe for Bordeaux, with less earth, graphite, and cedar than would normally get from other vintages. Alfred Tesseron suggested drinking now through the next 5-7 years, after which he expects a slow decline. For my taste, I will personally wait another 2-3 years before opening my bottles as I found the tannins need more time to resolve.
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2006 Château Pontet-Canet 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Much nicer nose than the 03. Medium plus body and medium acidity with mostly currant fruit. Less ripe and more structured than the 03, and more approachable as well from its excellent sense of balance, though still needs more years in the cellar. Lovely classic Bordeaux finish with good length and concentration. Mssr. Tesseron suggested this vintage needs more time, and I agree.
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2008 Château Pontet-Canet 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
This wine was the most closed one of the tasting with the same one hour double decanting. It displayed medium body and acidity with mostly currant fruit that refused to open much on this night. The tannins are tight and young, but fairly mild compared to the other wines. The most noticeable difference was the lack of concentration on the finish which makes me wonder how much upside it has, though at a difficult place to evaluate right now. I would not open these now unless using some of the lengthy decanting others here have. Mssr. Tesseron suggested drinking now or waiting 10 years, though the wine I tasted already seemed closed.
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2009 Château Pontet-Canet 96 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
This was head and shoulders above the other wines tonight. A great nose of pure focused fruit. Dark red and lots of blackberry fruit on a medium plus body frame with medium plus acidity. The fruit is rich and lush, but has great balance, and a sense of litheness and brightness on the palate. While this wine certainly has the structure to age very well, I am not sure it will shut down. Drinking surprisingly well now, but will only get better as the tannins and fruit go down a notch, and complexity and elegance begins to form. Mssr. Tesseron described this as an opulent wine which I think fits very well.
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2010 Château Pontet-Canet
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Intense and concentrated nose, with the same following on the palate. While the other wines displayed red and black fruit, this one had more blue and black fruit. The one hour of decanting was unable to get the fruit to unwind much, and the wine is just packed with structure. The tannins are concentrated, on a full minus body frame and medium acidity. Far less approachable than the 09 right now, but I expect it to be the better wine in another 20 years that its more classic style demands.
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