December 30, 2023 - 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
October 22, 2021 - 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
May 1, 2020 - - Ruby color - Surprisingly drinking well.Cork was intact .Didnt need screwpull. Great with food.
November 26, 2019 - Drank with my 2 bosses and bedrock bar and grill.
Still drinking well but towards the end of life.
Secondary flavours.
March 22, 2019 - 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.
March 22, 2018 - 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
January 14, 2018 - 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.
August 14, 2015 - 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.
August 1, 2015 - °°° 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
April 11, 2015 - 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.