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Goedhuis, April 2019, Score: 93-95
The vagaries of tasting en primeur made this a very difficult wine to taste at our visit. For many it was one of their wines of the vintage but on our day it was a little more reticent. The power and concentration from the very low yielding crop at this property in 2018 just controls the fruit a little, giving the impression that this really is a wine for the long term and may remain shy for a number of years in its youth.
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Antonio Galloni, May 2019, Score: 96-99
The 2018 Pontet-Canet is a freak of nature. Dark, rich and explosive, the 2018 possesses off the charts richness and concentration, much of it coming from tiny yields of just ten hectoliters per hectare, or one third of a normal crop. The 2018 soars out of the glass with stunning aromatic intensity and depth. Black cherry, gravel, grilled herbs, leather, lavender and menthol stain the palate. Dense and hedonistically ripe, the 2018 is a stunningly beautiful wine. The grapes were crushed by hand. Because of the tiny yields, the entire production was vinified in Pontet-Canet's new smaller concrete vats. All winemaking was done manually, without the aid of external temperature control or electricity. The 2018 is aging in a combination of 55% new oak and 45% terra cotta amphora. Quite simply, I have never tasted anything like it.
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Wine Advocate, April 2019, Score: 97-99
The 2018 Pontet-Canet is made up of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Picking began on September 24 and finished on October 5; aging is in 55% oak barriques and 45% amphorae. Very deep purple-black in color, it comes rolling sensuously out of the glass with all the opulence and seduction of Cleopatra on a carpet. It emerges with flamboyant scents of crème de cassis, preserved plums and blueberry compote, and after a few moments, it bursts with nuances of molten licorice, sandalwood, Chinese five spice, candied violets, dark chocolate and dried roses, followed by underlying earthy suggestions of fallen leaves, black truffles, underbrush and wild sage. Full-bodied, wonderfully dense, rich, impossibly layered and very, very decadent, the palate delivers all it promises on the nose, with a firm, wonderfully velvety frame and finishing with epic length, a scintillating wave of freshness and a beguiling perfume. This is one for true hedonists.
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James Suckling, April 2019, Score: 97-98
A bright and open young wine with polished and soft tannins that spread out and fold into the wine, becoming barely discernible, yet the feel and beauty of them frames the wine in a beautiful way. Love the fruit and purity.
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Decanter, April 2019, Score: 96
The concentration that comes from having yields of 12hl/ha is extremely clear - it makes it feel very Pauillac, again resembling as at Latour, a 2010 style in terms of its backbone and sense of hunkering down. The fruit quality is dark and knitted, with a creamy texture if you give it a minute to settle, an obvious tannic structure and a menthol finish that lets in some juice, bramble and hedgerow pleasures. It’s clearly impressive, although I get just the slightest touch of over-concentration with hints of prune on the finish. The small yields meant the entire process, from destemming to sorting, was done by hand (last year around 30% of the crop was treated in this way), then fermented in small 40L cement vats that had seen their first service for just part of the crop in 2017. There was huge amounts of hard work and stress to ensure that no dried grapes made it through, with no pumping over and only soft manual punch down to control extraction. This is 100% 1st wine, same as it has been here for the past three years. 55% will be aged in new oak barrel, 45% in amphoras. Drinking Window 2026 - 2040
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Matthew Jukes, April 2019, Score: 18+
The perfume on this wine is like nothing I have ever encountered in Bordeaux. It is the quintessence of juiciness and concentration, but the palate quickly nips this explosion in the bud and then the flavour is seriously controlled and elegant. The main thrust of fruit is purple and decadent with more than a glimpse of heather and liquorice. They were badly affected by mildew at Pontet-Canet and because of their biodynamic rules they couldn’t not simply run out and spray what they wanted in order to prevent catastrophic damage. In addition, they had to hand sort every berry and destem everything by hand. Winemaker Jean-Michel Comme said that they had, ‘11 people for one table’! In the end they made only one third of a normal production here and yet it shows that the biodynamic path still manages to make headline-grabbing wines. With so much exuberance and theatricality, this is a mesmerising wine with a shockingly vibrant flavour. Only a light pigeage (punching-down) was used with no remontage (pumping over) at all. Jean-Michel stated that the levels of quality and concentration achieved in this wine has ‘never been seen here before’. In his opinion it is higher than 2016 and even 2010. While I appreciate that this is an extraordinary wine, I am not as excited about it as I am the aforementioned vintages, so I have given it a cautious score because I have no idea how far or for how long this elixir will develop.
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Jancis Robinson, November 2021, Score: 16.5
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot.
Blackish garnet. Very ripe, almost agricultural nose. And some sandpaper tannin on the end – is this an amphora effect? Certainly very distinctive! By no means unpleasant; just very different from the norm. Marked tannin.
Drink 2028 – 2045
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Julia Harding, April 2019, Score: 16.5
Very, very dark. Intensely fruity aroma –even a touch of wild strawberries, blueberry, fragrant and sweetly and wildly fruited. That aroma is on the palate too, a little darker, but all tied up in the tannins, which are smooth but dense. Firm, dry but not chewy. The freshness accentuates the tannins at the moment, hardening them a little. Utterly embryonic but everything in place even if not yet showing. Concentrated and sweet-fruited. Needs a lot of time. Juicy under all that structure and long. More Pontet-Canet than Pauillac, or than my stereotype of Pauillac. Drink 2028-2045
