The 2010 Château Pontet Canet is still beautiful, with a youthful sense of style in its darker currants, saddle leather, violets, graphite, and floral aromatics. These carry to a full-bodied, rich, concentrated, and textured Pauillac that remains balanced, light on its feet, and structured. It’s far from inaccessible, yet it still needs another 4-5 years and will be incredibly long-lived. I continue to favor the 2009 over the 2010, but there’s no denying that this is a magical Pontet Canet. Drink 2030-2060.

(65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot) Bright ruby. Knockout nose of cassis, black pepper, minerals and cedar just screams Pauillac. Enters the mouth sweet, creamy and pure, displaying very rich, dense flavors of black fruit, minerals and dried herbs, with lively, integrated acidity keeping the wine from coming across as top-heavy. Finishes extremely long, with silky tannins and an intriguing floral note. Twenty-four hectares are now farmed by horse (up from seven last year) at what has become the first officially certified biodynamic grand cru classe property of Bordeaux. This wine has one of the most impressive and memorable noses of all in 2010 and is much better than the very good but generally overrated 2009. Though it's a little more accessible now than some other great wines of 2010 such as Latour and Calon-Segur, this still needs another 10 to 12 years in the cellar to start showing its best and will keep another 40 years after that without problem.

The 2010 Pontet-Canet offers a very deep garnet color. Whoa—the nose explodes with a vast array of black fruit preserves and savory nuances: plum preserves, blackcurrant cordial, black cherry coulis and licorice with wafts of dried lavender, melted chocolate, charcuterie, black olives, truffles and camphor plus a hint of sandalwood. The full-bodied palate is completely filled with black fruits, exotic spices and earthy nuances with a firm foundation of ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. So much more expressive and seductive than a lot of 2010s at this stage, and yet it is still incredibly youthful!