PONTET CANET 2023

Blue fruits, sappy herbs, flowers, and subtle graphite notes all emerge from the 2023 Château Pontet-Canet, a medium to full-bodied, concentrated Pauillac that has plenty of mid-palate flesh and texture, ripe, polished tannins, and outstanding length. It's incredibly well-balanced, has a round, layered mouthfeel, and a brilliant sense of salinity and minerality on the finish. It's going to need just short-term cellaring, but this is a gorgeous Pauillac. The blend is 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, from healthy yields of 55 hectoliters per hectare.

A solid red, with a core of dark currant and blackberry reduction notes laced with singed alder and chestnut leaf threads. Its grip is in cast iron form, and this is ample and well-buried, letting the fruit flow through the finish, where sweet bay echoes prettily. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2027 through 2040.

The 2023 Pontet-Canet envelops the palate with silky tannins as hints of vibrant red-toned fruit, crushed flowers, spice and dried herbs fill out the layers. The 2023 is an exceptionally finessed Pontet-Canet. This is the first vintage in which the Grand Vin was blended early—in December following the harvest—as opposed to just before bottling, which had been the norm. That's one of many changes that resulted in a striking wine endowed with superb finesse. Tasted two times.

A crunchy and vivid Pontet Canet with aromas of blueberries, blackberries, roses, violets and some sandalwood and graphite. Medium-bodied with ultra-fine tannins that are long and caressing. Creamy texture, with crushed stones and light cement. Lots of energy at the end. Very approachable and long. Turns chewy and silky, with a bright and vivid finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. 52% cabernet sauvignon, 39% merlot, 6% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot. Drink in three or four years.

Meeting the expectations set at the en primeur tastings, the 2023 Pontet-Canet wafts from the glass with a vibrant, perfumed bouquet of cassis, mulberries, rose petals, pencil shavings and licorice. Medium- to full-bodied, seamless and pure, it is layered and precise, framed by filigreed tannins and delivering a powerful yet controlled profile that extends into a long, crystalline, licorice-inflected finish. A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, it signals a new aesthetic era for the estate, marked by greater purity, brightness and precision.