Château PONTET-CANET
5ème grand cru classé

The 2021 vintage in the press:

La Revue du Vin de France (Guide 2025): 96/100 “The 2021 confirms its greatness! The wine offers absolutely magnificent refinement and subtlety. Freshly fruited, it unfolds on the palate with great suavity and silkiness. The substance is superb, the fruit is poised and the tannins are lacy. One of the most charming wines of the vintage”.

Vinous (N.Martin - November 2023): 93/100 “The 2021 Pontet Canet, which coontains a little more Petit Verdot than usual, was bottled in july. It has a very attractive bouquet with pure black fruit, cedar and light iris flower scents. It is not powerful, yet there is elegance here. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and a crisp line of acidity. Just a hint of mocha lurks in the background, but there is a satisfying, almost citric freshness toward the finish.”

The 2020 vintage in the press:

La Revue du Vin de France (November 2023): 99/100 “The highly complex nose sets the tone: notes of fruit, charcoal, graphite... The wine is spectacular on the palate too, full and vibrant. A touch of acidity gives it plenty of spring and stretches the finish. A bottle of absolute harmony".

Vinous (N. Martin - December 2022): 95/100 “Quite structured on the finish (more so than previous vintages) with a soft, insistent grip. This wine is unquestionably more classic than the 2019 recently tasted blind and should mature well in bottle. Excellent.”

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The 2017 vintage in the press:

La Revue du Vin de France (Guide 2021): 97/100 “In a style reminiscent of the great Burgundy wines, 2017 is also a textured wine, with a touch of powder and a very fine grain. Long and slender, but so persistent.”

Vinous (Antonio Galloni - March 2020): 95/100 “A gorgeous, alluring Pauillac, the 2017 Pontet-Canet is racy and exceptionally polished, with floral top notes that bring out the natural brightness of the red-toned fruit. Super-silky tannins add to the wine's immediacy and sheer allure.”

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The 2016 vintage in the press:

La Revue du Vin de France (December 2021): 98/100 “With its graphite and charcoal dimension, beautiful spice and that touch of precious wood, it's refined. On the palate, the wine is beautifully full-bodied, with a fine osmosis between power and tannic structure. It's a long wine, with a sap of tannin that coats the palate without excess. A magnificent wine, built for ageing.”

Vinous (A. Galloni - December 2018): 99/100 "The 2016 Pontet-Canet is absolutely breathtaking. Powerful, ample and racy in the glass, the 2016 is one of the most exquisitely well-balanced young Pontet-Canets I can remember tasting. Savory, high-toned aromatics and brisk mineral notes lend energy and delineation as this vivid wonderfully alive wine opens up in the glass; The flavors are dark and incisive, but it is the wine's total sense of harmony that is most compelling. All of the elements are simply in the right place. The 2016 is tremendous. It's as simple as that. As is often the case, Pontet-Canet is one of the most singular wines in Bordeaux."

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The 2012 vintage in the press:

La Revue du Vin de France (December 2021): 93/100 “The palate is velvety, sitting on half-powered matter, but the heart of the mouth is harmonious. The tannins are well integrated and the whole seduces with its elegant, silky texture. A very pleasant 2012."

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The 2010 vintage in the press:

La Revue du Vin de France (December 2021): 96/100 “The wine shows a beautiful richness managed by a framework of quality tannins that stretch the palate and give it relief. This is a serious wine, still fleshy, with many years ahead of it."

Vinous (N. Martin - February 2020): 92/100 "The 2010 Pontet-Canet is noticeably deep in colour compared to its peers. This is unusually ripe  and sweet on the nose, more red than black fruit, maybe a little jammy and confit-like. I would never guess this was a 2010 Left Bank. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy mouthfeel, plenty of graphite tinged red fruit. Approachable in style and sensually fulfilling, it just lacks a bit of grip backbone on the finish. I have fonder memories of previous bottles but I could not identify any specific fault."

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The 2010 vintage in the press:

La Revue du Vin de France (December 2021): 96/100 “The wine shows a beautiful richness managed by a framework of quality tannins that stretch the palate and give it relief. This is a serious wine, still fleshy, with many years ahead of it."

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The 2008 vintage in the press:

Vinous (N. Martin - February 2020): 92/100 "A meeting by chance with the 2008 Pontet-Canet prior to a small tasting of South African wines reminded me what a lovely wine this is. There is plenty of black fruit on the nose laced with graphite. The cedar component is less prominent than the previous bottled tasting. The palate is medium-bodied, a little drier and more austere than recent vintages, yet clearly well balanced with a surfeit of freshness on the slightly herbaceous finish."

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The 2006 vintage in the press:

La Revue du Vin de France (2016): 17.5/20 “Very nice, subtle length.”

Wine Advocate (2016): 93/100

Vinous (S. Tanzer - May 2009): 94/100 "Satured medium ruby. Inky cassis, black raspeberry, graphite and pungent minerality on the very ripe nose. Dense, riche and silky, with a brooding inky minerality and an almost liqueur-like dark fruit sweetness leavened by a savory peppery element. This very ripe, deep and concentrated wine boasts wonderful lushness without any undue weight thanks to its sheer energy like its neighbor Mouton-rothschild, Pontet-Canet's 2006 conveys a powerful impression of soil character. Finishes with serious dusty tannins and superb lingering sweetness. Should be long-lived."