2022 Chateau Pontet Canet 3,0 l - Doppelmagnum - 5eme Cru Pauillac

Decanter.com – 95 pts – GH: *Vibrant, vivid purple colour in the glass, rich and deep. Smells bright, super fresh and expressive on the nose with freshly-picked blackcurrants and perfumed purple flowers - the Petit Verdot, really standing out. Clean and clear, creamy, powdery and softly chewy on the palate. The texture is lovely, you can tell they haven't over extracted but there’s still clear concentration with a gentle succulence provided by the acidity, cool freshness and appealing mineral touches alongside liquorice, clove, dried herbs and bitter chocolate. Enjoyable and well defined if still a little compact. 3.85pH. 4% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. 15% press wine used. Harvest 8 - 28 September, the earliest and longest ever. 20% lower yields than in 2021. The technical team used a clay sunscreen on the grapes to avoid burning. Tasted twice.* - 04/2023

Falstaff Magazin – 99 pts – PM: *14,7 % Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Feine Nuancen von Herzkirschen und Zwetschken, süßer Cassis ist unterlegt, zarte Edelholznuancen, feine tabakige Nuancen, einladendes Bukett. Komplex, straff, schwarze Waldbeeren, mineralischer Kern, wirkt sehr konzentriert und engmaschig, besitzt eine eindrucksvolle Frische, ohne jede Spur von Opulenz, zeigt große Länge, sicherer Reifepotenzial, feine Kräuterwürze und salzige Nuancen im Nachhall.* - 01/2023

Vinum Magazin – 20/20 pts: *Extrem dicht und vollblütig und reichhaltig und doch so frisch wie ein Frühlingswind und sogar saftig, dank beeindruckend mineralischem Tannin, enorme Länge; grösste Präzision, gepaart mit einmaliger Inspiration.* - 04/2023

WeinWisser – 19/20pts – GL, TW: *57 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 % Merlot, 4 % Cabernet Franc, 4 % Petit Verdot. Ernte: -20 % im Vergleich zum vergangenen Jahr. Delikates Bouquet, frisch gepflückte Alpenheidelbeeren, getrocknete Rosenblätter und Graphit, dahinter Marokkominze, Holundergelee und heller Tabak. Am vielschichtigen, durchtrainierten Gaumen mit ungeheurer Tiefe und beeindruckender Dichte, seidig-cremiger Textur, vibrierender Rasse und kakaoartigem, engmaschigem Tanningerüst. Im konzentrierten, langanhaltenden Finale blaubeerige Konturen, dunkle Mineralik und feinkörnige Adstringenz. Besticht dieses Jahr durch Reinheit und Eleganz mit großem Lagerpotenzial. Justine beschreibt die Lese als "à la carte", dem gibt es nichts hinzuzufügen!* – 04/2023

JancisRobinson.com – 17,5/20pts – JL: *57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample. Deep crimson to the rim. Subtle, scented nose. Crunchy tannins but wrapped in generous fruit. Concentrated, punchy, powerful but refined tannins. Tight, firm finish. Bit of a glow but enough freshness to provide balance. Needs to gel but clear potential.* - 04/2023

Vinous.com – (95-97) pts – AG: *The 2022 Pontet-Canet is a surprising wine. Usually much more opulent, especially in warm, dry years, the 2022 comes across as restrained and understated. It is a wine of linear intensity rather than size, marked by notable freshness and a feeling of tension and precision I don’t recall seeing in the past. Clean mineral notes extend the finish effortlessly. I very much admire the precision and vibrancy here. Unforgettable.* - 04/2023

Vinous.com – (94-96) pts – NM: *The 2022 Pontet Canet has a pure nose with perfumed blackberry and cassis fruit. It takes time to cohere, evolving light pencil lead notes after 8-10 minutes. The palate has a lovely chalky texture on the entry, and a silver bead of acidity. Perhaps, more complexity than the aromatics suggest at the moment. Fine balance, moderate grip, the /mineralité/ coming toward the final third, it fans out with gusto. There is quite a long residual peppery note on the aftertaste that you can feel after 30 seconds. I have not pulled any punches in recent vintages, when stylistically, I felt that it has veered too far away from Pauillac, for my personal taste. But closely examining this 2022, today, it seems safely within the appellation.* - 04/2023

Thewinecellarinsider.com – (96-98) pts – JL: *Deep purple with a blue hue in color, the wine is almost opaque in color. Cassis, flowers, plums, licorice, and tobacco leaf aromas adorn the perfume. It is already clear that with this wine, it is the purity in the fruit that stands out. The palate is equally pure, with its layers of glycerin-filled blackberries, and plums. The wine is lush, as well as refined. The finish meshes concentration with elegance, power with purity, lift and length. The peppery, spicy note, along with the resounding minty-freshness, and a touch of anise in the long, finish is what stands out here. There is no sensation of heat or over ripeness in this wine in the mid-palate or in the finish. The wine blends 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot.14.7% ABV, pH 3.8. Harvesting took place September 8 - September 28. This is longest harvest and the earliest harvest in the history of the estate. The wine is aging in a combination of 50% new, French oak, and 35% Amphora. Pontet Canet is often a slow starter in barrel. My score could go higher when the wine is in bottle. Drink from 2028-2060.* - 05/2023