The year 2014 ended by a beautiful and long Indian summer (after a difficult start and a fresh, sometimes humid summer). In the end, the 2014 crops were peaceful with perfect sanitary conditions. The property created its 10th biodynamically grown vintage wine and proves, once again, its reputation and its hallmark solidity in this typical wine from Pauillac. The 2014 Pontet Canet is a straightforward Pauillac, strong with aromatic and gustatory finesse. The olfactory expression is ample with pure scents of black fruits and a certain tension. The elegant palate (representative of the quality of the tannins) offers great vibrancy, digestibility as well as fruity persistence. The palate is juicy and the structure is creamy: it is an outstanding wine! This is a very precise Chateau Pontet-Canet.
The 2014 Pontet-Canet, now in bottle, was tasted twice during my trip to Bordeaux. It has an attractive bouquet: graphite tinged black fruit, incense and violets, perhaps a little more hedonistic than I envisaged when I tasted it from barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with tensile tannin thanks to the keen line of acidity. I like the precision of this Pontet-Canet. It feels linear and correct, pencil lead notes developing towards the second half, more quintessentially Pauillac than previous vintages, with what you might describe as a classic Pauillac finish that retains the focus that I remarked upon from barrel. Tasted February 2017.