CHÂTEAU PONTET CANET

57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc. 50% new oak, 35% goes in concrete amphoras, 15% one year old barrels. 14.5% alc. Harvest took place between 8 – 28 September Seductive, delicious and fondant, this is a wholly indulgent wine with deep, plummy fruit and as velvety a chassis as I have tasted. The tisanerie (a herbal tea room in which the biodynamic preparations are made) was busy this year, and in addition to the various teas that are deployed in a regular vintage – Valerian to helped with frost, and Chamomile was used in the summer. They even used a fascinating ‘sunscreen’ made from calcined clay, from Limoges, which forms a milky white, ultra-fine sun-resistant layer on leaves and grapes and it remains in place for a couple of days before blowing away, thus neutralising the sun’s rays at the peak of the heatwaves. They did it three times on Cabernet and twice on Merlot, which helps the leaves and grapes not burn or sweat. While they started picking on the earliest date ever at Pontet-Canet, this was not the only record broken in this vintage because it was the most prolonged harvest, too, at a day shy of three weeks. It is impossible not to love this wine, and my only question is, are there sufficient tannins to make it last the course? I think there are, but they are not traditional drying, astringent tannins, but fin-grained and much lighter than usual. The deep purple hue, exotic florals and Pontet-Canet succulence are here in spades, and while it already appears to be complete, hedonistic and unusually succulent, who is to say that this wine will not evolve further, bringing even more wildness and spice to the fore? 19+ Rating: 19+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2023)

This Pontet Canet shows impressive density and concentration. The nose is taut, intense with aromas of black fruit. It is packed with energy and balanced by well judged, poised acidity that carries the flavours. Long, intense and savoury, pure and especially persistent. Rating: 97-99 La Revue du Vin de France (May 2023)

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. (JL) Drinking range: 2032 - 2048 Rating: 17.5 James Lawther MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (May 2023)

This grand vin is a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 4% each Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. As always, the élevage makes use of a blend of 50% new barrels, with 35% concrete amphorae and 15% second-fill barrels. This has a real sense of dark dynamism, the colour suggestive, but on the nose is where it really shows, with intensely concentrated blackcurrant, sweet black cherry and damson, currant and liquorice, along with perfumed notes of violets, and veins of dark, sooty, toasted intensity. The palate, however, provides a much more restrained texture and substance than the nose suggests, although it builds with time in the glass, showing a firm substance, with dark, curranty, violet-infused fruits, a rich wrapping of tannins, ripe and tightly knit, polished and providing a velvety grip through to the finish. It carries some rather heady vanillin lactone from the oak (even at just 50% new), but most of all this is a wine of desiccated dark fruits, in a rather unique construct. I note the alcohol is rather high for the left bank, especially in the context of the vintage, coming in at 14.8%. Rating: 92-94 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (May 2023)