Wine Advisor
Pontet Canet 2003
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Bordeaux Index’s Pontet-Canet dinner at The Ledbury. The ’03 Pontet-Canet has a gorgeous rounded, sensual bouquet with dark cherries, cassis, graphite and violets. With extended aeration it develops and intriguing scent of menthol. The palate is medium-bodied but with a lot of glycerine. Blackcurrant pastilles and creme de cassis counterpoised by superb structure on the finish. This is a very fine wine for the vintage. Tasted February 2011.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The spectacular 2003 Pontet Canet is still incredibly young and vigorous. This full-bodied classic boasts a dense purple color as well as a superb nose of graphite, creme de cassis, forest floor, licorice and a hint of truffles, low acidity, and extravagant richness. Most of the tannins have been resolved in this superstar of the vintage. It should continue to drink well for 10-15+ years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
This has oodles of sweet black cherries on the nose with some blueberry and sloes, espresso developing with aeration. The palate has immense weight although lacking a little finesse and definition. Spicy on the finish and improving in the glass. Drink 2009-2018. Tasted January 2007.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Out of barrel this had a very austere, animally nose but the palate is very well-balanced, layers of tobacco laced fruit with vibrant fresh acidity. Quite tannic and masculine with a sweet cassis finish. A wine performing way-above it station. Vin de garde. Excellent. Tasted again after bottling at the UGC in October 2005. That animally nose has been tamed through barrel maturation: now a decadent, rich aroma with tobacco and ripe black cherry fruits. The palate has superb definition, with ripe blackberry, kirsch and a touch of truffle. Still opulent and extrovert with a long sweet vanillary finish that just lacks the explosion I was hoping for. Still a very fine wine though. Last tasted blind in July 2006. Deep garnet colour. The nose is much more reticent at first, but they reveals a slightly cooked, raisin, slightly fecal character. The palate is very smooth, satin texture but not a lot of weight and structure. Is this claret? Tastes more Tuscan to me. Sweet cherry, blueberry. Quite refined and elegant on the finish. Sensual not cerebral wine.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
An outstanding success for this well-known chateau that still sells its wine at a reasonable price, Pontet-Canet’s 2003 possesses all of the vintage’s power and richness, but is classic in its proportions. While medium to full-bodied, with a boatload of tannin, low acidity gives it more up-front appeal than usual. The color is dense purple to the rim, and classic creme de cassis aromas and flavors are well-displayed. With considerable purity, depth, texture, and personality, it is a wine to buy by readers looking to maximize their purchasing power in 2003 Bordeaux. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
One cannot say enough about the labors of proprietor Alfred Tesseron, who has personally overseen the dramatic increase in quality of the wines at Pontet-Canet which started in a significant manner with 1994. This is a classic Pauillac-styled wine (meaning oodles of cassis flavors), as one might expect from a vineyard on the plateau of Pauillac, across the street from Mouton-Rothschild. One of the great successes of the vintage and certainly one of the most profound Pontet-Canets made over the last decade is the 2003. Deep purple to the rim with a glorious nose of scorched earth, black currant jam, smoke, licorice, and roasted meats, it is full-bodied, incredibly powerful, dense, with low acidity but high tannin, broad-shouldered, and savory. This is a stunning, pure, classic Pontet-Canet that should be at its best between 2010 and 2035.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at Farr Vintner’s Left Bank tasting. A eucalyptus-tinged nose that lacks a little definition compared to its peers, although it is not over-powering in any way. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, touches of white pepper, blackberry, tar and damson, well-knitted oak towards the foursquare finish that shows impressive delineation and good length. This is a “serious” 2003. Tasted October 2010.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Berry Bros. vertical in London. A deep clear garnet core. There is an engaging sense of controlled opulence on the nose, something almost Burgundian in its purity; notes of dark cherry, black plum, something a little estuarine but certainly showing no traits of summer heat. Very good definition, some glycerine coming through. The palate is medium-bodied with quite chewy tannins, texturally quite similar to the 2004, very good acidity with a nice citric edge cutting through that raspberry, cedar and graphite flavours. Tannic towards the finish, although a little more blunt and less refined than the 2004 or 2005, very linear at the moment. Superb. Tasted October 2009.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
In this vintage the final blend, which tips the scales at 12.9% alcohol, includes 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The wine is impressively endowed but still backward and not at all one of the more showy and flamboyant 2003s. It is dense purple-colored to the rim, with a pure creme de cassis nose intermixed with some high-class toasty new oak, full-bodied with ripe tannin and low acidity in a rather formidable, concentrated style that still seems backward in spite of what I am sure is more glycerin and a lower acid style than usual. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2030.+ As most well-informed insiders in Bordeaux know, proprietor Alfred Tesseron has been doing everything right since 1994 in order to fully develop the enormous potential of this vineyard adjacent to Mouton-Rothschild. Some serious work is done in the vineyard including de-budding, de-leafing, and crop-thinning. The harvest usually takes place in several attempts trying to maximize ripeness and there are two separate sorting tables. Yields have dropped dramatically, and of course there is a severe selection.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Bordeaux Index's "10-Year On" tasting in London. The Pontet-Canet 2003 has a very pure, quite alluring bouquet with blackberry and a touch of blueberry, mint and cedar. It is quite refined compared to recent vintage with very good focus. The palate is medium-bodied with a very supple, harmonious entry. This Pontet Canet is silky smooth and very composed, though it is missing a little complexity and ambition on the finish. But otherwise this is a lovely Pauillac that is drinking beautifully now. Tasted March 2013.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Ruby-red. Roasted blackberry, coffee and mocha on the nose, along with a grapey quality. Fat, superripe and sweet; wonderfully full, sexy and broad. Just this side of exotic, but sound natural acidity gives shape to the thick, mellow dark berry and chocolate flavors. Finishes with substantial tannins and resounding length. This will be drinkable several years earlier than the 2005.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good deep ruby-red. Crystallized currant, sweet cherry and lead pencil on the nose. Dense, thick and thoroughly ripe, but not at all overly sweet. Sexy black raspberry and dark chocolate flavors coat the mouth and teeth. Wonderfully fat and full. A very large-scaled wine that manages to retain good definition and verve.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright full ruby. Perfumed, primary aromas of black cherry, black raspberry, violet and licorice. Penetrating, intense flavors of black fruits and spices, with lovely floral lift. But also wonderfully lush and sweet, suggesting near-perfect extraction. Boasts a solid spine of harmonious acidity and noteworthy energy in the mouth. Finishes fresh, gripping and very long, with big, chewy tannins. Promises to be an outstanding Pontet-Canet. St. Julien
About the Producer
The history of Château Pontet-Canet dates back to the early 18th century when Jean-François de Pontet, grand equerry of the king became governor of the Medoc, brings together several parcels of land located in Pauillac. Subsequently, his descendants add the vineyards adjoining the locality Canet: Château Pontet-Canet was born. One hundred years later, the famous classification of 1855 included Château Pontet-Canet among the elite of the Médoc viticulture. This rise did not escape one of the first Bordeaux merchants of the time, Herman Cruse, who bought the property in 1865. He built new cellars, modernized the facilities and made this wine known throughout the world. The Cruse family managedthe property for 110 years, until another merchant, but from Cognac, Guy Tesseron, bought it in 1975. Thus, in more than two hundred years, Château Pontet-Canet knew only three different owners. Today, it is the son of Guy Tesseron, Alfred Tesseron who is at the head of the field. The Château Pontet-Canet terroir consists of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The property is 120 hectares of which 80 hectares are dedicated to the breeding of the vine. Led by Jean Michel Comme, Château Pontet-Canet’s viticulture has gone from conventional cultivation to organic farming and biodynamic farming. Thus, the terroirs, worked daily by Breton horses, have found their originality.
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