2012 Chateau Pontet-Canet 750ml

Accolades
• 95 Points – Andreas Larsson – Tasted (Apr 2013)
• 94 Points – Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider (Jul 2022)
• 20 / 20 – Vinum Wine Magazine
• 94 Points – DCAMW Tasting Note (Nov 2016)

Classification

Cinquième Grand Cru Classé (1855 Classification)

Vintage Notes

After a particularly mild winter, rain set in during the spring. Frequent and often heavy showers accompanied the first few months of the vine cycle. As a result, flowering occurred rather late and took longer than usual. Fortunately the sun always returns, as was the case from mid-July, ushering in a hot and particularly dry summer. These favourable conditions lasted until the onset of autumn and mitigated the differences in maturity caused by the long flowering period. The weather then turned again, bringing a lot of rain just a few days before we started picking the first Merlot parcels. Anticipating the possibility of harvests in the rain, however, we had installed a third sorting line. Although no rain at all would have been ideal, careful sorting ensured that only perfectly ripe grapes filled the vats.

Producer Notes

The wine has a deep, glittering hue and a complex nose where black-fruit aromas mingle with graphite and spice notes. The palate is dense and long, with chiselled tannins of remarkable precision.
The 2012 vintage was the first in which Pontet-Canet matured nearly a third of the wine in concrete amphorae.

Harvest took place 4 – 17 October from 81 ha of certified organic and biodynamic vineyards. Grapes were hand-harvested in small crates. The wine aged 18 months in French oak and amphora.

Critic Tasting Notes

“Very floral, dark-fruity and ripe nose, multilayered palate with excellent fruit purity and breadth, finely integrated tannin, crunchy dark fruit and a very long, juicy finish. Superb material.”
— Andreas Larsson – Tasted (95 Points, Apr 2013)

“Deep, dark, very nearly opaque. Vivid, open, ripe dark-cherry and blackcurrant aromas. Very pure cassis on the palate with fresh acidity developing into vivid black-cherry flavours. Fruit is open and there are plentiful fine tannins and warming alcohol. Lasts well.”
— DCAMW, Nov 2016 (94 Points)

Specifications

Winery: Château Pontet-Canet

Country: France

Region: Pauillac, Médoc, Bordeaux

Variety: Bordeaux Blend (65 Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 Merlot, 4 Cabernet Franc, 1 Petit Verdot)

Vintage: 2012

Style: Red – Savory and Classic

Alcohol: 13.5 % ABV

Classification: 5ème Grand Cru Classé

Maturation: 18 months in French oak & amphora

Winemaking: Hand-harvested from organic & biodynamic vineyards

Consultant Winemaker: Michel Rolland

Ownership: Alfred and Michel Tesseron

Closure: Cork

Food Pairing

Ideal with entrecôte and Béarnaise sauce, Galloway or Dexter beef sirloin, and Manchego cheese.