Pontet Canet 2011

This is a lovely Pontet, with liquorice root, chamomile, black pepper spice and an earthiness that gives it a more gentle, welcoming feel than many Pauillacs in the vintage. Red cherry and raspberry fruits, a mouthwatering finish and confident tannic grip. Plenty to enjoy here, a delicious wine. Harvest finished by September 29. Retasted after being open for one hour and showing even better, with nuanced floral aromatics. 1% Petit Verdot complets the blend. 2021-2045.

There is a good depth of fruit on the nose with powerful black fruits filling out the start of the palate. Layers of flavour give complexity cassis and black cherry underpinned by fresher bramble and bilberry. The tannins are well handled giving structure but not aggressive so that the mid palate has richness and suppleness.

A lighter wine than 2010's brilliant effort, but the team at this stellar fifth growth has interpreted the vintage with honesty and no little skill. Perfumed, serious and structured, with flavours of fruitcake and vanilla and fine tannins. Late picking and rigorous selection was the key to success here, confirming Pontet-Canet's status as a super second in all but name. 12+ years.

Wild violets and black fruit nose, both exuberant and classic. It is a wonderfully elegant Pauillac with superb vineyard expression. Drink 2016-2035

Once again proprietor Alfred Tesseron has produced a wine of first-growth potential. One of the superstars of the vintage, Pontet-Canet's 2011 exhibits an opaque purple color and a glorious bouquet of incense, subtle toast and copious quantities of creme de cassis. There is a floral underpinning, decent acidity and ripe tannin to this full-bodied effort. Big, rich, round and generously endowed, it should drink well for 20-25+ years.

A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2011 Pontet Canet has a voluptuous bouquet with saturated dark cherry fruit, crème de cassis and a touch of blueberry with underlying minerality. It is exuberant, almost ostentatious at first, but it begins to calm down with time. The palate is medium-bodied with firm structured cloaked by layers of ripe black fruit infused with minerals and graphite. It is a quite a strict Pontet Canet underneath what is a hell of a lot of fruit for a 2011. The finish is composed with a touch of citrus fruit towards the finish. Amazing that such a good wine comes from 90% of the crop. Tasted April 2012.

A wine with very clear fruit definition and minerals with hints of flowers. Full body with fine tannins and a fresh finish. Mineral and dried flowers. Long and crisp. Lovely quality of tannins here. Racy. Love to see a little more fruit concentration in mid-palate.

Deep garnet in color, the 2011 Pontet-Canet comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant notes of redcurrant jelly, warm cassis and blackberry pie plus touches of dried mint, mocha, smoked meats and yeast extract with a waft of pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has bags of energy with lively red and black fruits and compelling mineral accents, finishing long with a provocative lift.