THE PRODUCER
A rather good quality estate for decades, Pontet-Canet has been on a continual
climb up the quality ladder and has taken great leaps in the 2000s. Now fully
embracing biodynamics, including horse-ploughed vineyards – which really shows
in the wines – roughly two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, and the remainder Merlot
with small portions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot – which have softened and
refined over the last couple of decades.

The majority of the 78 hectare of vineyards surround the chateau in the south of
Pauillac, and are neighbouring Chateaux Mouton-Rothschild and d’Armailhac, close
to Pauillac’s border with St-Julien. Owned by the Tesseron Cognac family since
1975, Pontet-Canet continues to perform way above its Fifth Growth status!

THE WINE
Pontet Canet’s Grand Vin is a blend of minimum 65% Cabernet Sauvignon,
complemented by Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. The average age of
vineyard is 50 years and includes some old vines dating back to the 1940s.
Fermentation takes place in wooden vats with indigenous yeast, and is followed
by four weeks of maceration, and finally ageing for 16-18 months, in 50% new oak
barrels, 35% concrete amphorae, and 15% in older barrels. A wine of great depth,
precise and silky tannins, and mineral length, Pontet Canet has rich and
succulent fruit and a natural refinement. Although a fifth growth by
classification, Pontet Canet is in recent years often referred to as of
super-second status, even if sometimes slightly closer to St-Julien in style.

INFORMATION
Type:RedVintage:2010Country:FranceRegion:BordeauxSub region:PauillacGrape:65%
Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc & 1% Petit VerdotStyle:Savory
and ClassicSweetness:DryABV:14.5%Drinking window:2018 - 2070Size:750mlFood
match:Beef and VenisonCRITICS SCORES
We choose our wines based on a range of criteria(seehow we choose our wines)of
which critic scores is justone. Rather than simply highlight the best score to
promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided
by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do
not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more
weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores
like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a92/100average critic score or
better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a
high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we
offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the
market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and
representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide
to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add
individual critic scores to our website in the future.