The 2003 Pontet-Canet was the winning bottle in the September Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. This bottle was decanted for one hour and served with steaks.
Chateau Pontet-Canet is situated next to Mouton Rothschild in the Pauillac region of Bordeaux. Pontet Canet was granted Fifth Growth status in the 1855 classification. Herman Cruse purchased the estate in 1865. The Cruse family owned Pontet-Canet for 110 years, until another negociant , Guy Tesseron, acquired it in 1975. Since Alfred Tesseron took over in 1994, this property has continued to improve year after year. The wines are consistently on par with most, if not all, of the Second Growth wines.
Purple in color. 13% ABV. Beautiful nose of black fruits, cedar, cigar box and wet leaves. Big, plush and concentrated. There is an opulence to the fruit that belies the challenges of the vintage. Black currants, creme de cassis, tobacco and earth on the palate. The finish is long with prominent, gritty tannins. Really nice Bordeaux from a year that was overshadowed by the 03 and 05 vintages. I’ll check in on my last bottle in 2-4 years.
My rating: 93 points.
Look for the 2020 Pontet-Canet in the $125 range and cellar it with confidence for the next 20 years.