6 bottles of PONTET CANET

1990s

• Still deep glossy crimson. Looks much younger than 1994. The first subtle wine of the tasting! Mineral notes and quite dry on the end. Juicy, round and sweet.

1994s

• This rich, impressive, full-bodied wine represents the finest Pontet-Canet produced since the 1961. This full-bodied, purely made wine is crammed with black currant fruit, as well as forbiddingly tannic and backward.

1995s

• Fabulous nose of crushed currants, blackberries and forest flowers. Full-bodied, with plenty of ripe fruit and silky tannins. this broad-shouldered, muscular, classic wine exhibits a saturated purple color, and sensationally dense, rich, concentrated, cassis flavors that roll over the palate with impressive purity and depth. The wine is tannic and closed, but powerful and rich

1996s

• it has aged beautifully. Cedar, scorched earth and mint blossomed on a nose that is firmly into its secondary phase, yet laden with more fruit than expected considering both its age and the austere style of Left Bank 1996s. The palate might be nearing the end of its drinking plateau, so don’t hold back if you own a few bottles. But I admired its balance and density, its structure and classicism, and the typical Pauillac traits of cedar and a touch of mint toward the finish.

1998s

• straightforward blackberry, briary and cedar scents. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity, plenty of cedar and mint-laced black fruit with a pleasant, quite lively and lightly spiced finish that lingers in the mouth.

1999s

• The bouquet is very well defined and focused, offering blackberry, cedar and a hint of pine forest gently unfolding. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, a fine bead of acidity, plenty of black fruit and fine grip. There is a greater sense of rondeur compared to young bottles that I encountered, and touches of white pepper and clove appear toward the satisfyingly persistent finish.