2009 Pontet Canet

An amazing wine in every sense, this classic, full-bodied Pauillac is the quintessential Pontet Canet from proprietor Alfred Tesseron, who continues to reduce yields and farms his vineyards biodynamically – a rarity in Bordeaux. Black as a moonless night, the 2009 Pontet Canet offers up notes of incense, graphite, smoke, licorice, creme de cassis and blackberries. A wine of irrefutable purity, laser-like precision, colossal weight and richness, and sensational freshness, this is a tour de force in winemaking that is capable of lasting 50 or more years. The tannins are elevated, but they are sweet and beautifully integrated as are the acidity, wood and alcohol (which must be in excess of 14%). This vineyard, which is situated on the high plateau of Pauillac adjacent to Mouton Rothschild, appears to have done everything perfectly in 2009. This cuvee should shut down in the cellar and re-open in a decade or more. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2075. Wine Advocate.February, 2012

Delivers aromas of blueberry skin, fresh flowers, licorice and raspberry sauce, with something exotic underneath it all. Full-bodied, with wonderful clarity and freshness. It's like looking at a full moon on a crystal-clear night in the country. This keeps coming at you, with tannins and ripe fruit. What balance, yet power to the wine. I love how the wine changes and challenges you with every sip

Tasted blind as a vintage comparison at the Valandraud vertical, the 2009 Pontet-Canet is a wine that I have tasted several times throughout the year. Here, it is clearly bestowed a very powerful and intense bouquet with raspberry jam, boysenberry, graphite and cold, wet limestone aromas - very well defined and focused, the oak seamlessly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity, in a funny way more like a 2010 towards the finish thanks to its structure. It still feels quite backward and with much more to give, a sense of coiled up energy conveyed upon the extremely persistent finish. It remains a deeply impressive Pauillac with decades ahead of it. Dec 2016, www.robertparker.com, Drink: 2020-2060