Robertparker.com | 92+/100 RP | 2023 - 2040. “While Justine Tesseron declined my request to taste at the property, I was able to acquire a bottle of the 2020 Pontet-Canet for review. The wine starts strong, wafting from the glass with attractive aromas of cherries, sweet berries and plum preserve mingled with lilac and licorice, but that's followed by a medium to full-bodied, firm and extracted palate that lacks the amplitude and flesh to conceal the rather drying tannins which dominate the earthy finish. It's an open secret among Bordeaux insiders that this estate—which has benefited from such significant and laudable investments and which was on such an upward trajectory through 2011—has been a perplexingly erratic performer since 2012, intermingling successful vintages with relative failures, and the 2020 only confirms that. While the 2020 isn't by any means a flawed wine, and time may well be kind to it, it doesn't transcend this estate's fifth growth status, even if this château's terroir clearly has the potential to. “The difference in our wine is really how we work in the vineyard,” said Justine Tesseron, who now works very closely with her father Alfred Tesseron, owner of Château Pontet-Canet. “Every year we go to another level. First, we have great terroir. My grandfather was avant-garde when he chose our site. Then with the approach my father developed—biodynamics. But, as you know, every year is challenging because of the conditions. In 2018, we lost two-thirds of production because of mildew. In 2020 we were very scared. We didn’t want to have the same situation. Our vineyard people were very motivated. We didn’t miss any treatments—even on Saturday and Sunday. We HAD to be in the vineyard. Everyone was there. In the end, we didn’t lose any crops due to mildew. We kept it contained and it did not spread to the grapes.” “It was also challenging because of the very warm, dry days,” she added. “We had a bit of drought. But all the treatments we use, based on plants, have meant that the vineyard is in good balance. It was not too much affected by the drought. At Pontet-Canet we don’t deleaf or do green harvest. The leaves protected the grapes.” I asked Justine about the rains that occurred in mid-August—85 millimeters (3.35 inches)—nearly a month after the start of veraison. She said, “Yes, I think we managed the rain well. Mathieu Bessonnet, our technical director, decided to leave the grass growing between the rows this year, in anticipation of water. The grass was quite high. It managed to soak up a lot of the water. The berries were in good condition afterwards. We did not get dilution.” In the end, Pontet-Canet came through with yields that were just slightly lower than 2019, which was a relatively generous year for this estate. And the wine? Absolutely singular. Absolutely Pontet-Canet.”
Land: Frankrijk
Jaartal: 2020
Regio: Bordeaux
Appelatie / Herkomst: Pauillac
Druivenras: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot
Serveertemperatuur: 16-18°C
