92 -93 points,

James Suckling, jamessuckling.com, April 2012

A wine with very clear fruit definition and minerals with hints of flowers. Full body with fine tannins and a a fresh finish. Mineral and dried flowers. Long and crisp. Lovely quality of tannins here. Racy. Love to see a little more fruit concentration in mid-palate.

John Sweeney, JJ Buckley, April 2012

60% cabernet sauvignon, 36% merlot, 3% cabernet franc, and 1% petit verdot. The biodynamic, 120-hectare estate is planted in gravel, clay, and limestone. Aged in 50% new French oak. Deep ruby core with a bright ruby rim. The nose offers notes of blackberry, red cherry, cassis, licorice, and cedar. Very refined on the palate, with super fine-grained tannins and a bright vibrant acidity. This beauty is totally complete; a polished and persistent, with loads of character. Another hugely successful wine from Pontet Canet. Michel Rolland consults. Enjoy 2016-2030.

94 -96 points,

Neal Martin's Wine Journal, April 2012

A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2011 Pontet Canet has a voluptuous bouquet with saturated dark cherry fruit, crème de cassis and a touch of blueberry with underlying minerality. It is exuberant, almost ostentatious at first, but it begins to calm down with time. The palate is medium-bodied with firm structured cloaked by layers of ripe black fruit infused with minerals and graphite. It is a quite a strict Pontet Canet underneath what is a hell of a lot of fruit for a 2011. The finish is composed with a touch of citrus fruit towards the finish. Amazing that such a good wine comes from 90% of the crop. Tasted April 2012.

93 -95 points,

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, April 2012

Once again proprietor Alfred Tesseron has produced a wine of first-growth potential. One of the superstars of the vintage, Pontet-Canet's 2011 exhibits an opaque purple color and a glorious bouquet of incense, subtle toast and copious quantities of creme de cassis. There is a floral underpinning, decent acidity and ripe tannin to this full-bodied effort. Big, rich, round and generously endowed, it should drink well for 20-25+ years.

96 -98 points,

Wine Enthusiast, May 2012

The fruit is very pure with a great depth of flavor. This wine has weight, and intense flavors of dark plum and sweet fruit. Impressive. - R.V.

90 -93 points,

Wine Spectator, April 2012

A big, broad-shouldered style, with lots of bittersweet cocoa and coffee up front, followed by thick-textured blackberry and black currant fruit. Shows a bit more brute force than purity right now, though hard to deny the concentration and depth. Could move up if it stretches out and gains some finesse.-J.M.

About Winery

"The origins of the vineyard date back to the beginning of the 18th century, when Jean François Pontet, Master of the King's Horse and Major-General of the Médoc, put together several parcels of land to the north-west of Pauillac, just a few hundred metres from the Gironde , the great river of Bordeaux. A few years later, his descendants completed the work by acquiring the vineyards known as "La Maison de Canet". In the year 1750 one of the biggest wine estates in the Médoc was created - Château Pontet-Canet The most important feature of this estate was, and still is, the outcrops of gravelly soil, some of which are nearly 30 metres above sea-level, and it is these parts of the vineyard that give the property its extraordinary potential. Appellation : Pauillac Area : 120 hectares, 80 under vines Geology : Soil : Quaternary gravels Sub-soil : clay / limestone Grape varieties : Cabernets : Sauvignons 60%, Francs 5%, Merlots 33% and Petit Verdot 2% Average age of vines : 35 years Density of planting : 9000 vines per hectare Fertilisation : Organic manure Pruning : Guyot-double Médocaine Harvesting : By hand, in "cagettes""

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