1996 Pontet-Canet Bordeaux Blend

Bordeaux Blend - 1.5L
This product is
out of stock
Most orders placed M-F by 3pm (PT) ship same day.
Orders placed on a weekend or holiday will ship the next business day.
Shipping Info

Free storage available
Wine Storage

REVIEWS

WA 92 WS 91 JL 90
WA 92

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, January 1999

I was shocked by how backward the 1996 Pontet-Canet was on the three occasions I tasted it in January. This wine possesses superb potential but it appears a decade's worth of patience will be necessary. The color is a...
WS 91

Wine Spectator, January 2007

Aromas of black licorice, currant and toasted oak. Full-bodied, with silky, refined tannins and a medium finish. Holding back still.--'95/'96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2008. – JS
JL 90

TheWineCellarInsider.com, July 2011

Tobacco, earth, smoke and dark berries make up the perfume. The third vintage produced under the supervision of Alfred Tesserson is full bodied and filled with crunchy, chewy Cabernet Sauvignon. In a slightly firm style...

WINE DETAILS

Color & Type Red
Varietal Bordeaux Blend
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Sub-region Pauillac
Vintage 1996
Size 1.5L

Chateau Pontet-Canet is a Fifth Growth Bordeaux wine estate owned by the Tesseron family (of Cognac fame) since 1975. The estate is a rarity in the Medoc, having known only three owners over a course of three centuries.

The vineyard spans 81 hectares in Pauillac, atop an outcropping of Garonne gravel over limestone. After a first trial in 2004, which took place on 14 hectares, Pontet-Canet fully converted the estate to biodynamic agriculture. They obtained organic certification from Ecocert, biodynamic certification from Biodyvin in 2010, and from Demeter in 2014.

Alfred Tesseron uses horses to plow the vineyards of Pontet Canet since they are gentler and lighter than tractors. Because the horses never step in the same place twice, the soils are always aerated in different parts, bringing much needed oxygen to the soil.

The vines have an average age of 40 to 45 years. Their varietal plantings are Cabernet Sauvignon (62%), Merlot (32%), Cabernet Franc (4%) and three parcels of Petit Verdot (2%).

Chateau Pontet-Canet is bright and brilliant with full-bodied fruit, yet finesse, in the mouth. It expresses energy, tension and intensity.

The fruit is fermented with native yeast in semi-conical concrete tanks that facilitate punch-downs. The wine then macerates for an additional four weeks before being removed from the pomace for maturation. One-third of the wine is aged in large, concrete amphorae, designed expressly for Pontet-Canet. The rest ages in French oak barrels.