2012 Pontet-Canet Bordeaux Blend

Bordeaux Blend - 3L
Reg: $425.00
$375.00
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

NM 96 DC 95 JL 94 JS 93 WA 93 WE 92 WS 92 JA 91 JD 91 TWI 91
NM 96

Neal Martin's Wine Journal, May 2013

(NM94-96 points) What is a primeur report without one of Pauillac’s most dynamic estate? I made the trip through the rain to taste their 2012. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 30%...
DC 95

Decanter, September 2021

What an expressive nose! Plump, fruit driven, juicy cherry, blackberry, ripe cassis and rose stem. The opposite of the 2011, this is round and suave, albeit with not quite as long a finish. A juicy, bright palate with...
JL 94

TheWineCellarInsider.com, July 2022

2012 is the first vintage to use amphora during the aging process, the wine. The nose opens with cigar box, underbrush, leafy herbs, black currants, and tobacco wrapper. There is a nice creamy quality to the sweet, red...
JS 93

jamessuckling.com, February 2015

This shows incredible decadence and opulence for the vintage with dried meat, black berry, blueberries and hints of mushroom. Full body, very polished silky tannins and a chewy finish. Lots of richness for the vintage...
WA 93

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, May 2020

Deep garnet in color, the 2012 Pontet-Canet gives up a profound earthy/savory nose, revealing notes of tilled soil, woodsmoke, mossy tree bark, fungi and bouquet garni with a core of raspberry preserves, boysenberries and...
WE 92

Wine Enthusiast, May 2015

This tastes jammy and very fruity, with tannins that are totally enveloped by the rich texture. Plummy and comfortable, it's all about ripe berries and currants. Smoky flavors come from the wood aging, and contrast with...
WS 92

Wine Spectator, September 2015

Broad and fleshy, with an alluring feel to the layers of steeped plum, blackberry coulis and raspberry reduction notes, all gliding over ample but polished tannins. Loam, tobacco and warm stone accents stay in the...
JA 91

janeanson.com, September 2021

Rich tawny plum, full of warmth in colour. We asked for a 2nd bottle of this wine during the tasting, so I should warn you there might be variation, and it was not the most successful in the lineup. This was the year that...
JD 91

jebdunnuck.com, January 2018

Fresh and lively aromatically, with spring flowers, sappy herbs, licorice, currant bud and earth, the 2012 is medium to full-bodied, tight, closed and focused, with fine, grippy tannin and a rock-solid finish. It lacks a...
TWI 91

The Wine Independent, February 2023

The 2012 Pontet-Canet is medium to deep garnet colored. It has a lifted nose of fried herbs, redcurrant jelly, and raspberry leaves with hints of wet slate, tobacco, and charcoal. The palate is a little flat and tired...

WINE DETAILS

Color & Type Red
Varietal Bordeaux Blend
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Sub-region Pauillac
Vintage 2012
Size 3L

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.