"The 2020 Pontet-Canet is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, aging in 50% new French oak barriques, 35% concrete amphorae and 15% in one-year-old barrels. Harvest began on the 14th September for the Merlot, and the final lot of Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested on 30th September. Opaque purple-black in color, it needs significant aeration and swirling to coax out evocative notes of black cherry preserves, raspberry pie, blackcurrant pastilles and damp soil, before launching into gorgeous floral and spice notions of red roses, cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamom, with a waft of crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate reveals a lot of depth and polish, delivering mouth-coating red and black fruits with loads of fragrant earth and floral sparks, framed by velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and mineral tinged. This is a singular, fascinating expression of the vintage and highly recommended!
“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."
Lisa Perrotti Brown (96-98)+ Punkte
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