2010 Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac, Bordeaux

An absolutely amazing wine, from grapes harvested between the end of September and October 17, this blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot has close to 15% natural alcohol. It comes from one of the few biodynamic vineyards in Bordeaux, but you are likely to see many more, given the success that Tesseron seems to be having at all levels, both in his vineyards and in his fermentation/winemaking. An astounding, compelling wine with the classic Pauillac nose more often associated with its cross-street neighbor, Mouton-Rothschild, creme de cassis, there are also some violets and other assorted floral notes. The wine has off-the-charts massiveness and intensity but never comes across as heavy, overbearing or astringent. The freshness, laser-like precision, and full-bodied, massive richness and extract are simply remarkable to behold and experience. It is very easy, to become jaded tasting such great wines from a great vintage, but it is really a privilege to taste something as amazing as this. Unfortunately, it needs a good decade of cellaring, and that’s assuming it doesn’t close down over the next few years. This is a 50- to 75-year wine from one of the half-dozen or so most compulsive and obsessive proprietors in all of Bordeaux. Is there anything that proprietor Alfred Tesseron is not doing right? Talk about an estate that is on top of its game! Pontet-Canet’s 2010 is a more structured, tannic and restrained version of their most recent perfect wine, the 2009. Kudos to Pontet-Canet!

Drink 2021 - 2061

The aromas to this are incredible with blueberry, minerals, dried flowers, and stones. It goes to dried meat and spices. Full body and incredibly integrated with blackberry, licorice, and minerals. There's a wonderful purity to this. It goes on for minutes. The quality of tannins is amazing. Seamless. There's an amazing transparency that shows you all the elements of the wine's unique terrior.

Try after 2018

The 2010 Pontet-Canet offers a very deep garnet color. Whoa—the nose explodes with a vast array of black fruit preserves and savory nuances: plum preserves, blackcurrant cordial, black cherry coulis and licorice with wafts of dried lavender, melted chocolate, charcuterie, black olives, truffles and camphor plus a hint of sandalwood. The full-bodied palate is completely filled with black fruits, exotic spices and earthy nuances with a firm foundation of ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. So much more expressive and seductive than a lot of 2010s at this stage, and yet it is still incredibly youthful!

Drink 2025 - 2070

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot.

Reticent nose, yet there is immediate complexity too: graphite, cassis, sweet spice, violet, dark chocolate. The palate is still so youthful! It's plush, svelte, modern, rich and framed by excellent acidic bite. Has this been stored cryogenically? There's a long way to go before this starts to reach its full potential. Is it a 100-pointer? It's hard to imagine any château bettering this effort in 2010. It is at once classic and modern, with wonderful poise and persistence.

Drink 2025 - 2050

The 2010 Pontet-Canet is noticeably deep in colour compared to its peers. This is unusually ripe and sweet on the nose, more red than black fruit, maybe a little jammy and confit-like. I would never guess this was a 2010 Left Bank. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy mouthfeel, plenty of graphite-tinged red fruit. Approachable in style and sensually fulfilling, it just lacks a bit of grip and backbone on the finish. I have fonder memories of previous bottles but I could not identify any specific fault.

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

Bright ruby. Knockout nose of cassis, black pepper, minerals and cedar just screams Pauillac. Enters the mouth sweet, creamy and pure, displaying very rich, dense flavors of black fruit, minerals and dried herbs, with lively, integrated acidity keeping the wine from coming across as top-heavy. Finishes extremely long, with silky tannins and an intriguing floral note. Twenty-four hectares are now farmed by horse up from seven last year) at what has become the first officially certified biodynamic grand cru classe property of Bordeaux. This wine has one of the most impressive and memorable noses of all in 2010 and is much better than the very good but generally overrated 2009. Though it's a little more accessible now than some other great wines of 2010 such as Latour and Calon-Segur, this still needs another 10 to 12 years in the cellar to start showing its best and will keep another 40 years after that without problem.

Bright ruby-red. Superripe, soil-driven aromas of currant, plum, cherry pie, mocha and minerals; almost liqueur-like in its ripeness, in a 1947 way. Then huge, sweet and plush, with great volume and depth to its flavors of cassis, flowers, minerals, game and olive. Finishes with big, ripe, horizontal tannins and great mounting length. This remarkably thick wine is actually a bit youthfully stunted today and should really be cellared for ten years. It should go on for three or four decades in a cool cellar.

Seriously dense, with thickly layered fig paste, macerated black currant fruit, Kenya AA coffee and roasted tobacco. But really fresh and invigorating throughout, with mouthwatering iron and apple wood notes. Despite the power, this cuts like a knife from the start. When the Bordelais say precise, this is what they mean.

The 2010 Pontet-Canet lags behind the 2009, but these two vintages can be hard to compare due the drastically different styles. Where the 2009 is broad, expansive, and showy, the 2010 starts our more reserved and classic in style, with beautiful notes of cassis, cedarwood, lead pencil shavings, tobacco, and damp earth all developing with air. Deep, beautifully concentrated, full-bodied, and powerful, it’s built for the long haul and needs 5-7 years of bottle age, but I suspect will see its 50th birthday in still fine drinking form.

Drink 2022 - 2073

Gorgeous bright and juicy cherry and cassis, pencil lead and floral aromas seduce you. The palate is long and spherical. This, the first vintage certified both organic and biodynamic, has impressive depth and power delivered with refinement. The power of Lynch-Bages but with a bit more elegance. A long, palate-enveloping finish. You can serve with haute cuisine, but why not a high-quality hamburger? Sometimes the simplest dishes, with quality ingredients, go best with top wine.

Drink 2021 - 2055