2000 Pontet-Canet, Pauillac

“From magnum, a youthful colour, reflecting slow evolution. Aromas of cedar, lead pencil, roasted and primary fruit. Fine grained, noticeable tannin. Excellent balance of power and smooth texture. Noé Tesseron described it as 'older school Pauillac', and I liked it a lot. Long finish. Aged 60% new oak. (PK)” (09/2021)

“I drank this fabulous 2000 Pontet-Canet in Hong Kong last summer at home with family. It was a wonderfully complex wine that was really starting to show its best. On the nose it displayed tar and currants with hints of dried fruits and berries. It was full-bodied yet so refined and delicious at the same time.” (06/2016)

“Deep red-ruby. Explosive nose combines raspberry, roasted currant, grilled nuts and exotic spices. Rich, sexy, silky and full in the mouth, with expressive flavors of black raspberry, game, smoke and truffle. Finishes with strong but suave tannins and excellent length. (ST)” (05/2003)

“Tasted at the Pontet-Canet vertical, the 2000 Château Pontet-Canet is perhaps where things start getting interesting, as Alfred Tesseron's top-to-toe reconfiguration of the vineyard and vinification began to impact and ameliorate the wine. It has a lovely bouquet of blackberry and briary fruit, hints of black truffle developing, later damp earth. There is an intensity here, if not the complexity of the best millennial Pauillacs. The palate is medium-bodied with a mixture of red and black fruit, cedar and sous-bois percolating up through and rendering it a 'serious' Pontet-Canet in keeping with the vintage. There is a subtle and yet insistent grip on the finish. It has always been a tannic wine, but these are now softening, albeit at a slower pace than some might like. (NM)” (07/2016)

“A lovely lead-in of singed cedar and vanilla notes gives way to slightly taut, racy red and black currant fruit flavors that drive nicely through an iron-edged finish. Rather sleek and tightly focused, relying more on minerality than power. (JM)” (06/2016)

“Fabulous nose here, big and smoky, roasted confit fruit, dark and gritty-grainy in character. Wonderful style. Roast coffee grounds, dark in style. Fine fleshy sweetness on entry, but not over-the-top, not a sweet, confit note in sight. There is a firm and polished texture to it, a savoury character, with lots of tannic substance although it does not show through past the texture and fruit on the palate, only on the finish when there is a flourish of grippy tannin coating the mouth. There is a firm, grainy character which sits very well with the rest of the wine. Brimming with potential here, but needs another five years at the bare minimum, and I am sure it will be much better at ten. 18.5+/20 points” (02/2010)