2012 Château Pontet-Canet Pauillac Bordeaux France Wine Tasting Note
25233 Views
|
2012
Château Pontet-Canet (Pauillac)
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 fruits, with length, freshness, and loads of fruit on the backend. This is one of the top Left Bank wines of this mixed vintage. The wine blends 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, 13.5% ABV. Drink from 2025-2050. 7,076 Views Tasted Jul 9, 2022Produced from an assemblage of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, this is one of the darkest wines of the vintage. The nose offers ripe dark berries, licorice, clay, minerality and fresh dark berries. Polished tannins, plush textures and layers of sweet, ripe berries fill your mouth. The suave, fresh wine ends with an expansive, rich finish in the mouth. Very successful for the vintage. This is the first year where Pontet Canet began using a percentage of amphore for the vinification. Close to 35% of the wine was vinified in the amphore tanks. The wine will be aged in 50% new, French oak barrels. The Merlot was harvested October 4 and the Cabernet Sauvignon was picked from October 11 through October 17. Alfred Tesseron is clearly on a roll. 94-96 Pts 18,157 Views Tasted Apr 23, 2013 |
When to Drink Chateau Pontet Canet, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time
Chateau Pontet Canet is not at its best in its youth, even with several hours of decanting. This is due to the high levels of tannins and intense concentration in the wine. The wine is usually better at 10-12-15 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character.
In the best years, the wine will be at its best between 15 and 45 years of age after the vintage. Young vintages can be decanted for 2-4 hours. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.
Serving Chateau Pontet Canet, with Wine and Food Pairings
Chateau Pontet Canet is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.
Chateau Pontet Canet is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Pontet Canet is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, pasta and a myriad of hard and soft cheeses.
Jean Michel Comme also owns his own biodynamically farmed vineyard, Champ des Treilles in the Sainte Foy appellation.