In the early 18th century, the north of the Médoc peninsular offered exciting investment opportunities for the high society of the time, and Jean-François de Pontet figured prominently among the aristocrats of the day and among the high-ranking magistrates that shaped the vast horizons of the new Médoc vineyards. The Pontet-Canet vineyard, located in the commune of Pauillac right next door to famous neighbour Chateau Mouton Rothschild, covers 81 hectares (200 acres). It is made up of around one hundred plots and 800,000 vines looking out over the Gironde estuary. At the heart of the Pontet-Canet terroir known as the “plateau”, a gentle broad outcrop of Garonne gravel soil dating from the Günz era that sits on a bedrock of limestone – prime terroir for producing elegant yet robust Bordeaux reds.

At Pontet Canet their biodynamic approach has, in the Tesseron’s view – the current owners – brought a new dimension to their wines. It has given them “greater depth while producing more precise and silky tannins. The length of flavour on the palate has also gained in minerality. Our wines are purer and more vibrant.”

So, as one of the top cult Cru Classe wines of the moment, I thought I’d compare and contrast four current vintages customers might be tempted to buy.

Vintage Highlights:

2020 Vintage

The winter was mild, continuing into spring, which was also very wet. There was dry and warm weather for the early flowering in the second half of May. This was followed by very warm and, importantly, arid conditions from 18th June to 11th August. There were then heavy, rapid thunderstorms, often overnight, which dropped huge volumes of water on the Left Bank, but less on the Right Bank. Harvest was dry and very warm, with only intermittent rain after 20th September. From early October, it turned very wet again. Now firmly remembered as an “années solaires.”

2021 Vintage

Bordeaux 2021 will be remembered as an extremely mixed vintage. The challenges faced by producers were very localised and much depended on each individual vigneron’s decisions at key moments. These challenges were: a warm spring; a very rainy spring and early summer; mildew; a cool July and early August; hail; rain in September; and, finally, rot. Yet, despite this litany of problems, many producers were much more positive than they had dared hope during the season. Of course, 2021 is not a warm and sunny (or hot) vintage in the vein of 2018, 2019 and 2020. The harvest was only possible towards the end of September and into October for the Cabernet Sauvignon. But the best wines seem to have captured a natural and classic freshness, elegance, and weightless finesse – for some palates, a welcome contrast to the power of the preceding years. However, the wines were probably still over priced at En-primeur.

2022 Vintage

The word was out early that the Bordelais felt they had something special in 2022, long before the world’s wine merchants arrived to make their own assessments at En-primeur. Heatwaves and drought are not usually parents to high-quality wines. However, the wines in barrel confounded merchants’ expectations, with most agreeing that the 2022 vintage was indeed a special one across Bordeaux. Despite the lack of water, the vines did not seem to suffer terribly, remaining in leaf and in good health right up to the harvest. The berries were small and so yields were restricted. All varieties were beautifully ripe, so much so that some properties felt no need to produce any second wines, many opting rather to increase the proportion of press wine in the final blend, such was its quality. Predictably, release prices were very high!

2023 Vintage

In Bordeaux as in many top wine producing regions of the world, it’s a recurring curse to be the vintage that follows a truly exceptional year like 2022. Consider 2001 and how it was overshadowed by 2000; or 2006 by 2005; or more recently, 2021 by 2020. Overlooked they may have been, but these vintages have since proven themselves to offer years of joyful drinking. It would be a great shame if 2023 sat undiscovered in the shadow of the superb 2022s, with early tastings at various top châteaux revealing it to be indeed a delightful, opulent, fruit laden vintage. While the vintage doesn’t quite have the density and power of the 2022’s, there are many examples of superb Cabernet Sauvignon on the Left Bank and wonderful Merlot, particularly from St Emilion’s limestone. The wines have purity and transparency, beautiful freshness, and a charming immediacy with more intensity than the 2021’s. Prices were more modest but were of course coming down from previous highs in 2022, which somewhat mitigated the markets enthusiasm to buy this charming vintage.

Chateau Pontet Canet 2020, Pauillac, 13.5% Abv.

Dense dark and plush, packed full of blue and black berry fruits, hints of cherry kirsch liquor and brown breakfast toast on the nose. Texture is plush and creamy, with a medium weight and a fine-grained tannin, finishing with a melange of black berry fruits, vanilla spice and delicate soft acids. Undoubtedly rich, opulent and ripe without being hedonistic. Drink now to 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Pontet Canet 2021, Pauillac, 13% Abv.

A much tighter broodier aromatics with graphite and iodine, pithy black cherry and saline creme de cassis and a dusting of Pauillac gravel minerality. The texture is light, silky and delicate with dry sultry tannins and a very elegant, stony, black fruited finish with a kiss of cedar spice. Light touch, polished but still very seductive. Drink now until 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Pontet Canet 2022, Pauillac, 14.5% Abv.

From 2022 in a new bespoke branded lighter bottle that still looks the part. The nose shows plush blueberry crumble, black plum and black cherry confit with a kiss of vanilla pod spice. Sweet fruited with a fine powdery chalky tannin texture, the concentration is notable, the finish long, dry and mouth coating but certainly lacking no freshness. This is undoubtably a very impressive wine but priced accordingly! Drink now to 2045+.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Pontet Canet 2023, Pauillac, 13.5% Abv. (Barrel Sample)

A budding fresh barrel sample, interestingly, this bottle is a little further on its journey from examples tasted at En-primeur week. The fruits are dense and ripe, the aromatics unctuous, beautifully layered with black berry compote, salted caramel, warm blueberry crumble and hints of mocha and warm brown toast. The savoury, brûléed hint follows to the plush, dense, opulent palate that shows fine grained tannins, a weightless concentration and a pinpoint fine tannin structure. A bold, ripe Pauillac style expressing the opulence and hedonist nature of the 2023 vintage. Drink now to 2045+.

(Wine Safari Score: 94-96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)