2012 Pontet Canet

95 POINTS

Neal Martin - Wine Advocate

What is a primeur report without one of Pauillac’s most dynamic estate? I made the trip through the rain to taste their 2012. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 30% Merlot, the latter was cropped from 4th October and the Cabernet Sauvignon from 11th October, finishing six days later. The 50% of the crop once aged in new oak and one-year old barrels are now matured in concrete vats whilst 35% of the crop is aged in clay amphora quarried from their own vineyard. There is certainly great purity and terroir expression on the nose: blackberry, briary and background scents of fresh raspberry and cold stone. The definition is very impressive. The palate is interesting – quite different from the previous vintages. I love the tannins here – very fine but lending the Pontet-Canet great backbone It is utterly harmonious but I feel more understated, perhaps more controlled than recent vintages. The finish is much more introspective – a Pauillac politely informing you to go away and wait before bottling before making any judgement! This is a divine Pontet Canet - very succinct. Tasted April 2013.

95 POINTS

Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider

Produced 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. Alfred Tesseron is clearly on a roll. 94-96 Pts

95 POINTS

James Suckling

A wine that makes you want to drink it already. It's stylish with berries, currants, cedar and stone aromas and flavors. Full body, with very integrated tannins and a long, long finish. A small percentage of the wine is now aged in cement vats instead of oak barrels. This touches all the senses. A beauty. Made from biodynamic grapes.

93 POINTS

Tim Atkin

Winemaker Jean-Michel Cosme concedes that the vicissitudes of the vintage made it harder to use organic and biodynamic practices, but seems happy with the result. This is a step down from recent stellar vintages, but it’s still a dense, if oaky red, with a mixture of leafy, minty and slightly over-ripe flavours. The oak needs to integrate here, but the firm tannins should soften in barrel and bottle. Drink: 2022-30

93 POINTS

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

This impeccably run, biodynamically farmed estate of Alfred Tesseron goes from strength to strength. The 2012 triumphs once again with its notes of dark plum, blackcurrant, licorice and almost a hint of truffle, its full-bodied, supple tannins, and beautiful, expensive mouthfeel. Complex and deep, this dense ruby/purple-colored wine may not be at the level of the 2009 or 2010, but it is a successful wine in this vintage, and a significant wine in 2012. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2035.

92 POINTS

James Molesworth - Wine Spectator

Broad and fleshy, with an alluring feel to the layers of steeped plum, blackberry coulis and raspberry reduction notes, all gliding over ample but polished tannins. Loam, tobacco and warm stone accents stay in the background for now but add steady base notes to the finish. Packs in solid fruit for the vintage, with a commensurate tug of earth. Best from 2017 through 2025.

90 POINTS

Ian D'Agata - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

(65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot):  Deep purple-ruby.  Perfumed nose of violet and ripe blackberry jam.  Smooth, rich and almost sweet on entry, then increasingly austere, with the sweet cassis and delicate herbal flavors overshadowed by rising, raw tannins.  I detected a slightly green quality on the long finish.  Though this wine lacks the amazingly sweet flesh of the '09 and '10 wines, and the classic elegance of the '08, I like its precision.  Alfred Tesseron told me the estate picked late, on October 4, to offer the grapes a greater chance of reaching suitable ripeness, but they harvested quickly, using an extra sorting table.

90 POINTS

Ian D'Agata - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

(65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot):  Deep purple-ruby.  Perfumed nose of violet and ripe blackberry jam.  Smooth, rich and almost sweet on entry, then increasingly austere, with the sweet cassis and delicate herbal flavors overshadowed by rising, raw tannins.  I detected a slightly green quality on the long finish.  Though this wine lacks the amazingly sweet flesh of the '09 and '10 wines, and the classic elegance of the '08, I like its precision.  Alfred Tesseron told me the estate picked late, on October 4, to offer the grapes a greater chance of reaching suitable ripeness, but they harvested quickly, using an extra sorting table.