Chateau Pontet-Canet 5eme Cru Classe, Pauillac 2008

Unquestionably one of the gems in the vintage is the 2008 Pontet-Canet, which reminds me of the 2005 with its concentrated, deep, powerful style. Beautiful dark fruits, graphite, obvious minerality, and classic Pauillac lead pencil notes all emerge from this still youthful, full-bodied, and pure 2008 that’s 4-5 years away from maturity and will keep for 30+ years. Hats off to Alfred Tesseron for another awesome wine that ranks up with the crème de la crème of the vintage.

A candidate for the “wine of the vintage,” Pontet Canet’s 2008 boasts an opaque purple color as well as copious aromas of sweet blueberries, blackberries and black currant fruit intertwined with lead pencil shavings, subtle barbecue smoke and a hint of forest floor. Full-bodied, with fabulous richness, texture and tremendous freshness, this first-growth-like effort is more developed than the uber-powerful 2010. Give it 5-8 years of cellaring and drink it over the following three decades. Bravo!

Black-red, finely concentrated blackcurrants nose, really fine depth of fruit on the palate, a wine with both power and breed, very expressive, masses of fruit, concentration and potentially complex flavours, while retaining totally focussed vineyard fruit. Very good wine.

Oh, I love this! This is Pauillac distilled, flirting on the edge of ripeness with brambly cassis and dark chocolate. This is just the right mix of open and closed for me, layered and confident but not overdone. It has feathery, well brushed tannins, and firm, generous black fruits. A great Pauillac which is just starting to rev its engine. Again, it's not as concentrated and long-living as in the ripest vintages, but it's a real success with decades ahead of it.

Deep ruby-red. Knockout nose combines black cherry, lavender, potpourri spices and graphite minerality; high-toned and slightly liqueur-like. Then dense, seamless and vibrant in the mouth, with firm acidity giving outstanding energy to the dark fruit, floral and mineral flavors. Really spreads out on the back end and stays a while. Brilliantly delineated, complex wine with superb cut and penetration.

I love the nose of sweet tobacco, currants, minerals, flowers, and stones. Full bodied, with dark chocolate flavors, silky tannins, and beautiful fruit. Long and beautiful, with a succulent finish and a great overall balance. Best in three or four years.

A meeting by chance with the 2008 Pontet-Canet prior to a small tasting of South African wines reminded me what a lovely wine this is. There is plenty of black fruit on the nose laced with graphite. The cedar component is less prominent than the previous bottled tasting. The palate is medium-bodied, a little drier and more austere than recent vintages, yet clearly well balanced with a surfeit of freshness on the slightly herbaceous finish. Drinking perfectly now, this will give another two decades of drinking pleasure. Tasted at a merchant in London.

Saturated inky-ruby. Classy aromas of blackcurrant and graphite are lifted by Oriental spices and plum liqueur. Sweet, dense and consistent from start to finish, with enticing, creamy flavors of dark berries and chocolate. Finishes long and pure, with a solid tannic bite but with so much sweet, ripe fruit that you hardly notice. Pontet-Canet has been consistently excellent in recent years, and this vintage appears to be among the most successful.