Château Pontet-Canet 5ème Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2021, 75cl

Bright berry red in colour, nuanced blackberry and loganberry with bitter black chocolate notes from the first attack. Lovely precision, good level of spice, earthy, unfussy, rose stem and blackcurrant bud. This was the third vintage with mildew pressure, but the team are now experienced, and I can attest to seeing the vines during harvest and remarking on how healthy they looked, with no-till farming helping concentration. Plenty of tannins give structure and are shot through with sinew and juice, this is an impressive wine from technical director Mathieu Bessonet, with Pauillac typicity. Harvest 24 September until 12 October. 50% new oak, 35% amphora, 15% one year barrels, 15% press (aged in the amphora).

Pure berry fruit and cedar aromas, the wine has great purity. It is a straight line of freshness as well as black-currant fruits and ripe acidity. The wine is beautifully textured and firm at its core. Drink from 2028. Organic and biodynamic.

Dark ruby garnet colour with deep core, purple reflections, delicate brightening on the rim. Ripe plums, blackberry confit, candied oranges, a hint of nougat, still somewhat closed. Medium complexity. Nuances of red berries, vivid tannins, fresh acidity, black cherries and subtle leafy notes, astringent touch in the aftertaste, a versatile food wine, still needs some time. (8/1/2024, cellar, drink from 2028 + 20 years).

Offering up wild, exotic aromas of blackberries, cloves and Indian spices mingled with notions of rose petal, bruised orchard fruit and cherry pit that evolve rapidly in the glass, the 2021 Pontet-Canet is medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a layered mid-palate and refined tannins that assert themselves on the firm, saline finish. Always one of the Médoc's most singular, idiosyncratic wines, it will be interesting to see how it performs in bottle.