Chateau Pontet-Canet 2015

Professional Ratings

• 98 James Suckling
  So much floral and dark-fruit character with almonds and walnut shell. Full body and ultra-fine tannins. Powerful. Classic style with a harmony and energy. Goes on for minutes. A superb wine with great fruit. Real Bordeaux. Try in 2025.
• 97 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Pontet-Canet comes charging out of the glass with fantastically expressive notes of black cherry preserves, black raspberries and blackcurrant pastilles plus touches of kirsch, wilted roses, tobacco, camphor and cinnamon stick with a waft of fragrant soil. Full bodied, the palate is laden with black and red fruit layers, supported by very firm, very finely grained tannins and provocative freshness, finishing with incredible length and stunningly perfumed.
• 97 Wine Enthusiast
  Succulent fruits, rich tannins and juicy acidity are in perfect harmony in this wine produced from biodynamic grapes. It has a rich, velvet texture and dense structure, sumptuous and already balanced and delicious. However do not be fooled, this is a serious wine for aging. Drink no earlier than 2026.
  Cellar Selection
• 96 Decanter
  Deep, velvety texture on the palate and wild flowers on the nose; unctuous yet firm with pristine clarity. A great wine by any standards – and the standards of Alfred Tesseron for his biodynamic vineyards and amphora-matured wine are magnificently evident.
• 95 Jeb Dunnuck
  The 2015 Pontet Canet is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot brought up in 50% new oak, and 35% in amphora. With textbook Pauillac notes of lead pencil shavings, tobacco leaf, smoke, and licorice, as well as a core of pure crème de cassis fruit, this beautiful, full-bodied, impeccably balanced is one of the few 2015s that’s going to demand cellaring. The tannin are high, yet sweet, and like its bright acidity, nicely integrated into the wine. Forget bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following three decades. I don’t put this as the level of the 2009 and 2010, but it’s still a beautiful wine.
  Rating: 95+
• 95 Wine & Spirits
  In 2015, the power, complexity and refinement of Grange hides behind its initial volatility. That’s part of the style Max Schubert developed from the initial vintages onward, and while, at first, it was controversial, it soon became a marker of the Grange style. In this vintage, it begins to dissipate with air as the dynamic expanse of the wine emerges in layers of tannic intensity. What seemed bold though tightly compressed unwraps into a long, detailed flavor and a glorious explosion of green peppercorn spice. Still, mystically, it continues to feel refined and restrained. An intriguing vintage of Grange, one that will age on its stamina and sheer energy.
• 94 Wine Spectator
  This sports a lovely core of gently steeped plum, blackberry and black currant fruit, carried by velvety structure, while smoldering tobacco and charcoal notes fill in through the finish. Fleshes out steadily in the glass, revealing more juniper, bay leaf and loam accents.