2017 Chateau Pontet-Canet, Pauillac, D-Magnum (3L)

RP96 "Composed of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Pontet-Canet gives up beautifully fragrant notes of rosehip tea, lilacs, cinnamon stick, cloves, dried leaves and underbrush with a core of kirsch, raspberry coulis, warm plums and red and black currants plus a waft of pencil shavings. Medium-bodied, the palate is refreshing, minerally and wonderfully elegant with a well-played texture of approachable, plush tannins and a long, fragrant finish. Beautiful. Aging took place in 50% new and 15% in second fill barrels and the remaining 35% in amphorae for 16 months, much of the material for which came from the soil at Pontet-Canet!" LPB Mar 2020

LP96 "Pontet-Canet is situated near enough to the estuary in Pauillac that it only received minor losses from the frosts in 2017. This vintage, for the first time, 30% of the production was fermented in a brand-new vat room containing 32 custom-built, 40-hectoliter concrete tanks. Along with the certified organic and biodynamic principles already practiced in the vineyards since 2005, Alfred Tesseron continues to strive toward the least invasive, most sustainable means of coaxing the very best from the land and the vines." LBP Apr 2018