ready-keep2007 Ch. Pontet-Canet, Pauillac

Journalists and merchants are sometimes quick to generalise and tend to group wines under the banner of a vintage. Bordeaux, however, is a big place, composed of 57 appellations  Edriving from one side to another can take up to two hours. These generalisations therefore don’t reflect the unique site of the region’s 7,500 châteaux accurately. There is no denying that 2007 was a difficult vintage, but there are plenty of wines that were overlooked en primeur and are just starting to unveil their true potential. Ch. Pontet-Canet is one of these and the wine is now at its best, combining velvety fruit with an underlying maturity. It is just turning a corner and will provide delicious drinking now and over the next five years  Eand at a fraction of the price of a “big Evintage.

It is a heresy severe enough to get you excommunicated, but in our view Ch. Pontet-Canet is as good as the First Growths in 2007. Working the vineyards according to organic and even biodynamic principles, dryly humorous owner Alfred Tesseron has produced a 2007 with lovely pure black fruit, ripe but present tannins, a mouth-watering finish and arguably the finest quality fruit in the vintage: silky, luscious, blackberries and plums with oodles of minerals, coffee, cedar and tobacco. Since the outstanding 2004, Ch. Pontet-Canet has been a must-have wine every year; in 2007 this is truer than ever.

{***}
{region}Pauillac{region}
{color}Red{color}
{maturity}ready-keep{maturity}
{maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{vintage}2007{vintage}
{ratings}
[]BBR:: 17.5/20[]The Wine Advocate:: 91/100          []Jancis Robinson:: 15.5/20   
{ratings}  {***}