LeDomduVin: Château Pontet Canet Pauillac 2010

Château Pontet Canet Pauillac 2010

Pontet Canet has always been one of my go-to wines — a classic Pauillac!

I first visited Pontet Canet in the late 1990s and every year during the En Primeurs between 2002 and 2007. It has always been a pleasure to see Mr. Alfred Tesseron and his niece Melanie (who joined in 2005).

Unfortunately, I never had the chance to return to the chateau after that, but I never stopped buying, selling, opening, tasting, and serving its wines.

I look forward to revisiting Pontet Canet during one of my upcoming trips to my hometown of Bordeaux. See what changes Justine Tesseron, Alfred's daughter and the General Director of the Chateau since 2015, and her brother Noé have made since then.

I have opened quite a few Pontet Canet 2010 these past 2 years, and I like this wine.

I opened these 2 bottles this weekend, and they show delightfully.

Château Pontet Canet Pauillac 2010

In the glass, it displays a clean, clear, and attractive grenat color of medium intensity. The nose is very expressive and gains complexity as you swirl the wine. It boasts dark fruits, cassis and blackberries, violet, licorice, and mocha, mingling with floral, spicy, peppery, earthy notes and slightly toasted, oaky nuances. The palate is fruity, generous, ample, textured, and dark and expands quite nicely toward the long, earthy finish.

I enjoyed it a lot but felt it was still a bit young and angular, a little edgy. I would have loved for it to be more homogenous and integrated. The acidity brings good freshness to the dark fruits and the earthiness of the finish.

Yet, although the tannins are fine, they seem a bit astringent and may need some time to mellow down. I highly recommend decanting it for about an hour before serving it.

Besides being a Classic Pauillac, Pontet Canet is a great value for money. Classified as a Fifth growth in 1855, it produces gorgeous wines that often rival Second growths and outrank its peers.


Cheers! Santé!

Dom


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LeDomduVin: Pauillac 2010 collision

Pauillac 2010 collision

I like horizontal tasting as they allow you to compare different wines from the same vintage and preferably the same appellation.

The other day, I put @pichonbaron 2010 against @chateau_pontetcanet 2010.

Chateau Pichon Baron 2010

Attractive ruby color, clear, medium concentration with bright reflects. Charming nose of dark and red fruits, blackberry, licorice, earth, purple flowers, roasted notes, and slight oaky nuances. The palate is soft, silky, focused, ample, complex, rich, and layered, in a very elegant and graceful way, balanced by great acidity, adding freshness and juiciness, with present tannins, yet, superbly integrated, bringing structure and backbone, to this beautifully crafted wine, gently expanding and coating the palate along the way to the lingering finish. Very juicy, palatable and so approachable right now. Definitely calling for another glass. Looooooved it.

Chateau Pontet Canet 2010

Over the last few months, I have bought this particular wine a few times, to be served during diverse dinners, to see how it will evolve, as Bordeaux 2010 vintage wines are drinking quite well lately, and I usually enjoy Pontet Canet. However, that night, compared to Pichon Baron, Pontet Canet appeared darker, earthier, less harmonious, more angular, and more austere too, less together somehow, with earthy tannins that may take time to tame down.

Don't get me wrong, I still liked it a lot, but not as much as Pichon Baron, as Pichon Baron seemed open, confident, radiant, and ready now (despite a strong potential to age for many years to come and get even better). Pontet Canet seemed closed, less ready, and somber, and presented angularities and youthfulness that may take a few more years prior to reaching a more harmonious and more integrated state.

In conclusion, I will say that it was an interesting experience showing how 2 wines from the same vintage and same appellation can be quite different, the former being in an opened phase and very enjoyable now, while the latter seems too young still and in a closed phase of its evolution.

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Coincidental pairing

Coincidental pairing 

Following up on "which bottle should I pick to be paired with a cigar?" Some of you guessed it well, spot on, well done! 

Yet, most of you discovered it with the reel (a short video) I posted in the previous post. 

I picked Château Pontet Canet 2010. 

Why? 

Well, as I did not know which cigar it will be paired with, I needed a solid wine with complex aromas and body, so as not to be overwhelmed or overpowered by the flavors, strength, and richness of the cigar. 

It was not an easy choice, as Pomerol first came to my mind. And yet, Cabernet Sauvignon being stronger and more tannic, it had to be from the Left Bank. And, amongst the choice I had, my gut's feeling (combined with my experience and knowledge of the wines) told me that it will probably be the best choice. 

Pontet Canet 2010 is an amazing wine displaying aromas of dark fruits, earth, soil, and wood mingling with floral and mineral notes. It has power and richness, structure and texture while being harmonious and balanced, and beautifully expands throughout the palate with substance and character up to the long lingering earthy finish. Majestic! 

It showed wonderfully after 2 hours of decanting and displayed a lot of complexity and refinement and potential of aging. Highly recommended and to be revisited within the next 5-10 years. 

As for the "coincidental pairing" part, it came when I realized that the cigar, (it will eventually be paired with), was none other than one of my favorite cigars, and truly an excellent choice from the host: 

Partagás Serie D Especial Edición Limitada 2010

What a coincidence! And, what a surprise! (as I had no clue what the cigar will be). A 2010 vintage wine paired with a 2010 vintage cigar. Perfect! 

It definitely makes for a good story to tell. 

Santé! Cheers! 

Dom

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LeDomduVin: A man in black decanting Château Pontet Canet 2010

Men in black

A man in black decanting Château Pontet Canet 2010

When it comes to preparing wine for clients or guests, decanting becomes a crucial, needed step of the preparation when a wine is too young, too tight, or presents lots of sediments due to its age. 

For Burgundy, for example, I don't usually decant the reds (it might have happened but only on rare occasions), as Pinot Noir-based wines open up quite easily and rapidly in the bottle, and thus do not require decanting, unless really tight.  

However, I love decanting white burgundy, especially if they are young to give them a boost and allow them to open up faster. Old burgundy whites also deserve to be decanted in most cases.  

For Bordeaux, both young and old need to be decanted in my opinion. The ones in the middle with a certain maturity, not necessarily too young or too old, can just be opened, tasted, and left open, without decanting.  However, if too tight, too young, or too old, and, more importantly, if full of sediments, then decanting is a must.  

For other regions and appellations, it depends on the wine, the grape variety, the strength, the alcohol content, the vintage, and many other factors.  

For example, I do not usually decant Loire valley Red, yet, some Chinon and even some Saumur Champigny deserve to be decanted, for the Cabernet Franc to fully express itself. 

In the meantime, I like to decant full and strong wines from the Southern Rhone, Rioja, Ribera del Duero, California, Barossa, etc... as they usually need to be tamed down a little to be better appreciated. 

I must say I love decanting and I'm pretty good at it. The key is to remain calm, concentrated, and focused. And after doing it and repeating the same gests for the past 30+ years, I'm like a Decanting Master now.  It is definitely one of my specialties and all the videos I posted on YouTube and other Social Media can attest to the quality of my decanting skills.  

Santé! Cheers!

Dom 

#ledomduvin @ledomduvin #lesvideosadom #wine #vin #vino #wein #pontetcanet @pontet.canet #pauillac #bordeaux #redwine #decanting #decantation #meninblack #sommelier #sommelierlife #sommlife #ilovemyjob @chateaupontetcanet_officiel

Unless stated otherwise, all right reserved ©LeDomduVin 2022 on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, drawings, illustrations, visuals, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).