2000 Chateau Pontet-Canet Pauillac

The name Pontet-Canet doesn’t just echo through the halls of Bordeaux—it commands attention. From its origins under Jean-François de Pontet, the royal governor of the Médoc, to its current reign under the brilliant Guy Tesseron, this château has undergone a transformation of mythic proportions. Once just a name in Bordeaux’s lineup, Pontet-Canet now rivals the best of the best, delivering wines that critics insist are on par with 2nd and 3rd Growths—but at a fraction of the price.

With the Tesseron family’s visionary touch, Pontet-Canet has become an absolute powerhouse, alongside their other prestigious holdings like Château Lafon-Rochet in St-Estèphe and Pym-Rae in Napa Valley, previously owned by the legendary Robin Williams.

Guided by Jean-Michel Comme, one of Bordeaux’s finest oenologists, and bolstered by biodynamic, sustainable farming, Pontet-Canet has become a darling of wine critics and connoisseurs worldwide. Wine Spectator raves: “This fifth-growth Pauillac performs like a first-growth, with pure, rich Cabernet fruit that’s deeply concentrated.”

Nestled just 800 meters from the iconic Château Mouton Rothschild, Pontet-Canet’s 200-acre vineyard sits on the fabled “plateau”—a terroir of Garonne gravel soil from the Günz era, underpinned by limestone bedrock. This is not just any vineyard. This is where Bordeaux’s elite wines are born.

70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot.
See Critical Reviews for detailed tasting notes.

From magnum, a youthful colour, reflecting slow evolution. Aromas of cedar, lead pencil, roasted and primary fruit. Fine grained, noticeable tannin. Excellent balance of power and smooth texture. Noé Tesseron described it as 'older school Pauillac', and I liked it a lot. Long finish. Aged 60% new oak. ~95 Decanter

I drank this fabulous 2000 Pontet-Canet in Hong Kong last summer at home with family. It was a wonderfully complex wine that was really starting to show its best. On the nose it displayed tar and currants with hints of dried fruits and berries. It was full-bodied yet so refined and delicious at the same time. ~94 James Suckling

Deep red-ruby. Explosive nose combines raspberry, roasted currant, grilled nuts and exotic spices. Rich, sexy, silky and full in the mouth, with expressive flavors of black raspberry, game, smoke and truffle. Finishes with strong but suave tannins and excellent length. ~93 Int. Wine Review

Quite a deep, inviting, coffee-bean and cocoa nose. The fruit is deep-set and concentrated. On the palate it is muscular, with plenty of bracing acidity, it is grippy and sinewy, with a serious seam of savoury black fruit. Long, juicy and well-balanced, this is very promising. ~ 93 Tom Cannavan

A lovely lead-in of singed cedar and vanilla notes gives way to slightly taut, racy red and black currant fruit flavors that drive nicely through an iron-edged finish. Rather sleek and tightly focused, relying more on minerality than power. -- Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2023. 2,330 cases made. ~92 Wine Spectator

Tasted at the Pontet-Canet vertical, the 2000 Château Pontet-Canet is perhaps where things start getting interesting, as Alfred Tesseron's top-to-toe reconfiguration of the vineyard and vinification began to impact and ameliorate the wine. It has a lovely bouquet of blackberry and briary fruit, hints of black truffle developing, later damp earth. There is an intensity here, if not the complexity of the best millennial Pauillacs. The palate is medium-bodied with a mixture of red and black fruit, cedar and sous-bois percolating up through and rendering it a 'serious' Pontet-Canet in keeping with the vintage. There is a subtle and yet insistent grip on the finish. It has always been a tannic wine, but these are now softening, albeit at a slower pace than some might like. ~92 Wine Advocate

This is a very modern style of wine, with generous new wood and super-ripe fruit flavors, balancing with polished solid tannins. Very international in style, it is good, but could come from anywhere. ~90 Wine Enthusiast

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