2008 Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac, Bordeaux

A candidate for the wine of the vintage, Pontet Canets 2008 boasts an opaque purple color as well as copious aromas of sweet blueberries, blackberries and black currant fruit intertwined with lead pencil shavings, subtle barbecue smoke and a hint of forest floor. Full-bodied, with fabulous richness, texture and tremendous freshness, this first-growth-like effort is more developed than the uber-powerful 2010. Give it 5-8 years of cellaring and drink it over the following three decades. Bravo!Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 02/05/2011

Expressive dark fruit and sweet citrus freshness. Deep and mouthfilling, deep pile tannins, finishing fresh and satisfying. Plenty of freshness on the finish. julia_harding MW - JancisRobinson.com - Apr 09

Black-red, finely concentrated blackcurrants nose, really fine depth of fruit on the palate, a wine with both power and breed, very expressive, masses of fruit, concentration and potentially complex flavours, while retaining totally focussed vineyard fruit. Very good wine.

Very dark and brilliant in color, showing wonderful pure fruit, with crushed blackberry, currant and fresh-cut flowers. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and a long, crisp, fruity finish. This offers impressive finesse and length. james_suckling - Wine Spectator - Apr-2009

A candidate for the “wine of the vintage,” Pontet Canet’s 2008 boasts an opaque purple color as well as copious aromas of sweet blueberries, blackberries and black currant fruit intertwined with lead pencil shavings, subtle barbecue smoke and a hint of forest floor. Full-bodied, with fabulous richness, texture and tremendous freshness, this first-growth-like effort is more developed than the uber-powerful 2010. Give it 5-8 years of cellaring and drink it over the following three decades. Bravo! robert_parker- Wine Advocate- May 2011 Nobody in Bordeaux is more attentive to detail than Alfred Tesseron is at Pontet-Canet. Fashioned from incredibly low yields, a very late harvest, and a Draconian selection, the 2008 will not be close to drinkability for at least a decade... An absolutely amazing effort, it boasts an extraordinary bouquet of creme de cassis, graphite, charcoal, and incense, blockbuster depth, and full-bodied power. The tannins are high, but they are remarkably velvety. Sensational acidity gives the wine precision and vibrancy, but the impression is one of massive concentration and power. The 2008 Pontet-Canet, a candidate for the wine of the vintage, is a tour de force in viticultural precision and winemaking savoir faire. robert_parker- Wine Advocate - Apr 09