Wine Critic
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Chateau Pontet Canet Pauillac 5th Grand Cru Classe (6 bottle OWC) 1990, 94, 95, 96, 98, 99 Direct Ex-Chateau. Provenance Guarantee!
Chateau Pontet Canet 1990s Collectors Case is an exceptional set of six wines, featuring the best vintages of the decade. Each wine has been carefully selected and preserved in perfect condition, ready to be enjoyed by true wine connoisseurs. The 1990 vintage is a true gem, displaying a deep garnet color with an intense bouquet of blackcurrants, cedar, and earthy notes. On the palate, it offers a rich and full-bodied experience with silky tannins and a long, complex finish. The 1994 vintage showcases a beautiful ruby color and a lovely bouquet of red and black fruits, accompanied by hints of spices and tobacco. It is elegant and refined on the palate, with a smooth and persistent finish. The 1995 vintage is another standout, with a deep purple color and a nose of blackberries, cassis, and vanilla. The palate is well-structured with firm tannins and a long, velvety finish. The 1996 vintage is a classic Bordeaux, with a dark ruby color and a complex nose of blackcurrants, violets, and a touch of smoke. It is rich and full-bodied on the palate, with well-balanced tannins and a long finish. The 1998 vintage boasts a deep ruby color and a nose of blackcurrants, licorice, and spices. On the palate, it is full-bodied and rich, with well-integrated tannins and a long, lingering finish. The 1999 vintage rounds out the collection with a deep ruby color and a nose of ripe black fruit, leather, and spices. It is full-bodied and rich on the palate, with a velvety texture and a long, complex finish.
Robert Parker (Wine Advocate):
1990 - Diffuse, weedy, red and black currant notes along with hints of earth and licorice emerge from this mid-weight Pauillac. The 1990 was conceived before proprietor Alfred Tesseron began to pull out all the stops in his quest for first-growth quality starting in 1994. Over the last 5-6 vintages, he has been hitting on all cylinders. - Reviewed by Robert M. Parker, Jr.
1994 - One of the finest as well as longest-lived wines of the vintage, this opaque purple-colored 1994 needs 7-10 years of cellaring. This rich, impressive, full-bodied wine represents the finest Pontet-Canet produced since the 1961. This full-bodied, purely made wine is crammed with black currant fruit, as well as forbiddingly tannic and backward. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025. Last tasted 1/97. - Reviewed by Robert M. Parker, Jr.
1995 - An old style Pauillac, yet made with far more purity and richness than the estate's ancient vintages, this broad-shouldered, muscular, classic wine exhibits a saturated purple color, and sensationally dense, rich, concentrated, cassis flavors that roll over the palate with impressive purity and depth. The wine is tannic and closed, but powerful and rich. It appears to possess length and intensity similar to the 1996. This is a great young Pauillac. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025. The extraordinary effort that Alfred Tesseron is making at this property is reconfirmed with each new tasting note I write on Pontet-Canet. Having recently had the exceptionally impressive 1994 in several tastings, it is a pleasure to see this historic estate turning out wines that behave like super seconds rather than fifth-growths. - Reviewed by Robert M. Parker, Jr.
1996 - Tasted at the Pontet-Canet vertical in London, the 1996 Château Pontet-Canet was tasted from three different bottles. Two of them didn't pass muster and seemed a little bretty on the nose. A third was much better with mulberry, blackberry and cedar on the nose that still lacks the panache of more recent vintages. I noticed how meaty it became in the glass, slightly ferrous. The palate is medium-bodied and at 20 years fully mature. Cedar and dried herbs dominate the opening but unlike the 1982 Pontet-Canet there is decent substance here and a slightly medicinal finish. Hopefully your bottle will mirror the best of the three that I tasted. Good luck. Tasted February 2016. - Reviewed by Neal Martin
1998 - A pleasant, dark ruby-colored, elegant Pauillac, the 1998 displays hollowness on the mid-palate along with notes of red and black currants, tobacco, dried herbs, and earth. Although solidly-made, there is not much depth. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2012. - Reviewed by Robert M. Parker, Jr.
1999 - Tasted at the Pontet-Canet vertical in London, the 1999 Château Pontet-Canet put in a respectable showing and demonstrated more class than either the 1996 or1982. Well-defined on the nose, there is a satisfying delivery of blackberry and blueberry fruit infused with dried blood and incense as it moves into its secondary stage. The palate is medium-bodied with classic tobacco-infused black fruit. There is nice salinity here, not a complex Pauillac by any stretch of the imagination, although there is impressive precision on the conservative finish. Probably at its peak now, the 1999 Pontet-Canet is a wine that never had lofty ambitions, but a wine that I would welcome on my table. Tasted February 2016. - Reviewed by Neal Martin