2022 Pontet-Canet, Pauillac

The aroma is dominated by impressive black fruit flavors. The wine, dense and concentrated, is full of dark tannins, black currant fruits with great purity and youthful freshness. It is a magisterial wine with its strength and power balanced by great fruits. (RV)

2022 may very well be the pinnacle of Pontet-Canet. It is certainly in the conversation alongside their legendary 2009 and 2010 duo, and it will have to compete with the 2016 as well. But when I consider the ascendancy of Pontet-Canet over the years—and all of their exacting biodynamic practices in the vineyard and élevage in the cellar—I can't help but feel that the vision at the estate is more fully realized in this 2022 than ever before. It also doesn't hurt that it is over $100 less than the 2009 and 2010, making the 2022 Pontet-Canet one of the great buys in collectible wine today. The aromatic expression is pure Pauillac, with deep cassis and cedar, hinting at a bold wine in the glass. It is certainly exuberant, but the balance is what’s truly striking—a great marriage of texture, density, and refinement, packed with a mélange of black and red fruits, vibrant acidity, and a long, fruit- and mineral-filled finish. Its generosity makes it irresistible. And while I can’t help but think it has the capacity to put some cult-caliber, $500 Napa wines to shame, its roots are firmly planted in Pauillac. This is also a wine with a long, broad drinking window—open it now with a decant, or age it for decades. Either way, what a fantastic achievement and a superlative, high-upside collectible from Pontet-Canet.