Pontet-Canet Pauillac 2005

98 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Always showing well, this bottle of 2005 Château Pontet Canet was just about pure perfection in a glass. Still youthful ruby/purple-hued, with a gorgeous core of pure cassis and darker currant fruits, it's full-bodied and has a stacked mid-palate, building tannins, and textbook Pauillac graphite, lead pencil, and subtle tobacco and cedar aromas and flavors. It's a big, rich, powerful 2005 with flawlessly integrated tannins, remarkable purity, and a finish that won't quit. While it's still another 5-10 years away from being completely mature, it unquestionably offers incredible pleasure today. Drink: 2021-2031. (8/7/21)"

98 points Chris Kissack (Winedoctor): "A vintage from when this estate was in the ascendant, in the process of conversion to biodynamics under the direction of Jean-Michel Comme, who has since left the estate. At just over fifteen years this shows a great colour, dark and concentrated, still with a very thin rim of fresh dusty cherry red, and barely a hint of age. The aromatics are fabulously dark and brooding, and complex too, with grilled blackcurrant, red cherry, dried damson, black bean and olive, intertwined with threads of liquorice, leather and toasted tobacco. It has a huge impact at the start of the palate, dark and dripping with ripe and tightly grained tannin, driving forward a wealth of black fruits, currants, olive, slightly high-toned with a touch of soy. I see great substance and structure here still, with an almost primary presence, long and impressive. It has so much going on for fifteen years of age;and it will need decades to show its full potential, yet it is brilliant now. Drink or hold;I advise the latter. The declared alcohol is 13%. (Aug 2021)"

97+ points Robert Parker: "Possibly the youngest wine of all the 2005 Médocs in terms of its evolution, at age 10 the inky purple 2005 Pontet-Canet tastes more like a two-year-old wine. Loads of pure blueberry, blackberry and cassis fruit are present along with a hint of licorice and background oak. It is full-bodied, ripe, and excruciatingly fresh, vigorous and exuberant. This is a tour de force, and a sensational effort that rivals the first growths. Give it another 5-10 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 30-40 years. (Jun 2015)"

97 points Bettane & Desseauve's Guide to the Wines of France: "Sumptuous body and texturd. Truly a special achievement in a terrific vintage for Pauillac, showing the usual intelligent viticulture at this estate. (2011)"

'Top 100 Wine of 2008'/96 points Wine Spectator: "Black in color, with aromas of blackberry, black licorice, tar, mineral and fresh flowers. Full-bodied and powerful, with ultrafine tannins that last for minutes on the palate. A polished, thought-provoking wine. Shows wonderful purity of Cabernet Sauvignon. Best after 2014. (3/31/08)"

96 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 2005 Pontet-Canet is a heady, exotic wine. Inky dark fruit, mocha, chocolate, licorice, spice and tobacco are front and center. Readers will find an unabashedly opulent, full-throttle 2005 with quite a bit more oak influence and overall extraction than is the norm these days. Even so, the 2005 is a young, young wine with a bright future. This is one sexy Pauillac, that's for sure. Drink: 2025-2045. (Apr 2021)"

95 points Stephen Tanzer (International Wine Cellar): "Good full ruby-red. Complex, enticing aromas of black raspberry, licorice, minerals, bitter chocolate, lead pencil and pungent cedar; just this side of exotic. Wonderfully silky, sweet and thick, with a powerful minerality framing the currant, graphite and spice flavors. This boasts superb inner-mouth energy and great length, with the full, ripe tannins totally enrobed by the wine's mid-palate richness. (May/Jun 2008)"

94 points Wine Enthusiast: "Despite its core of strength and power and obvious aging ability, this is already a delicious wine, with mint aromas, ripe fruit masking the solid tannins. This estate has been on a roll for several years, and this 2005 shows why. (Jun 2008)"

19/20 points (Stephen Brook) The World of Fine Wine: "Opaque red. Intense nose, very oaky but very elegant and precise, with wonderful purity of fruit. Sleek and stylish, with a beguiling silkiness. Not bold or dramatic but has a perfect balance between fruit and acidity. Very ripe tannins support the palate, and there is something understated about the wine thanks to that balance and, as it were, confidence. More discreet and restrained than Cos, but of the same high quality. Should age effortlessly. (Issue 26; 2009)"