2001 Château Pontet-Canet- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (3/13/2019)
Served as part of a blind tasting, and decanted about three hours prior to serving, this was gorgeous, textbook Pauillac. One of the guys actually said “this is clearly Pauillac” as he was tasting the wine. It really was classic, with red fruit, pencil shavings, etc. and still excellent fruit density and firm but maturing tannins. While it showed very well initially, it blossomed even more two hours later when we had a chance to re-taste. So five hours of air did the wine nothing but good. It’s a wonderful drink now with all that air, so clearly it’s going nowhere soon. Take your time, and enjoy now or later!
Thanks for the TN. The 2001s have over performed and gotten better and better. The 01 Branaire was one of my wines of the year in 2018. Montrose hasn’t emerged yet.
I just picked up some 2001 Pichon Baron. I wasn’t in the market when this was released but seems like there are a lot of overperformers for this classic shoulder vintage. I’m a buyer.
Still great. I decanted without tasting it because I had to get something done. As I was getting my stuff done I started smelling it in the decanter from across the room. I thought the tannins were quite tame in 2016 and was ready to drink but it’s still fine now, perfectly balanced and seems like it could go stay in great shape for a long time. Just one bottle left to go. Excellent, 4- (out of 5).