Jan A

9.3

Lime, still very young — 3 months ago

Dave

9.5

Nice little pizza wine!
Listening to Patsy Cline — 4 months ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.2

This magnum showed more advanced than expected, based on the previous one.
Nevertheless, this was rounded, rich, mineral and a only touch nutty. — 5 months ago

Sean Burke

9.2

Love. Montage Utah — 5 months ago

"Odedi"

9.2

It is time for my #FridayCabernetfix.

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Nose of red fruits with wild flowers, tobacco, eucalyptus, light earth, licorice, light oak, spices and herbs.

Medium plus in body and elegant, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with red cherries, currants, plums, licorice, light oak, spices, chocolates, red candy, tobacco leaf, light earth, herbs and light black tea.

Tangy finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This delicious Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley is still very young and needs some bottle time to mature properly, but already drinking beautifully.

Rich, yet elegant. Fruit forward, Nicely balanced and easy drinking. Spicy and entertaining.

Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years. Showing good potential to become a 94 point wine.

Showing lots of red fruits, especially on the nose, which surprised me a bit. A different style of Napa Cabernet, and very unique.

Needed 3 hours in the decanter to open up. Complex and engaging.

A good sipping wine that will pair nicely with food too.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were aged for 30 months in (80% new) French Oak barrels. A small production of 7,200 bottles.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$230. — 7 months ago

JKT

9.1

This one, on the other hand, did smack me in the face with a surprising streak of lean almost metallic minerals cutting through. — 10 months ago

E D

9.0

Nice version of this variety. Rich grape. Quite dry and acidic on the tongue. — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Presented to me double-blind. The wine pours a dull purple/garnet color with a translucent core and significant rim variation, moving towards a rust color. The wine has medium viscosity with light staining of the tears and signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of cassis, dried blackberries, dried red and purple flowers, old leather bound books, tobacco, a touch of menthol, some earth, old wood and a sprinkle of warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Super high quality but a touch thin.

Initial conclusions: Due to the observable characteristics of color, rim variation, sediment, smell and flavor, I think this wine has significant age; 30+ years. However, this is still very alive and showing more than enough markers to give an indication of place. Subsequently, this could be a Cabernet-based blend or a Tempranillo-based blend from the United States, France, or Spain. For me, I’m getting new French oak vibes instead of American so I’m eliminating Spain. I also think this leans more towards its fruit than its structure and since this comes across a little on the thin side, I’m going to say this comes from a tougher vintage. My final conclusion is this is a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend from the USA, Napa, 1981. Wow! This showed really well.

It never ceases to amaze me how analogous the 1981 vintage was in both Napa and Bordeaux. I find it equally amazing how well that vintage has held up; particularly when considering its poor reputation, mostly based on the prevailing thought at the time. From my perspective, well stored examples are not going to fall off of a cliff but I would drink now through 2031. — 4 months ago

Anthony De Blasi

9.5

Our (not so) little (anymore) princess her birthday so time for our yearly 2011. After having rated two previous bottles not as high as you would expect this one actually delivered. Very elegant, in balance and clearly at peak. Quite some years ahead — 5 months ago

Inseon Hwang

9.8

Dark cherries, licorice, a little pepper — 5 months ago

Tom Garland

9.2

2 hour decant(little fine sediment). A splendid dark magenta with some bricking. On the nose: subdued but enticing notes of blackberry, cassis, cigar wrapper, clove, pine, maybe a touch of brett. Taste: silky, still youthful at 20 wine with blackberry, red fruit, graphite, spice, and a medium smokey licorice tar finish. YUM..good but expecting more for the year..will wait a few years for next attempt. — 7 months ago

with Brenda

Jason Phillips

9.0

Muted nose. Honey, apricot, and butter. Buttery, fully coating the palate. Heavy finish. — 10 months ago

David Nicewicz

9.3

Birth year Bordeaux and this has been excellent. Very old school nose of copious tobacco, forest floor and dark berries. Medium bodied but gaining intensity over the course of 2 h - tannins completely melted. Bricking is apparent on first pour but the color grows darker with time. Perfect bottle that is a little past it’s prime but fun to step back in time. — 5 years ago

Dave

9.0

Solid Sonoma Cab that tastes like Left Bank Bordeaux. Supple feel, dark berries, cedar, graphite, tobacco. A little eucalyptus and a little espresso. Lengthy tannins. Drinkable now and will age for some time.
Listening to Radiohead — 4 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I’ve had a number of PC 96’s over time, none quite this good. The fill line & cork perfect. Very little sediment. Some bottle neck tannin burn. For me, Pontet Canet didn’t really hit its consistent, quality stride until 2005. Doesn’t mean they didn’t make a few beauties before then. Pontet Canet is proof that the 1855 Bordeaux Classification needs to be redone. Unlikely it will in my lifetime.

This 96 maybe just short of its precipice. Stylistically a little better than 94.

The nose reminds me of everything I love about older Bordeaux. Dark core of currants/cassis. Ripe, floral; blackberries, dark, baked cherries, sweet, black plum, poached/strawberries, raspberries, hints of baked rhubarb & blueberries, mixed berry cola. Sweet forest floor w/ leaves, sweet mushrooms, sweet led pencil shavings, steeped tea w/ hints of fruit, charcoal, dry tobacco/leather, some dry herbs, withering dark, red flowers, red roses with violets.

The palate is also everything I love about older Bordeaux. Dark core of currants/cassis. Ripe, floral; blackberries, dark, baked cherries, sweet, black plum, poached/strawberries, raspberries, hints of baked rhubarb & blueberries, mixed berry cola/red vines. Everything I understood the first time standing in the estate vineyard of Pichon Baron. Tasting limestone, dry river stone, dark, rich soils with dry leaves, dry stems. In fact, I’ve tasted vineyards soils everywhere I have been in every world wine region. Basically, everywhere in the wine world that has reliance. Many multiple times. Sweet graphite, steeped tea w/ hints of dark fruit, understated, layered baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanillin, dark cocoa, dark exotic spices, some anise to black licorice, charcoal, dry tobacco with ash/leather, some dry herbs-safe/bay leaf, limestone, dry river stone, dry crushed rocks, dark, rich, earth with dry leaves, dry topsoils, dry stems, withering/dry dark, red flowers, red roses with violets, excellent, rainfall acidity with an extremely well balanced/structured/tensioned, great length and an elegant finish that lasts minutes and falls nicely on dry earth and dark spices.

A very, very slow roll with my Ribcap. Definitely better with the steak than on its own.

This bottle tells me this 96 has plenty of good drinking ahead, another 8-10 yrs+.

ABV is 13%. Disappointing it ever changed. — 4 months ago

Sagee Aran

8.9

A medium body, bright red in color. Pleasant nose, mild. On the palate spices and bright red fruits.
Was a little off balance, maybe the specific bottle. — 5 months ago

Conrad Green

9.4

Super clean and light with steeliness and light lime color. Much fresher than the 09. Zippy with rock pools, green apple. Almost Riesling like in its precision. Light on its feet despite its depth. — 7 months ago

with Paul and Ara

Mike Obley

9.4

Way too young! — 7 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.2

This was a little more advanced than past btls showing red berry fruit, cedar, leather, earth & tobacco — 2 years ago

Peter Collins

9.4

Really good. A little young but still good on the nose and light finish at the same time. Not incredibly complex but still intriguing. I could drink a LOT of this often. — 6 years ago