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

Andrew Cullimore

9.4

Pretty deep colour with very little bricking . Pretty deep cassis , black fruit nose , touch of truffle , grafite . Lovely red and dark fruits , great acidity , ripe slightly gritty tannins , long slightly slate and grafite finish . Young still , better with time in the decanter and will be better still in 5-10 years and will last a further 10. — 3 years ago

"Odedi"

9.1

Deep purple in color with a short purple rim.

Full bodied with medium acidity and long legs.

Showing black fruits with earth, oak, spices, coffee, dark chocolates, vegetables, light vanilla, herbs and peppercorn.

Starting to drink nicely now. Still young and needs a few years in the bottle to mature properly.

Good right out of the bottle, but very tight. Needs 3 hours to open up, but it finished too quickly.

Aged in (25% new) American oak barrels for 14 months.

14.4% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$45. — 3 years ago

Nick Brandon

9.1

Deep, but undiscernable fruity characteristics on the nose.
Plummy, jammy notes and very drinkable. Full-bodied and spicy. Some dark chocolate notes, too.

Paired with wild grains, sauteéd greens, and baked salmon filets. — 5 years ago

Dan Cobb

9.5

Decanted 1 hr. 2001 vintage. Still had decent fruit. Dark chocolate on the nose. Had lost some of its structure and tannins. Very good pairing with the steaks tonight. w Michelle Carr — 6 years ago

Conrad Green

9.1

Very intense and dark. Almost black fruit, licorice, currant. Still quite clean. Focussed. Punchy. — 7 years ago

with Matt

Andrew Cullimore

9.2

Pretty deep ruby garnet , medium wide garnet rim . Aromatic and really classic with a mix or red and dark fruits , tobacco , grafite and cedar . On the palate this is quite linear , again with the red and dark fruits from the nose, cedar and grafite and quite rounded resolved tannins . Fresh acidity , good cedar with grafite length , very classic in style . Enough density and fruit to cover the rest of the structure. In a perfect place now at least in this format , and probably will be over the next 10 years . This was from an Imperial , at BBR in London . — 5 months ago

Conrad Green

9.5

Tangy dark fruit. Bloodiness with a dark plum and iron. Rounded and resolved but intense. Very good — 8 months ago

with Matt and David

Andrew Cullimore

9.4

Medium deep ruby , quite thin garnet ruby rim . Cassis , blueberry , blackberry , iris , pain grillé. On the palate this is quite dense and rounded , with more dark fruits , cassis , blackberry and a savoury , saline seaweed tinge on the finish . Fine but noticable , sweet tannins , and fresh acidity , quite rounded and richly fruited but very balanced . Good length with grafite , mineral and creme de cassis . Polished and quite decadent but all elements very balanced . Just drinkable now with time in decanter , really fruit driven still, but will improve well over the next 10 or more years and last well a further 10-15 . This shows some of the ripeness and exuberance of 2009 paired with the flamboyance of Mouton , makes for quite a pairing a very promising future ahead. — 8 months ago

Jim Wagonfeld

9.3

Garnet red in color. Offering nose and palate of dark cherry, herbs, leather, cedar, tobacco, prune, fig, vanilla and dill. Structured and long. A very good effort and a favorable pvr. — 3 years ago

with Judy

Pauli Loukola

9.0

Dark fruit, very good — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Been awhile since I pulled out an Insigna.

The 03 Pichon Lalande is the better wine and steak pairing. However, Napa Cabernet is the choice to finish steak and enjoy on its own after. You never want to do Napa before Bordeaux IMHO. It’s much harder to adjust from sweeter to something more earthy.

Enjoyed the 05 as my score reflects. I don’t remember it being as sweet as it was in previous tastings. Still quite good. It just tipped my sweet scale a little too much.

The body is, rich, lush & round. It’s achieved good evolution after 13 years in bottle and will continue to improve over the next 6-8 years and last another 15 years. As I mentioned, the fruit was ripe & sweet. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, plums, hints of blueberries and strawberries haunting the backend. Rich, dark earth, Rutherford dusty tannins and dry soils, purple cola, touch of fresh tobacco & graphite, light baking spices of; cinnamon, dash of clove, nutmeg and vanillin, anise to black licorice, saddle-wood, used leather, dry stems, some dry, crushed rocks/limestone with red, dark, purple and blue florals. The acidity round and nicely executed. The finish was similar wire to wire. It’s, lush, rich, elegant, touch too sweet, polished, well balanced & knitted with a soft, persistent, dark spice on the long set. Very enjoyable second bottle.

Photos of; Joseph Phelps Winery & sloping estate vines, inside lounge are with views of the back side, tasting terrace and front lobby/salon area upon entering past check in. — 6 years ago

with Christina and James

Ming L

8.9

The Clark & Telephone Vineyard PN gave me a long lasting impression, and this Las Alturas is very similar in style in its richness and intensity.

Ripe plum, blackberry jam, eucalyptus, fig, black tea, and Chinese medicinal herbs bursting on the nose. Palate has more texture and a more elegant feel with dark chocolate and spice. Firm and a bit dusty tannins. This tastes more like a blend of Zinfandel and Cab. Nice! But again this is not the type of PN I like. — 8 years ago

Cameron Parry

9.2

Took about 2 hours to open. Dark & dried cherries. Acid still nice and firm. Tannins still going strong but clearly softer and more fine grained. Feels somewhat unbalanced - good acid, good tannin, not enough fruit. May have missed the optimal window. Still very enjoyable. Only a touch of Brett. — 5 months ago

"Odedi"

9.1

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Beautiful nose of black currants, plums, licorice, light oak, spices, chocolates, earth, eucalyptus and black pepper.

Medium plus in body with medium plus acidity.

Dry on the palate with currants, plums, cooked cherries, spices, oak, licorice, tobacco, herbs, earth, dark chocolates, coffee and peppercorn.

Medium finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This 7 year old Rioja is starting to drink very nicely now. Elegant and nicely balanced. Complex and entertaining.

Will continue to age nicely in the next 5 to 7 years.

Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food.

14% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$20. — 6 months ago

Nathan Renfro

9.1

Nose of baked plums. Dark fruit, cassis, plum, hints of iron, cedar, slight oakiness. Very nice mouthfeel, suave fine tannins, holding together very well. Enjoyable. — 9 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.4

Quite deep ruby and , garnet terracotta rim. Quite spicy nose , slightly green touches , mix of red and dark fruit . On the palate fills out quite well , good acidity , slightly gritty tannins still with mineral , tobacco notes on the finish . Ok reasonable length . This comes across a bit greener than I remember it , so not sure how representative this bottle is , fine to drink now and over the next 10 years . 91

Second bottle medium deep ruby with garnet rim . Took a bit of time to open up , but very good definition , red and dark fruits, truffle , undergrowth, cigar box and grafite. On the palate quite charming sweet red fruits, red plum, cassis , dried spices, undergrowth , elegant for las cases , grafite and tobacco stained finish . Well balanced acidity and quite gritty but ripe tannin . This is lovely now with time in the decanter and over the next 10 -15 years . Completely different from first bottle . — 3 years ago

Andrew McIntyre

9.7

Nose is very much Bordeaux. Dark fruits, mushroom and leather with the most amazing smoky finish. Great wine — 6 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

I’m always excited to try a new vintage of Tondonia and earlier this week, I got to try the 2007 for the first time. A significant departure from the 2006 which was (and remains currently) open for business with very little coaxing, the 2007 is austere and loaded with VA. Some aggressive decanting was able to get the VA to blow off and slowly but surely it started to open up, revealing some high quality and seriously dark cherry fruit. A heady, serious wine that needs loads of patience right now if this bottle is representative. Hold or decant for 24 hours. — 6 years ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.4

What a tremendous bottle ! Very dark rubi color, with no signs of aging. Nose of black currant, some secondary aromas and a hint of flowers. Very polished tannins, in a medium length mouth and the traditional rich and round Pauillac mouthfeel. Its incredibly good to drink right now, but will for sure hold at the very least another 10 years or so. Very highly recommended. — 7 years ago

with Adriana