Each week I pick out one wine to highlight as my wine of the week. This wine may be an outstanding wine, a great value or just something very interesting.

Overview

This wine is the “second label” of Chateau Pontet-Canet. After attending a tasting and being blown away by the 2003 Pontet-Canet and buying several bottles, I decided to grab several bottles of the Les Hauts de Pontet-Canet. With the outstanding quality of the main wine, the second label had to be very good and at a MUCH lower price. Well, that wasn’t a given, but thankfully I was right. Is the Pontet-Canet better? Yes, but this wine costs 1/3 the price.

The Winery

Jean-François de Pontet, royal governor of the Médoc, combined several vineyard plots in Pauillac in the early 18th century. Years later, his descendants added neighbouring vines in a place named Canet. This was the beginning of one of the largest estates in the Médoc, which quite naturally added the name of its founder to that of the land registry reference.

A century later, Pontet-Canet was included in the famous 1855 classification, thereby confirming its membership among the elite of the Médoc. This privileged position did not go unnoticed by one of the most important Bordeaux shippers of the time, Herman Cruse, who bought the estate in 1865. He built new cellars, modernised the winemaking facilities, and established the wine’s reputation around the world. The Cruse family owned Pontet-Canet for 110 years, until another shipper (from Cognac this time), Guy Tesseron, acquired it in 1975.

The Vineyard

Château Pontet-Canet is located in the heart of the Pauillac appellation, just south of châteaux Mouton Rothschild and d’Armailhac. It has the poor gravelly soil typical of the greatest vineyards. In fact, the soil has so much gravel and sand that it is difficult to imagine that anything could grow there at all. The 80-hectare (200 acres) estate is predominately planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, the signature variety for the great wines of Pauillac. This demanding grape is perfectly adapted to Pauillac’s climate and soil. It produces full-bodied, well-structured, long-lived wines famous for their finesse and elegance. In keeping with a longstanding Médoc tradition, it is blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc, which add a touch of smoothness and charm. In certain vintages, Petit Verdot can also be counted on to contribute complexity.

Pontet-Canet’s terroir features rises of Garonne gravel on limestone bedrock. The soil is lean, warm, and well-drained. In order to make the most of this terrroir, Alfred Tesseron instituted a plot-by-plot vineyard management system.

Careful observation year after year has led to an intimate familiarity with practically every vine. The château’s winegrowing philosophy is to intervene as little as possible and as naturally as possible in the vineyard. Only traditional viticultural and cultivation practices are used. Chemical weed killers are banned in keeping with environmental protection, and priority is given to the vine’s long-term health.

2003 Hauts de Pontet-Canet

This vintage of the wine is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc.

The wine has 13.0% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium ruby red color. The enticing nose has cassis, spice box, dusty minerals, black cherries, tobacco, dried herbs, well worn leather and dried violets. This has medium body with moderate tannins and good acidity. On the palate bright fruit, cedar and spice jump out first with minerals and tobacco coming in fairly quickly. The finish has good length with leather and dried herbs adding depth and even more complexity. This seems to be in a peak drinking window but should hold and maybe even improve over the next few years. One of the better “second label” Bordeaux I’ve had in several years. (92 pts)

2003 Hauts de Pontet-Canet

Closing thoughts

In good vintages, I highly recommend the second labels of the top châteaux. These wines are usually considerably less expensive but are better than the first wines of the lower level estates.

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Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines. I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar. I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com. Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear. There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase. I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but my local store is usually VERY competitive. I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount. Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges. None of the prices include the sales tax.

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.