TN: 1994 Pontet Canet

[Claret]

The bottle starts out with an emphasis on the herbal side of Cabernet Sauvignon showing the 1994 tannin, with cigarbox cedar and lead pencil on the nose. This claret is all about rustic black fruit dukeing it out with the tannin and the herbal character does finally recede with air.

A recork job and retaste on day 2 rounds out the palate a bit but this will never be a soft and silky wine. Those who prefer a lush style of Pauillac will be disappointed. I am a bigger fan of the 1994 vintage in Bordeaux than many others yet some how this wine is only ok+ and falls short of a 90 pointer.

I will open my remaining bottle in another couple of years hoping for better tannin integration.

[Nicklasss]

Reading your comments Claret, remind me why I prefer St-Julien over Pauillac... it remind me a lot the 1996 Chateau Clerc-Milon I opnened at Christmas dinner...

Nic

[Ramon_NYC]

I kinda liked the 94 Pontet canet when I tasted it when Tesseron was here, so much so that I seeked, got hold of and stashed away a 3-pack. Thanks for the data point.

[Houndsong]

Then I'm not so disappointed I didn't win a case of this at auction.

[Ramon_NYC]

Then I'm not so disappointed I didn't win a case of this at auction.

Given the current lowest winesearcher pricing at $70 per, I suppose RMP Jr's magic taste buds and his 93-point rating surely made their impact on the pricing. I guess I should just be contented with the $39 purchase that I bought my 3 bottles for, but I'll be hard-pressed to chase the wine at anything higher.

[Houndsong]

Concur. I bid something like that, allowing for the ~20% premium on top. It went well higher. $40 or $50 is not a bad price for even an "89" point wine that retains some fruit while exhibiting 2ndary or 3tiary characteristics (especially if, like me, you have hardly any aged claret handy).

[johnz]

I agree that the '94 PC is a difficult wine to love -- I had it 3-4 years ago and based on that tasting made a mental note not to chase it, despite the RP score, which I think is overly generous. It's a rugged wine.

--Gary Rust

[Claret]

Gary sums up my feelings very succinctly.

93 points from Mr. Hedonism???????? That cannot be-no sweet tannins, gobs of unctuous fruit etc.

[DavidG]

We all know Parker really hates wines like this. He just throws out scores like that every now and then to confuse the anti-flavor elite.

For those obsessed with points, he gave it 91 in February '97, which is likely from a more recent tasting than the 93 he gave it in his book, even though it appeared in print in '98. He has consistently called it forbiddingly backward and tannic, and his notes describes a wine that sounds to me like it would be loved by tannin pigs, but not so much by acidophiles.