Bright berry red in colour, nuanced blackberry and loganberry with bitter black chocolate notes from the first attack. Lovely precision, good level of spice, earthy, unfussy, rose stem and blackcurrant bud. This was the third vintage with mildew pessure, but the team are now experienced, and I can attest to seeing the vines during harvest and remarking on how healthy they looked, with no-till farming helping concentration. Plenty of tannins give structure and are shot through with sinew and juice, this is an impressive wine from technical director Mathieu Bessonet, with Pauillac typicity. Harvest 24 september until 12 October. 50% new oak, 35% amphora, 15% one year barrels, 15% press (aged in the amphora). Jane Anson - Decanter (95pts)

The 2021 is the most classically Pauillac Pontet Canet I have tasted in modern times. Medium in body, with striking aromatic presence, the 2021 screams with character. Grilled herbs, incense, leather, lavender and plum open with a bit of coaxing, all framed by beams of tannin and bright, salivating acids that give the wine shape and real sense of direction. There’s a bit more Petit Verdot in this year’s blend, and that comes through in the wines intensely savoury profile. Ageing is 50% in new wood 35% in amphora and 15% in one year old barrels. The 2021 was impressive all three times I tasted it. Drink 2031-2046. Antonio Galloni - Vinous (93-95pts)

The 2021 Pontet-Canet is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. Deep purple-black in color, it pops from the glass with vibrant blueberries, Morello cherries, and cassis scents, plus suggestions of violets, cinnamon stick, wet rocks, and forest floor with an exotic touch of cardamom. Medium-bodied, the palate has very finely grained tannins and well-poised freshness supporting the perfumed black fruits, leading to loads of minerally sparks on the finish of this very bright and shimmery wine. Harvest started on 24 September with Merlot, followed by the Cabernets and Petit Verdot on 4 October, and finished on 12 October. The wine is to be aged in 50% new oak barrels, 35% amphorae, and 15% 1-year barrels. Drink 2026-2050. Lisa Perrotti-Brown – The Wine Independent (93-95pts)