Hauts de Pontet-Canet, Pauillac

Red-brown mature dark color. Ripe scent of dark ripe berries. Hints of moldy leaves, forest, cedar with a ladylike character. Low acidity but still some dusty ripe blue plums and black currants. Good

1996 vintage

JACK SAID VERY GOOD

1996 vintage

Blue fruited + foresty fruited tobacco-ey leathery earthy chunky silky wine with medium finish. 13%. Drink in 2-5 years.

1996 vintage

From well stored bottle, cork barely saturated. The minute I opened this that Pauillac "forest floor" became immediately obvious. With some time in the glass notes of tobacco, leather, tomato leaf, cherry, and a strong mineral element on the finish. On the second night this showed much better. The fruit was showing more and the smoke, dirt, and tannins had softened a bit. Probably over the top of the hill this was still a pleasant showing.

1996 vintage

Wow, it’s amazing how this wine is holding up. Takes a few hours to fully open up. Classic Pauillac with marks of dark fruit, lead pencil, tobacco, leather. Vertical, structured. Tannins closed to being resolved. This will keep. Beau vin.

1996 vintage

Earthy with lots of mineral. Excellent

1997 vintage

Consistant notes as previous and still a 93+Point wine -just great old Bordeaux, one of the nicest I ever drunk -so far!

1997 vintage

Top old bordaux how it should be. Surprisingly perfect for drinking with a deepth which is amazing. Great Cinema!

1997 vintage

Still great.

1996 vintage

D+0h: not much deposit in the filter and the bottle, smells of blackberry and pencil lead, D+2,5h: quite dark for a wine of this age: dark as ink, on the rim 5 mm cherry red, smells of leather, smoke and possibly also of barnyard, medium body, in the mouth blackberry and earth notes, not too dry, nor too sweet, in the aftertaste blackberry, good length (30 seconds), blackberry lingers on the palate, nothing spectacular, but quite a good price quality …

1997 vintage

As soon as I opened it, appreciated the bouquet (and taste) - aromas of cherries/cassis, leather and smoke. Well aged and still has a bit more in reserve. A very pleasant experience The wine looks violet colored. The legs are slow. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like black currant (cassis) and cherry. It tastes like black currant (cassis), cherry and forest floor. The body is light/medium. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes medium. The …

1996 vintage

Had a request for an earthy Old World bottle, and this was at hand and perfectly fit the bill. Mature garnet. Fresh tilled earth, tobacco leaf, cigar box, pencil lead, pencil shavings says #3, faint yet pure cassis fruit reduction. Suave texture, resolved tannins. Drinking really nicely.

1996 vintage

Monthly tasting club "The Tasting Club"; Pauillac (@RvdG) : Beautiful bouquet with cassis, smoke and a touch of barnyard. On the palate creamy ripe black forest fruits, cassis, sweet licorice and sweet spices. Beautifully round and soft tannin. This wine is in a perfect drinking stage now. Lovely wine and surprised of the quality of this second label.

1996 vintage

Last bottle, quite sad to see this end of these, great mature Pauillac, I will remember :)

1997 vintage

Similar to my previous notes, however lacks a certain 3rd dimension of complexity otherwise found in the first wine.

1997 vintage

I double decanted an hour before drinking, this improves this wine considerably, stronger nose, fuller pallete. Nose is concentrated fruit, opulent Pauillac showing age by way of pencil lead and smoked oak. Palete is creamy soft, integrated fruit. Great value.

1997 vintage

Mature Pauillac dense blackcurrant nose, very smooth inky creamy pallete. A complex wine offering great vale.

1997 vintage

This is the 11th bottle I've shared over the past 3 years (1 left). It continues to drink very well for it's price point (low-$20s, if I remember correctly).

1996 vintage

corked, &@$%

1996 vintage

Pop/pour. Mature sweaty fruit on the nose with a slight touch of green pepper. On the palate, more lush than it was 4 years ago. Medium bodied in the sense that there's not a big oak presence, but good density of fruit and pleasant note of cassis. Medium long finish with some lingering tannins, which become more prominent the longer this is open, but then fade...perhaps this fade was a result of bringing food into the equation. In any event, …

1996 vintage

Dull and not very expressive the first couple of hours, but with air opening up to reveal nice dried black fruit, horse sweat, farmyard and leathery notes. To me this wine has the ability to show more, right now it's not really coming out of its shell. A pleasant Bordeaux but not more than that.

1996 vintage

cracked leather nose hiding bright currant . good age for the syle, the muscles become less brawny and more sleek and cut.

1996 vintage

Classic aged pauillac leather and smoke. Definitely a more refined drink than the 2003 Hauts de Pontet compared side by side. Just lovely.

1996 vintage

A nice fully mature claret, with a wonderful nose of peat, black currant, and tobacco. Supple texture and elegant balance. Really enjoyed this with a ribeye. Drink now.

1996 vintage

More full-bodied than I expected. Dark fruit, complex but less so than the first wine. Enjoyed it nonetheless.

1996 vintage

Decanted for 1 hour, then enjoyed over the next several hours. Really opened up nicely with plenty of fruit, as well as some nice cedar and mushroom. Yum.

1996 vintage

Good, deep color. Moderate body on the pour. Pleasant bouquet with hints of cherry. Moderate tanins and acidity---enough to hold up against red meat. Typical mid-priced Pauliac, with little surprise. Refined.

1999 vintage

Nose: musty, earth, lead and slight barnyard. barnyard mellowed after an hour and picked up cassis and dark berry. Taste: Earthy, meaty, dark berry with definite lead. developed after decant of an hour and more. Overpaid at a steakhouse in nyc. Finish was pretty good. rich on the mouth.

1996 vintage

Give this an hour or more of air before serving. Picks up weight in the glass. Initial green pepper on the nose fades into the background with dark fruit and cassis coming to the fore. On opening, the palate seems just a tad thinner than I remember it, as well as a bit more tannic. Time in the glass improves the wine on both fronts....more weight and better rounded / balanced. Once again, enjoy this more than the score would …

1996 vintage

purple color turning garnet on the edge. graphite and pencil lead on the nose. smooth mouth feel. blackberry fruit on the palate. short finish.

1996 vintage

An interesting wine that started for me with a strong musky and earthy nose. I found this to be a layered wine that continued to develop with open time. It is definitely a refined experience and not a fruit bomb. I enjoyed the change that occured in the wine and found each glass to be a new, different and better experience than the last. The taste of some fruit was nicely accompanied by a hint of vegetable and tobacco. I …

1996 vintage

What a pleasant treat to pick up a 6 pick of this recently. Well-aged and drinking well. Overt sweet cedar on the nose, that carries to the palate where it marries up with some pretty good Bord fruit that masquerades as red cherry. Medium bodied, with a medium long finish. This wine is easier to understand and enjoy than the '96 Lanessan from the same retailer. A better wine all around. I did not experience the same drop-off noted by …

1996 vintage

Very pretty upon opening, with classic Pauillac charater. The only problem is that over the couple of hours this was open, it lost most of the fruit. By the end of the night, it was "dead" and described by one person as "dirt water". I say drink up and drink quick! (Score based on what it was upon opening)

1996 vintage

Pleanty of barnyard funk not to the degree that took to much away fromm the wine, smooth tannins, cassis

1996 vintage

A good simple bordeaux that isn't too flashy and doesn't overwhelm the meal. It went perfectly with my steak with shallots, rosemay, and balsamic vinegar.

1997 vintage

Beginning to show bricking around the edges. Extremely gamey nose of quail and pheasant, mixed in with definite notes of ground coffee, saddle leather. Still quite concentrated and relatively well balanced, although it's obvious the fruit is begining to fade. Finish is good, although not all that long and texture is pleasant. Very good QPR Bordeaux ($15) from a mediocre vintage. My last bottle and if you have any, you should probably drink up.

1997 vintage

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Hauts de Pontet-Canet, Pauillac

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