96 Wine Enthusiast

"The perfume intensity of this wine is remarkable. Firm and velvet at the same time, the tannins are the prelude to the pure, opulent blackberry fruits and balanced acidity. The lines of the wine are clear and direct, a true promise for aging. Drink from 2024. -RV"

96 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

"This has ethereal transparency to it with a fresh, red-berry and cherry nose. Terra-cotta and dried-flower notes. Plums, too. Quite complex. The palate has a very detailed tannin texture with attractive cassis and blueberries that hold very long, fresh and pure. Fruity and fresh. Try from 2023."

96 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"Composed of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Pontet-Canet gives up beautifully fragrant notes of rosehip tea, lilacs, cinnamon stick, cloves, dried leaves and underbrush with a core of kirsch, raspberry coulis, warm plums and red and black currants plus a waft of pencil shavings. Medium-bodied, the palate is refreshing, minerally and wonderfully elegant with a well-played texture of approachable, plush tannins and a long, fragrant finish. Beautiful. Aging took place in 50% new and 15% in second fill barrels and the remaining 35% in amphorae for 16 months, much of the material for which came from the soil at Pontet-Canet!"

96 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Pontet-Canet is deep garnet-purple colored. It skips out of the glass with youthful notes of black raspberries, fresh blackcurrants, and Morello cherries, plus touches of iris petals, forest floor, and crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is laden with vibrant black and red fruit layers, framed by ripe, velvety tannins and gorgeous freshness, finishing long and fragrant. This is such a pretty wine!

95 Jane Anson - Decanter

A rich seam of fruit here, full of gorgeous brambly and bilberry fruits, cinnamon and smoke, with a real focus on the aromatics. If it lacks the vibrancy of the 2016, it is absolutely delivering a sense of vertical slate texture and minerality. A lovely wine with sinews and delicacy and punch. 50% new oak, 35% amphoras, 15% one year oak. The nose get better and better in the glass, this is enticing and full of personality, easy to recommend.

94 Wine Spectator

"Very tight, with notes of wet stone, plum pit and chalky minerality leading the way, backed by an ample core of steeped currant, blackberry and black cherry fruit waiting to unfurl. The finish smolders with cast iron details. Should round into form with cellaring. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2040. -JM"

93 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

"Deep ruby/purple-hued and based on 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2017 Chateau Pontet-Canet spent 16 months in a 50% new barrels, 35% in amphora, and the balance in once-used barrels. It's an exceedingly elegant Pontet-Canet that has textbook Pauillac notes of blackcurrants, unsmoked tobacco, lead pencil shavings, new leather, and flowery incense. It's not a blockbuster and reminds me slightly of the 2004, yet it has wonderful depth of fruit, ultra-fine tannins, and beautiful purity and elegance. It's already approachable, but it’s going to be even better with 5-6 years of bottle age and have 20-25 years of prime drinking."