Château Pontet Canet 1945

Opened in a rush after I discovered it had started to leak.... Somewhat cloudy dark ruby with orange rim. Actually fruity on the nose, plums, prunes, raisins and a faint cassis, leather and floral, sweet anise. Sweet fruits, almost unripe strawberries on the palate, quite high acidity, tannins far gone, refreshing, feels like very old Barolo on the acidity and playfullness, really surprising that it's keeping up so strongly, evolving quickly in the glass, giving a memory glimpse of the 45 Clos Lambrays, getting ever more floral, roses, violets, adding body, mouthwatering, getting raspberries as well, intermixed with coffee, you have to understand and like old bottles to enjoy this, it's quite special, intriguing even. All the time it ads on, all aromas are not quite as lovely, after about fifteen minutes sweaty socks, rubber touch, then eucalyptus, and a first for me in a wine, aloe vera. Body gets fuller and fuller, acidity is just amazingly playful, what a shame I paniced, this is not the wine to be drunk by one self, remarkable wine indeed. After further ten minutes, furnish polish, wet forest floor and rotting wood, always with plums behind, and almost massive floral notes, lillies, almost sickeningly sweet lillies. Now also cassis on the palate, a huge amount of things going on in this one, aftertaste is never that long, but acidity goes on like crazy carrying a string of unripe wild strawberries, those sour ones you could not help but pick when you were a child. Black tea coming in, I have never felt such an array of specters and layers in any wine I think, at least not as easy to describe. Mr Paul Pontallier of Château Margaux talks about how nothing jumps out, here everything jumps out, right in your face. It has the acidity of the best 45 Ausone bottle, but far more nuanced, after thirty minutes the socks are starting to let go, and it seems to turn into a flower garden, oozes of violets, caprifolium, lavender, almost too much, almost too sweet. Ever more perfumed. After fourty minutes, figs and prunes are setting in, and after 45!, it seems to settle down, the race is over, its just holding out. It held it there for about ten minutes, then slowly fading, still higly enjoyable for about an hour and a half, but the nuances fell apart, ever so slowly, but the last glass died off fairly quickly.

- Christer Byklum/ BWW2024 Finalist