Pauillac · vintage 2020
Why this vintage
- 98/100 from James Sucklingand 5 other scores above 90/100.
- The 2020 vintage in PauillacAn early, hot year, with a harvest under pressure: a dense, juicy classic, ripe without heaviness.
Critic scores
- James Suckling98
- Jeb Dunnuck97
- Decanter97
- Wine Enthusiast97
- Vinous95
- Wine Advocate92
The 2020 vintage in Pauillac
Vintage benchmark: 94/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)
Vintage character: An early, hot year, with a harvest under pressure: a dense, juicy classic, ripe without heaviness.
Overall reading of the year’s season across Pauillac. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.
Tasting
Robe profonde aux reflets violets. Le nez très expressif et léger s'ouvre sur des arômes de cassis, de pivoine et de réglisse. La bouche est généreuse, ample et onctueuse. L'acidité et les tanins se fondent, donnant au vin son caractère droit. La longue finale est dominée par des arômes fumés, de fruits noirs et de menthe.
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Blend of the 2020 vintage
- 60 % Cabernet-sauvignon
- 32 % Merlot
- 4 % Cabernet franc
- 4 % Petit verdot
Shares for this vintage, as recorded on the 2020 technical sheet. The vineyard itself is planted with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot — a vintage blend departs from the area under vine as the year dictates.
Figures from the 2020 sheet
- 50 yrsVine age
- 250,000 bottlesProduction
Winemaking
Tri et éraflage manuels. Fermentation alcoolique
avec levures indigènes, macération de 4 semaines avec léger pigeages,
fermentation malolactique en cuves
Content available in French
Ageing
50 % en barriques neuves, 35 % en amphores en béton, 15 % en barriques de 1 vin - pendant 16 à 18 mois.
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Terroir
The lands of Château Pontet-Canet lie at the heart of the Pauillac appellation, south of the neighbouring vineyards of Mouton Rothschild and d'Armailhac. Here it is the poverty of the soil that serves as the matrix for the greatest crus. The soil appears to be composed of nothing but gravel and sand, and it is hard to imagine that the vine can grow there. The 80 hectares of the Pontet-Canet vineyard are dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, the well-known signature of the great wines of Pauillac. The terroir of Pontet-Canet consists of a rise of Garonne gravels over a limestone bedrock. It is a lean, warm and free-draining soil.
An offer on Château Pontet-Canet 2020
Availability, allocations and terms: the Compagnie Médocaine will reply promptly. The estate and vintage are already filled in in the message.
Texts and documents 2020
The texts below copy in one click for your product sheets, catalogues and social channels. The printable sheet condenses the whole page onto a single A4 page.
Visuals
This wine’s visuals are grouped in the media library. High-definition packshots, labels, back labels and lifestyle photos are reserved for clients and partners, on the Compagnie Médocaine’s VinCod media library.
Sheet checked on September 21, 2026. Technical data: the estate’s VinCod sheets. Critic scores: sources cited above, with their date. Vintage benchmarks and character: Compagnie Médocaine’s own editorial read. Soils and relief, where shown: the Compagnie Médocaine’s parcel survey and the Mapbox/IGN terrain model.