A brilliant effort from proprietor Alfred Tesseron, Pontet-Canet’s 2004 may ultimately prove to be a better wine than its more famous neighbor, Mouton Rothschild. Medium to full-bodied with a classic creme de cassis-scented perfume, sweet fruit, ripe tannin, tremendous purity, and a personality that suggests no manipulation, no nonsense, and hard work in both the vineyard and winery, this beautiful Pauillac should age for 2-3 decades. It is one of the most concentrated and potentially long-lived wines of the vintage. Is it as good as the 2000, 1996, and 1995? Probably not, but it is a noteworthy effort for the vintage. By Robert Parker, Apr 2005.