2017 Château Pontet-Canet 750ml

In 1705, Jean François de Pontet assembled land north of Pauillac to plant vines, then in 1757 added an estate known as Canet. Following the custom of the time, he joined his name to the place, and by 1781 the property was known as Château Pontet Canet. Classified a Grand Cru Classé in 1855, it was acquired in 1865 by négociant Henri Herman Cruse, who modernized the cellars and brought in famed régisseur Charles Skawinski.

The Tesseron family bought the château in 1975. In 1994, Guy Tesseron handed daily control to his son Alfred, who questioned prevailing practices and began a long shift toward farming and cellar work that protected fruit purity. Trial parcels went biodynamic in 2004, the whole vineyard followed in 2005, horses returned to work the soils in 2008, and in 2010 the wines earned both organic and biodynamic certification across the estate. From 2012, part of the grand vin has been matured in concrete amphorae.

Today the estate is co owned by Alfred’s children and nieces, with Justine Tesseron as general manager and technical director Mathieu Bessonnet in the cellar. Since 2017 grapes are hand de stemmed over the vats for gravity feed, and a purpose built, electricity free amphora vat room complements oak aging, with about half the wine in new barrels and a large share in dolia. The aim is unchanged, to reveal Pauillac’s gravel and limestone through precise, quietly handled fruit.