Chateau Pontet Canet, Pauillac, Bordeaux, Complete Guide

The recent success of Pontet Canet is due to the current management of the estate by Alfred Tesseron who is helped by the director, Jean-Michel Comme. Prior to Alfred Tesseron taking control, Chateau Pontet Canet was respected, but it was known equally for its history as well as for its wines.

As was the custom of the day, Chateau Pontet Canet found the inspiration for its name from its lineage. The estate took the first part of its name from a former owner, who was also the royal governor of the Medoc, Jean-François de Pontet.

Like many owners during the early 18th century, Pontet enlarged his Bordeaux vineyards with purchases of additional Pauillac vineyards.

Several years after Pontet’s death, his descendants continued to buy Pauillac vineyard land, including a famous section from the Canet area. Once the combination of his name and the land were put together, this was the birth of the name Chateau Pontet Canet.

Once the vineyard was fully established, Pontet Canet became and remained one of the largest Bordeaux wine producing estates in the entire appellation.

Pontet Canet was granted Fifth Growth status in the 1855 classification. This did not go unnoticed by one of the most important Bordeaux negociants of the day, Herman Cruse,

Cruse purchased the estate in 1865. The Cruse family owned Pontet-Canet for 110 years, until another negociant, Guy Tesseron, acquired it in 1975.

Chateau Pontet Canet The Modern Age

At the time of the purchase in 1975 by the Tesseron family, the vineyard was in poor condition, needing a lot of replanting.

Guy Terrerson was more involved in Cognac, even though the Tesseron family was already experienced in Bordeaux, as they owned Chateau Lafon Rochet in St. Estephe. In fact, Chateau Pontet Canet has only belonged to three families in over two centuries. That is quite a rarity in Bordeaux!

Since Alfred Tesseron took over running the estate in 1994, the property has continued to improve year after year. Even though Pontet is only a Fifth Growth, they are producing wines at the level of the best Second Growths and in some vintages, as good as the Firsts. Based on the current prices for the wines of Pontet Canet, the market agrees.

Situated next to Mouton Rothschild, Tesseron has inspired others on both banks to work more organically as well as consider biodynamic farming. To illustrate this point, in 2010, Chateau Pontet Canet became the first major Bordeaux wine producer to earn the official Agence Bio (AB) organic certification.

Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/pauillac/pontet-canet/