Château Pontet-Canet

Identity

Château Pontet-Canet is a winegrowing estate located in Pauillac, in the Gironde. It is ranked as a Cinquième Grand Cru Classé under the 1855 classification. The property is managed by Justine Tesseron, with Alfred Tesseron as the owner. Mathieu Bessonnet is the cellar master and Thomas Duclos the consulting oenologist.

History and philosophy

The Château Pontet-Canet vineyard was established in the early 18th century by Jean-François de Pontet. As early as 1776, it was recognised as a third growth of Pauillac in the Labadie classification. In 1855, the estate was confirmed as a Cinquième Grand Cru Classé. The Cruse family acquired the property in 1865. In 1975, Guy Tesseron purchased the estate, marking the beginning of the Tesseron lineage at Pontet-Canet.

Château Pontet-Canet has guided its viticulture towards biodynamics. The conversion began in 2004 with 14 hectares of Merlot. Following the observed results, the decision to convert the entire estate to biodynamics was made in 2005. The estate obtained organic and biodynamic certifications in 2010. This approach translates into meticulous vineyard management, including the cessation of topping (écimage), manual weaving of the shoots, and the use of herbal teas, decoctions, plant washes, and sulphur- and copper-based sprays. Since 2008, around ten Percheron horses work half the vineyard and assist in applying biodynamic preparations. Plants such as nettle, field horsetail, yarrow, chamomile, dandelion, wicker, and rosemary are used to formulate these preparations.

Appellations

Château Pontet-Canet produces wines under the Pauillac appellation.

Practical information

Château Pontet-Canet is located in Pauillac, 33250. For any enquiries, the estate can be contacted by telephone on 05 56 59 04 04 or by email at info@pontet-canet.com.

The cellar is open daily from 1 May to 31 October. Visits are strictly by appointment and are reserved for trade professionals. The estate does not offer direct cellar-door sales, catering, accommodation, or mail-order sales.

Find out more

Official estate website

The vineyard (terroir)

The Château Pontet-Canet vineyard covers an area of 81 hectares, comprising around 100 parcels and nearly 800,000 vine plants. The average age of the vines is 55 years. The soils consist of Garonne Günz gravel on a limestone bedrock, and limestone and clay near the river. The vineyard is predominantly exposed towards the Gironde estuary.

The grape varieties are dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), complemented by Merlot (30%), Cabernet Franc (3%), and Petit Verdot (2%).

Viticultural practices incorporate biodynamics, and harvesting is carried out by hand.

Flagship cuvées

The estate's principal cuvée is Château Pontet-Canet, produced under the Pauillac appellation. While varying by vintage, the wines of Château Pontet-Canet are generally distinguished by a deep, intense colour. On the nose, they offer a complex aromatic palette, frequently marked by notes of red and black fruit, graphite, cedar, violet, spices, liquorice, and vanilla. On the palate, these wines are renowned for their dense structure, richness, and fine, silky tannins, along with great length and remarkable aromatic persistence. They are noted for expressing purity and freshness, with a harmonious balance between fruit, acidity, and tannins.

The estate also produces a second wine, Les Hauts de Pontet-Canet.

Vinification and ageing

The grapes are sorted and destemmed berry by berry above the vats to allow gravity feeding. The estate features a historic 19th-century wooden vat room, the 'Skawinski' vat room. A concrete vat room, the 'Nicole' vat room, was added in 2005, and an electricity-free 'Amphore' vat room was designed in 2017.

Ageing typically lasts between 16 and 18 months. Around half the wine is aged in new oak barrels, with 10 to 15% aged in one-wine barrels. Since 2012, a significant proportion (30 to 40%) is aged in Dolia, concrete amphorae.