Château Pontet-Canet

Jean-François de Pontet made his career at Versailles, was appointed Grand Squire of France under Louis XV and became governor of the Médoc. In 1705 he brought together a few acres of land to the north of the village of Pauillac and created a vineyard, and in 1757 he acquired an estate in a small area known as Canet. Following the custom of the time, he joined his surname to that of the estate, and Château Pontet-Canet was born in 1781. The 1855 classification, ordered by Emperor Napoleon III, placed the estate on the list of Médoc Grands Crus Classés as a Fifth Growth. Bordeaux négociant Henri Herman Cruse acquired the estate in 1865, modernised its infrastructure and in 1895 hired Charles Skawinski, an estate manager in the Médoc, to create new cellars. In 1975 the estate was purchased by Guy Tesseron, a wine grower and négociant in Cognac. In 1994 Guy entrusted management of the estate to his son Alfred Tesseron, who had worked alongside him for twenty years. Alfred's daughter Justine Tesseron joined the family venture in 2015. Over about three centuries the estate has been owned by three families: the Pontets, the Cruses from 1865 and the Tesserons from 1975.

• 1705: Jean-François de Pontet created the vineyard north of Pauillac; he acquired the Canet estate in 1757, and the name Château Pontet-Canet dates from 1781.
• 1855: classified a Fifth Growth among the Médoc Grands Crus Classés.
• 1865: acquired by Bordeaux négociant Henri Herman Cruse; 1975: purchased by Guy Tesseron, a wine grower and négociant in Cognac.
• 1994: Alfred Tesseron took over management; 2015: Justine Tesseron joined the family venture.

The Tesseron family has owned the estate since 1975; Justine Tesseron, her brother Noé and her cousins Mélanie and Philippine are co-owners. As of December 2021, Justine Tesseron was General Manager. Mathieu Bessonnet is technical director; in 2020 he replaced Jean-Michel Comme, technical director from 1989. Alfred Tesseron began working with consultant Michel Rolland in 1999.

• The Tesseron family has owned the estate since 1975; co-owners include Justine, Noé, Mélanie and Philippine Tesseron.
• General Manager (as of December 2021): Justine Tesseron. Technical director: Mathieu Bessonnet, since 2020.
• Jean-Michel Comme was technical director from 1989 until 2020; Alfred Tesseron began working with consultant Michel Rolland in 1999.

The vineyard covers 81 hectares (200 acres) in the commune of Pauillac and is made up of around one hundred plots and 800,000 vines looking out over the Gironde estuary. Its vineyards lie next to those of First Growth Mouton Rothschild. At the heart of the vineyard is the plateau, a broad outcrop of Garonne gravel dating from the Günz era on a bedrock of limestone; Cabernet Sauvignon represents over 60% of the blend of the grand vin. Some plots at the top of the outcrop were planted at the end of the 1940s, and the average age of the vineyard is 50 years. The other part of the vineyard lies near the river, not far from the village of Pouyalet, on chalkier soils where limestone or clay shows at the surface in some plots; these cooler, richer soils are better suited to Merlot. Four plots on the edge of the outcrop are planted with Petit Verdot. The vineyard is planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, at a density of 9,500 vines per hectare, with Médoc-style double Guyot pruning.

• 81 hectares (200 acres) in Pauillac: around one hundred plots and 800,000 vines.
• The plateau: Günz-era Garonne gravel over limestone, suited to Cabernet Sauvignon; a chalkier zone near Pouyalet suits Merlot.
• Planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot; average vine age 50 years; 9,500 vines per hectare.

In 2004, with the aim of improving the quality of the Merlot, the first 14 hectares (34 acres) were converted to biodynamic farming; after this trial, the whole vineyard was converted the following year. In 2007 the conversion was set back when chemical spraying was used to protect the crop from rot. In 2010 the wines were certified organic by Ecocert and biodynamic by Biodyvin, and Pontet-Canet became the first Médoc Grand Cru Classé to hold a double certification for the whole of its vineyard. Demeter biodynamic certification followed in 2014. Vine canopy trimming was abandoned in favour of manually interweaving the long shoots, so de-leafing and green harvesting are no longer necessary. Since 2008 workhorses have worked in the rows to avoid the soil compaction caused by heavy tractors; around ten Percherons work the soils of half the vineyard and are used to spray infusions and apply plant preparations. An herbal tea room on the estate prepares the biodynamic preparations, infusions and decoctions, from plants including nettles, field horsetail, yarrow, camomile, dandelion, wicker and rosemary.

• 2004: biodynamic trial on 14 hectares; the whole vineyard was converted the following year.
• 2010: certified organic (Ecocert) and biodynamic (Biodyvin), the first Médoc Grand Cru Classé with double certification for the whole vineyard; Demeter certification followed in 2014.
• Workhorses since 2008: around ten Percherons work half the vineyard.
• Biodynamic preparations are made on site in an herbal tea room.

Grapes are harvested by hand in small crates. Since 2017 the bunches have been sorted and de-stemmed one by one directly above the vats, into which the grapes fall by gravity, on a sorting table designed by the estate's technical team. Vinification takes place in three vat rooms: the 19th-century Skawinski wooden vat room, the Nicole concrete vat room inaugurated in 2005, and the Amphora vat room built in 2017, designed electricity-free, whose vats are connected to the earth and made of concrete using the fine silica of the vineyard's gravel. Alcoholic fermentation uses indigenous yeasts, with a maceration of four weeks and soft punching-down, and malolactic fermentation takes place in vats. Around half of the production is aged in new barrels, 10 to 15% in second-fill barrels and, since 2012, 30 to 40% in Dolia, concrete amphorae. Ageing lasts 16 to 18 months, depending on the nature of the wines. As yields came down, the share of grand vin rose from 50% to 80% and the second wine, Les Hauts de Pontet-Canet, diminished; 2015 was the first year in which no second wine was produced.

• Hand harvest in small crates; since 2017, bunches sorted and de-stemmed one by one above the vats, with the grapes falling by gravity.
• Three vat rooms: Skawinski (wood, 19th century), Nicole (concrete, 2005) and Amphora (2017, electricity-free).
• Indigenous-yeast fermentation, four-week maceration, malolactic fermentation in vats.
• Élevage of 16 to 18 months in new barrels, second-fill barrels and Dolia concrete amphorae; 2015 was the first year with no second wine.

The Wine Advocate rated the 2009 at 97-100 points en primeur in 2010, and the wine received the maximum score on going into bottle in the first half of 2012; in early 2017 Neal Martin downgraded it to 98 points. Writing in Decanter, Anthony Rose placed Pontet-Canet, after the reception of its 2009, in 'the elite club of over-achieving non-first-growth châteaux that includes Ducru-Beaucaillou, Cos d’Estournel and Palmer.'

• 2009: 97-100 points en primeur from The Wine Advocate and the maximum score in bottle in 2012, later revised to 98 points by Neal Martin.
• Placed by Decanter's Anthony Rose among the over-achieving non-first-growth châteaux alongside Ducru-Beaucaillou, Cos d’Estournel and Palmer.

Justine Tesseron credits biodynamic farming with giving the wines 'greater depth while producing more precise and silky tannins,' adding: 'Our wines are purer and more vibrant.' The estate's note on the 2009 cites 'a dense, captivating nose of blackcurrant, blackberry and graphite with nuances of fragrant herbs and spices,' and its note on the 2010 combines 'blackcurrant and cedar with balsamic and menthol notes' with 'extraordinary density and dazzling fruit.'

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.pontet-canet.com/en/, https://www.pontet-canet.com/en/three-centuries-three-families/, https://www.pontet-canet.com/en/a-chosen-land/, https://www.pontet-canet.com/en/from-the-vineyard-to-the-cellars-the-same-sensitive-approach/, https://www.pontet-canet.com/en/the-vintages/, and the estate's technical sheets (PDF): https://www.pontet-canet.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CHATEAU-PONTET-CANET-FT-1.pdf, https://www.pontet-canet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2009-CHATEAU-PONTET-CANET-EN-TECHNICAL-SHEET.pdf, https://www.pontet-canet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2010-CHATEAU-PONTET-CANET-EN-TECHNICAL-SHEET.pdf, https://www.pontet-canet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2014-CHATEAU-PONTET-CANET-EN-TECHNICAL-SHEET.pdf, https://www.pontet-canet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2015-CHATEAU-PONTET-CANET-EN-TECHNICAL-SHEET.pdf, https://www.pontet-canet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2023-CHATEAU-PONTET-CANET-EN-TECHNICAL-SHEET.pdf. Secondary sources: Decanter (Anthony Rose, last updated 31 July 2017; Panos Kakaviatos, last updated 14 December 2021) and The Drinks Business (11 August 2017). Last verified 2026-10-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.