5th classified growth in 1855. Jean-François de Pontet, royal governor of the Médoc, combined several vineyard plots in Pauillac in the early 18th century. Years later, his descendants added neighbouring vines in a place named Canet. This was the beginning of one of the largest estates in the Médoc, which quite naturally added the name of its founder to that of the land registry reference. A century later, PontetCanet was included in the famous 1855 classification, thereby confirming its membership among the elite of the Médoc. This privileged position did not go unnoticed by one of the most important Bordeaux shippers of the time, Herman Cruse, who bought the estate in 1865. He built new cellars, modernised the winemaking facilities, and established the wine's reputation around the world. The Cruse family owned Pontet-Canet for 110 years, until another shipper (from Cognac this time), Guy Tesseron, acquired it in 1975. Currently owned by Guy Tesseron's sons, Alfred and Gérard, this means that Pontet-Canet has belonged to only three families in over two centuries.
Vintage
Winter resolved to be particularly gentle. Then, in spring, the rain invited itself. Numerous and often plenteous rainfall accompanied the first months of the vegetative cycle of the vine. The flowering, which intervened rather late, was especially marked by its spreading over time. Fortunately, the sun always returns. This being the case from the middle of July onwards, at which point a very warm and particularly dry summer prevailed. These favorable conditions endured until the arrival of autumn and allowed us to minimize the heterogeneousness during the long flowering period. Then, suddenly a new meteorological turn-about brought abundant rains only days before the harvest of the first Merlot grapes. We had anticipated the possibility of a rainy grape harvest by equipping ourselves with the third line of sorting table reception for the grapes. Ideally we would have preferred no rain at all. But, having planned for the necessity of punctual sorting, only perfectly ripe grapes entered the vats.
In 2010, Chateau Pontet Canet obtained the Ecocert organic certification and Biodyvin's more stringent biodynamic certification. In the same year, it continued to receive a perfect score of 100 from Robert Parker in 2009, and then obtained the biodynamic certification issued by Demeter in 2014. .
The average age is 40-45 years old. After picking, the grapes are screened and skinned, then undergo temperature-controlled fermentation, followed by 15 months of oak barrel aging. The proportion of new oak barrels used is 50%, and not all wines in 2012 The liquid is aged in oak barrels. For the first time, 1/3 of the wine is matured in amphorae, which enhances the texture of the wine and retains the original and delicate fruit aroma and flavor. It is clarified with egg white before bottling.
