Visits

Château Pontet-Canet
Pauillac, 5^th Grand Cru Classé du Médoc (France)


 

Pontet-Canet was founded at the beginning of the 18th Century by the governor of the Médoc. Despite these apparently grandiose origins, the mansion and buildings, made from the region’s butter coloured stone, are far from ostentatious. Once inside, the winemaking cellars offer a unique sight. The first room looks strangely like the interior of a Mississippi ferry boat, a massive steel wheel hanging from the ceiling in the center of the room and beautifully preserved traditional wooden vats lining both sides of the gallery. In stark contrast, the next vat room is lined with impressive futuristic, conical concrete vats. Here, tradition and respect for nature guide the wine production.
 

Château Pontet-Canet, 2004
Very good. Dark garnet colour, elegant aromas of red berries and vanilla, full-bodied in the mouth, long finish with soft tannins. Blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. (Jan 2007)

Ownership & Management
Tesseron family (owner since 1975), Jean-Michel Comme (Technical director since 1988)

Consultants
Michel Rolland
 

Vineyard
80 ha, Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (33%), Cabernet Franc (5%), Petit Verdot (2%). Vines are about 35 years old. Gravel, clay and limestone soils. Manual harvesting in small crates. Slow and precise sorting, after harvest and after mechanical de-stemming. Organic agriculture, no use of pesticides or of chemicals to remove grass, only use organic fertilizers in plots that require supplemental nourishment.
 

Winemaking
Directly from the sorting tables, without crushing, the grapes are poured into wooden and conical, untreated concrete vats. First wine aged 16-20 months in oak barrels (60% new, 40% one year old barrels), bottled unfined. Second wine aged 12 months in oak barrels (one year old), fined with egg whites before bottling.

Wines
·  Château Pontet-Canet
·  Les Hauts de Pontet-Canet