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Timeline 1975 – 2011

1975    Guy Tesseron bought Château Pontet-Canet during a time of crisis.

1977    His youngest son Alfred went to the USA to learn about the drinks business.  The wine region began to recover from the crisis.

1982    Creation of the second wine “Château Les Hauts de Pontet”.

1984    Change in commercial strategy, the total production of Château Pont-Canet was sold on the Bordeaux market.

1986    On the recommendation of Professor Emile Peynaud building of new stainlessteel vats the best technology at that time.

1989    Recruitment of Jean-Michel Comme, engineer oenologist.  First  “green” harvest.

1994    Alfred Tesseron’s  father  gave him “carte blanche” to make his first vintage.

1996    Restoration of oak vat room with new smaller vats.

1998    Building of a new area for keeping bottled stock.

1999    New double reception for the vintage on the first floor.

2000    Name of “Château Les Hauts de Pontet” changed to “Les Hauts de Pontet-Canet”, the grapes for the second wine to be supplied by vines over ten years old.

2001    Pumps no longer used to fill fermenters. Return to vats working by gravity as in the 19th century.

2002    Ceased using pesticides in the vineyards.

2003    Building of a purification station

2005    Installation of 32 concrete vats of 80hl capacity for the reception of the harvest. Vats filled by gravity only.

2005    Melanie, Gerard Tesseron’s daughter, joined the Pontet-Canet team at the request of her uncle,  Alfred Tesseron, she was a breath of fresh air and brought her graphic expertise to our communication.

2005    First harvest using biodynamic practices throughout the whole property of 81 hectares  

2007    Melanie with her passion for wine achieved the top grade in the DUAD.  Brilliant for a young English girl!

2008    Three horses arrived at the property and used to work 8 hectares of the vineyard.

2008    Melanie wanted to develop her wine knowledge and education so joined the ENITA’s ‘Wine Property Management’ Masters 2 in Bordeaux and successfully graduated in 2009.

2010    The surface that the horses worked on tripled to 24 hectares.

2010     The 2010 vintage marks the first Pontet-Canet vintage to be both certified organic  (Ecocert) and biodynamic (Biodyvin) over 100% of the vineyard covering 81 hectares.

2011     Surprise’s arrival, our fourth shire horse.

 A LITTLE HISTORY

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, Pontet-Canet 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.

Over two centuries Pontet-Canet has been owned by three different families. Today it is run by Alfred Tesseron with his niece Melanie (daughter of Gerard Tesseron) who is the descendant of Guy Tesseron.  Thirty years after their arrival in Pauillac the Tesseron have the satisfaction of knowing that they have gradually replanted some of the vineyard and renovated the buildings and the wine making facilities.

A CAREFULLY-TENDED VINEYARD

Château Pontet-Canet is located in the heart of the Pauillac appellation, just south of  châteaux Mouton Rothschild and d’Armailhac. It has the poor gravelly soil typical of the greatest vineyards. In fact, the soil has so much gravel and sand that it is difficult to imagine that anything could grow there at all. The 80-hectare (200 acres) estate is predominately planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, the signature variety for the great wines of Pauillac. This demanding grape is perfectly adapted to Pauillac's climate and soil. It produces full-bodied, well-structured, long-lived wines famous for their finesse and elegance. In keeping with a longstanding Médoc tradition, it is blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc, which add a touch of smoothness and charm. In certain vintages, Petit Verdot can also be counted on to contribute complexity. 

Pontet-Canet's terroir features rises of Garonne gravel on limestone bedrock. The soil is lean, warm, and well-drained. In order to make the most of this terrroir, Alfred Tesseron instituted a plot-by-plot vineyard management system. Careful observation year after year has led to an intimate familiarity with practically every vine. The château's winegrowing philosophy is to intervene as little as possible and as naturally as possible in the vineyard. Only traditional viticultural and cultivation practices are used. Chemical weed killers are banned in keeping with environmental protection, and priority is given to the vine's long-term health.

RESPECTING THE VINES 

In keeping with this spirit, fertilisers are uniquely organic, and only used on plots that genuinely require extra nutrition. This helps to maintain a good balance and self-regulated low yields, as well as to respect the vines, reflect the terroir, and produce pure, natural wine. Pruning is done with the greatest of care in winter by qualified workers who are paid a fixed monthly salary rather than on a piece-work basis. Each individual vine is considered separately and treated accordingly. All these efforts result in grapes that are evenly distributed, with good ventilation, maximum sun exposure, and improved ripeness.   

HIGH STANDARDS DURING THE HARVEST WITH TOTAL RESPECT FOR THE FRUIT

Great attention to is paid to detail during the harvest at Pontet-Canet. In fact preparations begin as soon as the previous harvest is over! Alfred Tesseron designed a new system starting with the 1999 vintage. Grape picking baskets were replaced by small crates. Once full, these go directly from the vine to sorting tables. This avoids transferring the grapes from the basket to a back basket), and from the hod to a trailer. This also enables the château to manage lots of seven and a half kilos of grapes rather than two tonnes, which was the case when trailers were used…

The grapes are kept unbruised and uncrushed, and not pumped to avoid the risk of oxidation. The two sorting tables and the two reception areas located above the vats run non-stop, but at a slow rate to allow for extremely careful sorting and absolutely minimal handling of the grapes. This close surveillance – the natural continuation of the care and attention lavished on the vineyard throughout the growing season – makes it possible to separate lots according to plot and grape variety with extreme precision, and to fine tune the final blend.

CONSTANT IMPROVEMENTS

Since the very hot 2003 vintage, sorting has been further improved. A second vibrating sorting table, located behind each destemmer, provides perfect quality control.  Eight people sort the uncrushed grapes by hand in order to remove all matter other than grapes, including small pieces of stems. This method ensures that only the ripest, healthiest grapes make it to the fermenting vats. However, it is also very labour-intensive, calling for some 30 workers at the grape reception area and to do the sorting, or the equivalent of one person per three pickers. 

A MODEL VAT ROOM GOING BACK CENTURIES 

A unique vat room was built in the 19^th century which allowed the grapes from the harvest to drop into the vats by natural gravity without pumping.  This method of filling combined with the use of natural yeasts gives a slow fermentation.  There gentle extraction over a long period ensures the extraction of the best tannins.  Taking this as his model Alfred built a modern version in 2005: a vat room based on the same principle was built for 32 vats made from  re-enforced concrete each with a capacity of 80 hectolitres.   Now the wines of the property are vinified in these two vat rooms.

  THE 21st CENTURY VAT ROOM

You might say that this new vat room was inspired by the cutting-edge methods used by the famous visionary Skavinski, but obviously updated in light of the great technological strides made over the last century. The new vat room was operational for the 2005 vintage. 

 The first of its kind in the Médoc, this vat room houses 32 truncated cone-shaped vats, each with a capacity of 80 hectolitres (2100.00 US Gal). These vats are located in the previous cement vat room, dating back to the 1940s and renovated several times since. The previous vats were all taken out to make space for them. Furthermore, the stainless steel vat room, built in 1986, was also abandoned. The vats were removed and sold.

 The new cement vats each weigh 9 tonnes. Their 15 cm thick walls provide good thermal inertia, thereby encouraging slow, gentle fermentation. The vats are fully temperature controlled and able to be either cooled down or warmed up very efficiently. Their hatches, which cover almost the entire top of the vat, are located directly under the sorting tables on the first floor. The grapes thus fall down straight into the vats by simple gravity.

This vat room is both resolutely modern and in keeping with the Médoc's winegrowing tradition. It is the result of discussions between Alfred Tesseron, the famous oenologist Michel Rolland, the architect Christophe Massie, and Jean-Michel Comme*,Regisseur of Pontet-Canet.

By facilitating the fermentation of small lots, this new organization makes it easier to select and fine tune the final blend. Grapes from each plot (or part of a plot) are kept separate. This is done out of deference to the terroir and respect for the fruit, which are the two bywords for making fine wine. Pontet-Canet is truly a tailor-made wine.

SINGLE PLOT VINIFICATION

Maceration generally lasts for more than four weeks, but varies according to grape variety, vineyard plot, and the age of the vines. The wine is run off directly into barrels, where it ages for sixteen to twenty months, depending on the vintage. The proportion of new barrels is never greater than two thirds.

 THE WINE

Pontet-Canet has always been a legendary Médoc. It is deep ruby-red, crimson, and sometimes almost black colour and has a characteristic bouquet of black fruit (especially blackcurrant), liquorice, and prune as well as fig, cedar, and sometimes cocoa overtones. Pontet-Canet combines power and elegance, as well as concentration and fullness on the palate. Rather sinewy in style, Pontet-Canet is clearly a classical wine with a tannic structure that provides excellent ageing potential. The château team is conscious of the fact that they are following in the footsteps of more than three centuries of tradition, with each period contributing its technical innovations in the interest of quality and in order faithfully to reflect the terroir. Château Pontet-Canet and the estate's second wine, Hauts de Pontet-Canet, are sold exclusively via the Bordeaux wine trade.

 *Jean-Michel Comme, Régisseur  of Pontet-Canet

Jean-Michel is the modern-day Skavinski. He has unfailingly looked after Pontet-Canet's best interests for more than 20 years, and always with the same passion. He also manages a family estate, Château Le Champ des Treilles in Sainte-Foy-La-Grande, with his wife.