ALFRED TESSERON OF CHATEAU PONTET CANET & PYM-RAE
Part of a sommeliers job is to have a strong familiarity of quality producers, so imagine how embarrassing it is for me to have to admit that this was my first time experiencing the wines of Chateau Pontet Canet. Sure, I had heard of them with many of my knowledgeable wine friends singing their praise but my trips down the Bordeaux aisle usually yielded an affordable Bordeaux Superieur, or a Beychaville now and then for special occasions. The closest time I took this wine home came when the bottle in my cart was replaced at the last minute with a Chateau Figeac at the urging of friends. So, when Hi Times Wine Cellar, that oasis for wine lovers in Costa Mesa, advertised a tasting with Pontet Canet owner Alfred Tesseron, I had to attend to finally right the wrong of one of the best Bordeaux producers never reaching my lips. During the tasting Alfred supplied many great quotes about his Chateau so I thought it would be a good idea to share some of his insights along with some history for anyone unfortunate like me who has never tasted their liquid heaven before.
““The only thing interesting for me is quality.””
Chateau Pontet Canet enjoyed a respected reputation in its history before the Tesseron family purchased it. It started when Jean-Francois de Pontet, who served in the French court in Versailles, began establishing vineyards as he acquired land near the village Pauillac in 1705 and later in nearby Canet. The identity of Chateau Pontet Canet was created from the custom of the time of adding an owner’s name to the land. Its reputation would later be cemented in history with its inclusion as a fifth growth of the famous 1855 Bordeaux classification. Change is inevitable though and the estate would later be sold in 1975 to Guy Tesseron, a cognac merchant who viewed the purchase as a prudent investment for the future. In time his son Alfred would be called home from his sales job for the family business in America to help manage this new venture. Alfred reminisced happily of his youthful time in America during the tasting, reminding me of the ability of wine to shrink the distance between people, bringing them together at least for a glass. The responsibility for success would soon fall to Alfred, enthusiastic and eager to expand the Chateaus past achievements by incorporating organic and biodynamic viticulture methods to create an impressive Bordeaux Chateau for the future.
““A wine is really made with the vines. We are farmers first.””
Biodynamic farming trials at the Chateau would first take place in 2004 and the quality that came from these vineyards would be enough to convince Alfred to fully convert to biodynamic agriculture, a first time for a Medoc Classified Growth. Biodyvin and Demeter certifications would soon follow in 2010 and 2014. Alfred beamed with pride of this accomplishment and began talking more like a farmer than the chief executive of a posh Bordeaux Chateau. “A wine is really made with the vines. We are farmers first,” he would go on to say. This is a popular saying in the wine industry, often stated in greater number than its actual usage but when Alfred Tesseron speaks it the words could not be truer. Vines on the property are trained in a circular fashion here which the winery attributes with smaller sized grapes prized for winemaking. The yields are also naturally lower without the use of green harvesting, which is thinning the crop by removing grape clusters to increase maturity and flavor intensity in those remaining. This method also allows for ideal cluster placement as well as help to eliminate the forming of a 2nd crop that can develop late in the growing season which doesn’t usually mature fully. “We must follow Mother Nature, we cannot be late, we cannot be early,” Alfred would go on to say, summing up his feelings on vineyard intervention. Horses would later be introduced into the vineyard as a reaction to the soil compaction that was occurring with heavy tractors having to continuously take the same route due to the small vine spacing of 1 x 1 in the vineyard. Once a tractor has been replaced by the work of a horse it will never go back, Alfred has happy to reveal. With the amazing quality of the wines I hope he’s ready to expand the stable size to double.
Rated 100 points by James Suckling and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. I kinda liked it too.
In total the wines tasted were the 2000, 2006, 2010, 2015 vintages of Chateau Pontet Canet and the 2016 Pym Rae. I’ll give them a short description but of course the wines must be tasted personally as words can’t completely describe their quality, most of all mine. All the wines were Cabernet Sauvignon dominant with decreasing amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot added to the blend. The Chateau strives to showcase the quality of their vines by minimizing the influence of oak through alternative ageing vessels such as concrete amphora. Soil from the vineyard is used in the making of each amphora, connecting the maturing wine to the Earth and continuing the philosophy of their biodynamic principles. The 2010 vintage had the most secondary characteristics, expected for an almost 20-year-old wine of cedar, leather and mulberry fruit. The 2006 offered more generous ripe fruits of blackberry and amazing black currant aromas but with a tight concentration indicating many more years of pleasure left in the bottle. 2010 was a riper vintage, soft and supple with an amazing full-bodied weight but with excellent tension for balance. Juicy black fruit, a subtle espresso bitterness along with floral violet and a slight menthol freshness. With its deep dark fruit profile and baking spice notes, the 2015 was wonderfully similar to the widely popular 2010 vintage. There were challenging years along the way though, with mildew problems in 2007 and humidity in 2018 causing a loss of nearly two thirds of the total vineyard crop. Reflecting on all the triumphs, disappointments and surprises that the years brought to the Chateau, Alfred signals his appreciation for all the hard work spent no matter the outcome, proudly stating the quote below.
““There is not one vintage I am not proud of.””
Deep, complex, dark and black fruited with vanilla and rich oak spice notes
In January 2016 Alfred carried on the Tesseron family tradition of wise investing with the acquisition of the late Robin Williams estate vineyard Pym-Rae, established for over 25 years and named after Williams first two children. The bold vison and long-term potential of this California project drew comparison to the Tesseron patriarch’s Bordeaux investment to his own, sparking Alfred to mention with a satisfied twinkle in his eye, “my father crossed the estuiary, I crossed the Atlantic.” The 2016 Pym-Rae red wine was the last wine of the tasting and while its Napa Valley profile stood out from the Cantet-Ponet, the same commitment to quality was cheerfully found inside the bottle. This inaugural vintage wouldn’t exist if the view at the Mount Veeder vineyard didn’t give Alfred goosebumps upon seeing. Something he said that is quite the rarity after all his time spent among the beautiful vineyards of the world.
Today the Chateau may be harvesting the rewards of years of hard work in their vineyard and cellar, but don’t expect them to slow down in the future and indulge in their accomplishments. Like a seasoned vineyard manager, they know that the potential for quality in next year’s crop is rooted in the pursuit of excellence today. Much of their history has already been written, including producing some of the most revered quality in Bordeaux, perfect scores from wine critics and countless elated customers but the future will always be bright for this ambitious Chateau. Lastly to anyone with enough willpower to buy these wines and not give in to the temptation to drink them immediately I’ll give Alfred some words on their ageability, “…for your children and your grandchildren.” Cheers to all these future lucky kids. Just don’t forget to thank your grandparents when you pop the cork.
