Château Pontet-Canet with Alfred Tesseron
History
The story of Chateau Pontet Canet has its beginings 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 and 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 and the responsibility for its success would soon fall on his enthusiastic shoulders, eager to expand the past achievements of the Château by incorporating organic and biodynamic viticulture methods to create an impressive Bordeaux Estate for the future.
““The only thing interesting for me is quality.””
Vineyard Management
In 2008 Château Pontet-Canet started with two draft horses but now number ten, sleeping in stables made from old wine barrels. Photo courtesy of Château Pontet-Canet website.
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 Bordeaux Chateau. “A wine is really made with the vines. We are farmers first.”
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 Once a tractor has been replaced by the work of a horse it will never go back Alfred has happy to reveal. According to an article from Fine + Rare, young horses around 3 to 4 years old first practice in a “training vineyard” on the Estate where the horses learn to stop if they feel the plough push into a delicate grapevine. Around half of the property is worked by these horses but a limiting factor in their use is the exposure to Copper sulphate, an organic spray often used in Biodynamic vineyards.
"A wine is really made with the vines. We are farmers first." - Alfred Tesseron, Proprietor Château Pontet-Canet
““We must follow Mother Nature, we cannot be late, we cannot be early””
Biodynamic vineyard photo from Château Pontet-Canet website.
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.
Château Pontet-Canet Tasting
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 2016 vintage rated 100 points by James Suckling and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. I kinda liked it too.
The 2006 offered 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. The 2015 vintage featured a deep dark fruit profile and baking spice notes. Challenging years of mildew problems in 2007 and 2018 that caused a loss of nearly two thirds of the total vineyard crop allow Alfred to reflect on all the triumphs, disappointments and surprises that the years have brought to the Chateau in his 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 and the Tesseron family acquired the 25 year old estate vineyard of actor Robin Williams, Pym-Rae 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 Napa Valley profile stood out from the Cantet-Ponet wines but the same commitment to quality was found inside the bottle. This inaugural vintage wouldn’t exist if the view at the Mount Veeder vineyard didn’t give Alfred goosebumps when inspecting. Something quite rare after many years 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 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 revered quality in Bordeaux, perfect scores from wine critics, and countless elated customers but Alfred’s experience and wisdom will continue to be the steady hand guiding their future. 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.
