2010 Pontet Canet 750ml

100 RPÂ

An absolutely amazing wine, from grapes harvested between the end of September and October 17, this blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot has close to 15% natural alcohol. It comes from one of the few biodynamic vineyards in Bordeaux, but you are likely to see many more, given the success that Tesseron seems to be having at all levels, both in his vineyards and in his fermentation/winemaking. An astounding, compelling wine with the classic Pauillac nose more often associated with its cross-street neighbor, Mouton-Rothschild, creme de cassis, there are also some violets and other assorted floral notes. The wine has off-the-charts massiveness and intensity but never comes across as heavy, overbearing or astringent. The freshness, laser-like precision, and full-bodied, massive richness and extract are simply remarkable to behold and experience. It is very easy, to become jaded tasting such great wines from a great vintage, but it is really a privilege to taste something as amazing as this. Unfortunately, it needs a good decade of cellaring, and that’s assuming it doesn’t close down over the next few years. This is a 50- to 75-year wine from one of the half-dozen or so most compulsive and obsessive proprietors in all of Bordeaux. Is there anything that proprietor Alfred Tesseron is not doing right? Talk about an estate that is on top of its game! Pontet-Canet’s 2010 is a more structured, tannic and restrained version of their most recent perfect wine, the 2009. Kudos to Pontet-Canet!

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Chateau Pontet Canet produces what may be the most popular and in-demand Bordeaux wine of the region. Pontet Canet is a powerful wine that is is concentrated, balanced, tannic and charming as well.

The recent success of Pontet Canet is due to the current management of the estate by Alfred Tesseron who took over the chateau in 1994 and is helped by the director, Jean-Michel Comme. Prior to Alfred Tesseron taking control, Chateau Pontet Canet was respected, but it was known equally for its history as well as for its wines.

Pontet Canet was granted Fifth Growth status in the 1855 classification, and once the vineyard was fully established in1865, Pontet Canet became and has remained one of the largest Bordeaux wine producing estates in the entire appellation.

Cruse purchased the estate in 1865. The Cruse family owned Pontet-Canet for 110 years, until another negociant, Guy Tesseron, acquired it in 1975. At the time of the purchase in 1975 by the Tesseron family, the vineyard was in poor condition, needing a lot of replanting.

The run of recent success this Chateau has seen started in 1994 when Alfred Tesseron took over running the estate. The property has continued to improve every year since. Even though Pontet is only a Fifth Growth, they are producing wines at the level of the best Second Growths and in some vintages, as good as the Firsts.

Situated next to Mouton Rothschild, Tesseron has inspired others on both banks to work more organically as well as consider biodynamic farming. To illustrate this point, in 2010, Chateau Pontet Canet became the first major Bordeaux wine producer to earn the official Agence Bio (AB) organic certification.

Alfred Tesseron has an interesting, philosophical look at what they are doing at Chateau Pontet Canet today. In an interview we conducted, when asked how he saw himself, Tesseron responded, “I am not a winemaker. My team members are not winemakers either.

As most of the work is done in the vineyards, we are growers. Our success and achievements at Pontet Canet are due to our efforts in the vineyards, not the wine making. At the end of the day, our goal is to produce unique vintages of Pontet Canet that are for drinking, not just for wine tasting”.

That is a very apt description for Alfred Tesseron who at one point, desired to be a farmer, even though he earned a degree in oenology. When you think about it, Alfred Tesseron accomplished his goal, as he is a grape farmer.

In January 2016, Alfred Tesseron and his niece Melanie Tesseron expanded their vineyard holdings with the purchase of the massive estate of the late comedian, Robin Williams in Napa Valley. Tesseron Family buys Napa Valley Vineyard The Tesseron officially renamed the property, Pym-Rae.

Once Alfred Tesseron began moving Chateau Pontet Canet to sustainable farming techniques, he also began to tend the vineyard and vinify the wines on a parcel by parcel basis. In 1999, they hired Michel Rolland as their consultant. The goal of Alfred Tesseron and Chateau Pontet Canet is for to do as little intervention as possible.

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The 81 hectare vineyard of Pontet Canet is planted to 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. This represents a small shift in the vineyard to more Cabernet Sauvignon that took place in 2009. The vineyard has a terroir terroir of deep gravel with clay and limestone soils.

The vineyard of Chateau Pontet Canet is almost one large block of vines that can be divided into two main parcels. Each of those parcels are quite different as you find more Cabernet Sauvignon planted closer to the chateau, not far from Mouton Rothschild. The other parcel features more Merlot and is located closer to the river.

On average, the vines are close to 45 years of age. The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 9,500 vines per hectare.

While many chateaux welcome new technology, at Pontet Canet, Alfred Tesseron moves in the opposite direction. His mantra remains firmly in the “everything is done by hand” department. Pontet Canet utilizes no computers to make harvesting or fermentation decisions.

Alfred Tesseron wanted to be more cautious and start with just 2 hectares, but Jean Michel Comme convinced Tesseron to take a huge chance. Two years later, they were up to 24 hectares being farmed using biodynamic farming techniques. Today, they are 100% biodynamic at Pontet Canet.

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While the original vat house was constructed in the 1800’s, the facilities at Chateau Pontet Canet were completely renovated in 2005.

The wine of Pontet Canet is vinified in a combination of 11, 80 hectoliter, conical shaped wood vats and 37, 80 hectoliter, concrete tanks. All the fermentation tanks are situated just beneath the first floor, sorting tables, allowing for the completely destemmed berries to drop into the tanks using gravity. Malolactic fermentation takes place in vat.

The wine of Chateau Pontet Canet is aged in an average of 60% new, French oak barrels for between 16 to 20 months.

For the 2010 vintage, Tesseron added numerous rows of Nomblot, concrete eggs to his range of vats. These concrete eggs first became popular due to their usage in the Rhone Valley by Michel Chapoutier. In fact, the egg shaped vats are a creation between Michel Chapoutier and the Nomblot company.

Instead of using a combination of new and one year old, French oak barrels, Alfred Tesseron and the technical director, Jean-Michel Comme are trying something different. They are planning on aging up to 25% of the harvest in 900 liter amphorae jars along with between 50% new French oak and 60% new, French oak. Amphorae jars were the most common vessel used to store wine for centuries.