Chateau Pontet-Canet 2016

【A symbol of innovation and conviction that changed the values of Bordeaux’s Left Bank】

A Fifth Growth in the Médoc classification, and yet one of the most closely watched châteaux in the world today.
That is Château Pontet-Canet. Going beyond the frameworks of classification and tradition, it has rewritten the conventions of Bordeaux through its conviction in the pursuit of wines with a life force of their own.

It occupies a superb position at the heart of the village of Pauillac, adjoining the First Growth Château Mouton Rothschild. The quality of the terroir had been recognised ever since the 1855 classification, but the real transformation came in the 2000s. Guided by the philosophy that the vineyard is the soul of the wine, owner Alfred Tesseron was among the very first to convert entirely to organic and then biodynamic farming.
Chemical intervention was abandoned in favour of ploughing by horse, the rebuilding of a natural ecosystem and vineyard work carried out in step with the rhythms of the moon.
Everything is done with thoroughness, in order to draw out the true potential that lies sleeping in this land.

Innovation continues in the winemaking as well. Gravity-fed vinification and the use of a range of vessels – concrete tanks, large casks and amphorae – make for a style that draws out the individuality of the terroir to the maximum and is quite unlike any other. Rather than dressing the wine up with excessive extraction or oak aromas, the emphasis is on expressing the inherent life force and purity of the fruit.

As a result, Château Pontet-Canet has won recognition that transcends the very notion of classification. It received the first perfect scores of 100 points ever awarded by Robert Parker to a Fifth Growth in Bordeaux, in several vintages, and enjoys passionate support from collectors and professionals around the world. To the question of what a grand vin truly is, it offers a rare answer: the essence that is born from the resonance between nature and man.

The flavour has overwhelming balance. Although built around Cabernet Sauvignon, it is never merely firm but genuinely supple, with a texture full of energy. Aromas of blackberry, cassis and violet are layered with nuances of spice and graphite, and the density of the fruit, the minerality and the immense finish are all in harmony. Its bearing is one of quiet strength.
While carrying on the classicism of Pauillac, it embodies the Bordeaux of the next generation.

Pontet-Canet never chases the spectacular; it simply pursues, single-mindedly, the truth of its terroir. Facing nature, listening closely to the vineyard, and producing wine imbued with pure energy.
That attitude has had a powerful influence on growers throughout the world.
Today, within the classic world of Bordeaux, it is the most modern and the purest presence of all.
That is the essence of Château Pontet-Canet.

YouTube video 【Château Pontet-Canet】A pioneer of biodynamics in the Médoc | An in-depth comparison of the 2014–2017 vintages