Château Pontet-Canet

A 5ème Cru Classé of the 1855 classification, named for an early-18th-century owner, Jean-François de Pontet, royal governor of the Médoc, combined with the neighbouring 'Canet' vineyard his descendants bought. The Cruse négociant family owned it for 110 years from 1865 until the Cognac house Tesseron acquired it in 1975; Pontet-Canet has belonged to only three families in over two centuries. Under Alfred Tesseron, who took charge in 1994, this large, historic estate has risen to make wine at Second-Growth level and beyond, and is today one of Pauillac's most sought-after names.

81 ha on deep gravel over clay and limestone, right beside Mouton Rothschild, planted 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot at ~9,500 vines/ha (average vine age ~45 years), divided into 92 blocks and vinified parcel-by-parcel. Farming: biodynamic trials began on 14 ha in 2004, the whole vineyard converted in 2005, and 2007 was the last vintage to see any chemicals; in 2010 Pontet-Canet became the first classified Bordeaux estate to earn organic certification (AB/Ecocert) alongside biodynamic certification (Biodyvin), with Demeter certification following. Postier Breton draft horses plough 34 of the 81 ha (the goal is the whole vineyard), and cows and donkeys also live on the estate. The cellar uses no electricity: grapes are hand-sorted and hand-destemmed, dropped by gravity into 11 conical wood and 37 concrete 80-hl vats, with lighting run from geothermal boreholes. Since 2012 a share of the wine (about a quarter to a third) is raised in 900-litre amphorae made from the estate's own limestone and gravel mixed with cement. Long-time technical director Jean-Michel Comme (1989–2020) drove the biodynamic conversion; Michel Rolland consulted until 2023, succeeded by Thomas Duclos.