Château Pontet-Canet 1995
Pauillac - 5ème Grand Cru Classé

History

Jean-François de Pontet, royal governor of the Médoc, combined several vineyard plots in Pauillac in the early 18th century. Years later, his descendants added neighbouring vines in a place named Canet. This was the beginning of one of the largest estates in the Médoc, which quite naturally added the name of its founder to that of the land registry reference.

A century later, Pontet-Canet was included in the famous 1855 classification, thereby confirming its membership among the elite of the Médoc. This privileged position did not go unnoticed by one of the most important Bordeaux shippers of the time, Herman Cruse, who bought the estate in 1865. He built new cellars, modernised the winemaking facilities, and established the wine's reputation around the world. The Cruse family owned Pontet-Canet for 110 years, until another shipper (from Cognac this time), Guy Tesseron, acquired it in 1975.

The vintage 1995 is characterised by an early budburst and very good climatic conditions : high temperature, important sunny days, only 36 mm of rain during June, July and August.

The rain during the beginning of the harvest did not affect the perfect sanitary state of the grapes.

The musts, rapidly coloured, were featured by a high rate of alcohol by volume and a good acidity, which means a very good quality vintage.

This vintage was aged in 40% of new barrels.

Very rich and fleashy wine.

The deep dark colour, the complex nose of black fruits, the cocoa aromas, and the good balance allow us to consider this vintage among the best.

Total Vineyard Surface

81 hectares around the Château.

Tasting Notes

Soil- Terroir

Pontet-Canet's terroir features rises of Garonne gravel on limestone bedrock. The soil is lean, warm, and well-drained. In order to make the most of this terrroir, Alfred Tesseron instituted a plot-by-plot vineyard management system.