Château Pontet-Canet is a winery in the

Pauillac Pauillac (; oc, Paulhac) is a municipality in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The city is mid-way between Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave, along the Gironde, the largest estuary in western Europe. Popul ...

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

of the Bordeaux wine region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Chateau Pontet-Canet is also the name of the red

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of eighteen ''Cinquièmes Crus'' (Fifth Growths) in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.

History

Ten years following the 1855 classification, the property was purchased by Herman Cruse in 1865, in whose family the estate remained for many years. The Bordeaux wine fraud scandal in 1973 forced the sale, in 1975, of Ponet-Canet to Cognac merchant Guy Tesseron owner of

Château Lafon-Rochet Château Lafon-Rochet is a winery in the Saint-Estèphe appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of ten ''Quatrièmes Crus'' (Fourth Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification ...

. The estate remains in his control today.

Production

Of the estate of Pontet-Canet located in the northern end of the Pauillac commune, across the road from first growth Château Mouton Rothschild, are under vine. The soil composition is mainly gravel over a subsoil of clay and limestone. The grape variety distribution is 60%

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

, 33%

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

, 5% Petit Verdot and 2%

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being us ...

. Vines average 35 years of age. Pontet-Canet has one of the largest productions of any classified growth in the Medoc with a production of nearly 20,000 cases of its grand-vin, and another 20,000 cases of its

second wine Second wine or second label ( French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or e ...

, Les Hauts de Pontet. Harvesting is done by hand, and after sorting the grapes are moved into the estate's gravity-feed cellars for crushing. Fermentation takes place in a mixture of concrete and stainless steel vats. Wines are aged for 16-20 months in up to 60% new oak barrels before fining with egg whites and bottling.

References

External links

Château Pontet-Canet official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontet-Canet, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers Châteaux in Gironde