I am referring here to the Fifth Growth Bordeaux, Pontet Canet (PC), a wine that has risen to prominence in the international Bordeaux markets over the last 10-12 years. Best of all, it sports the balance and depth of a First Growth while priced at a fraction of the price. An added advantage for those starting or building their Bordeaux collection, is that this wine, with proper storage, offers the aging potential for a good 20 years!

First a little history on the estate. Jean-Francois de Pontet, the royal governor of the Medoc on the left bank of the Gironde, combined several plot of vineyards in the Pauillac region in the 18th century. Many years later, his descendents added still more vineyard land in Canet. Fast forward to the 19th century when the infamous 1855 Bordeaux classification recognized Pontet Canet as a worthy addition to the elite. It wasn’t long before Hermann Cruse, a key Bordeaux shipper, purchased the estate in 1865, infusing large amounts of money into the winemaking facilities and building a highly respectable estate. For the next 110 years, the Cruse family owned the estate, selling it in 1975 to, ironically, another shipper, Alfred Tesseron, whose sons now run the estate.

Chateau Pontet Canet is located just a stone’s throw from the famed First Growth estate of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. This in and of itself offers some insight into the terroir that supports the renown quality of the vines in that region. The gravelly and sandy soils, warm, well drained and laying upon limestone bedrock, while portraying the illusion of inhospitality are, in fact, a perfect host for the vines.