Chateau Pontet Canet is the only certified biodynamic winery of the classified Bordeaux estates in the Medoc and is located right next to Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Pauillac.  This was another estate that many people talked about during our trip due to the incredible amount of strict work being done to be certified biodynamic.  The quality of the wines being produced at Pontet Canet has increased dramatically starting with the 2000 vintage.  This is a direct result of all the hard work that is being done in the vineyards and the improvements throughout the whole winemaking process.

Pontet Canet is producing wines that often compete directly with the First Growth Chateaux, like it’s neighbor Chateau Mouton Rothschild, but their wines sell for a fraction of the price.  In my opinion, Chateau Pontet Canet has been a shining star in Pauillac over the last decade.

Our tour guide, Daniel, did a great job and was very knowledgeable, explaining Pontet Canet’s philosophies of innovation and experimentation in winemaking.  The estate uses large wooden vats for the fermentation process and then aging in French oak barrels.

Starting with the 2012 vintage, Pontet Canet has started to use clay amphoras for the aging of their wine, which look like upside down elongated eggs with the pointed ends at the bottom.  Chateau Pontet Canet’s owner, Alfred Tesseron, wanted the amphoras to be as neutral as possible to the wine to bring out greater fruit expression, so he had the clay from which the amphoras were made excavated directly from the estate’s property.  Therefore, the wine is aging in the exact same clay that the estate vines are planted in.  The reason for the amphora shape (upside down egg) was to make it so the lees would settle down to the bottom in the pointed end and have less wine volume in contact with the lees.

We tasted a 2007 – here are my notes:

2007 Chateau Pontet Canet – Floral nose with red/black fruit.  Semi-sweet ripe black fruit with red pie cherries.  There is a good dose of acid, a little minerality and some wood, with slightly dry tannins.  Primary slightly monolithic fruit finish of medium length at present, with the tannins kicking in again on the final note.  This is a nice wine that will get better with more time in the bottle.

In the interest of not dragging this first (!) day out any longer – here’s a quick photo or two from our dinner that night at a restaurant called Le Saint- Julien.  We loved the ambiance.  Can you have too much foie gras in one day?  Our conclusion – no way!

Stay tuned for Day Two!