Taking its name from a former owner, who was also the royal governor of Medoc, Jean-François de Pontet, the Chateau eventually grew to become one of the largest Bordeaux producing estates in the entire region. Today, it is what many would deem the most popular producer in the region, with some of the most in-demand wine of the appellation - impressive for a Chateau that, until the takeover in direction from Alfred Tesseron in 1994 was respected, but known just as much for its history as it was for its wine.
It was the first major Bordeaux wine producer to earn official organic certification, and its biodynamic production is a hallmark of its current operations. The 2016 has been regarded as a wide success with critics praising the vintage as “vivid and full of energy.”
Pauillac is Bordeaux’s most acclaimed appellation, the only one with three Premier Cru properties: Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Latour. These and other Pauillac chateaux produce robust, full-flavored and long-lived red wines made from Cabernet-based blends. Though winemaking techniques and microclimates vary throughout Pauillac, producing some variations in style, classic Pauillac wines have juicy flavours of blackcurrant and cedar, often with coffee, chocolate and graphite notes. Pauillac, part of the Médoc region on Bordeaux’s Left Bank, has gravelly and well-drained soils that force vines to grow long and strong roots. Struggling a bit for water, the vines produce grapes with high tannins and concentrated juices. Nearby rivers and the Atlantic Ocean modulate temperatures, preventing the grapes from ripening too quickly. Such grapes make powerful wines that may age and improve for decades. However, in Pauillac, as in other old-world wine regions, some winemakers are working to develop softer red wines that maintain the local wines’ traditional substance and flavours, but are more approachable immediately upon release.
