Pontet-Canet, Pauillac 2006

Type: Red Wine.

Vintage: 2006

Grapes: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot

Origin: Pauillac, France

Description: Pauillac is probably the most famous village in Bordeaux. Located between St. Julien and St. Estephe, it has more of the top ranked chateau than the other four appellations of the Haut Medoc. This area has three of the five premier cru classe wineries: Lafite Rothschild, Latour, and Mouton Rothschild. There are two of the top second-growths (Pichon Lalande and Pichon Baron) as well as several outstanding fourth and fifth-growth chateaux including Lynch Bages. Because of the gravely soils and great drainage, Pauillac has the ideal conditions to grow great Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines from this village are some of the longest-lived in Bordeaux.

Three Families at Pauillac Classified Growth Château Pontet-Canet

The history of Château Pontet-Canet begins with a man by the name of Jean-Francois Pontet, who had served the court of Versailles as the Grand Ecuyer (Master of the Horse) of Louis XV and became Governor of the Médoc upon his move to Guyenne. In 1705, Jean-Francois Pontet purchased a few acres of land north of the village of Pauillac and planted grape vines. Just a few years later, he acquired some more parcels in a place known as Canet. He named his estate Château Pontet-Canet. A century and a half later, the château was ranked as a Classified Fifth Growth of Pauillac in the Official 1855 Classification of Bordeaux, ordered by Napoleon III.

In 1865, the family of the founder sold Château Pontet-Canet to a wine merchant named Herman Cruse, whose family held on to the property for 110 years. During this time, Estate Manager Theophile Skawinski constructed a revolutionary vat house at the château, with a wooden platform that could move on rails and fill the wine by gravity into oak vats.

Tasting notes: The 2006 is a wine to stockpile, especially for those in their thirties and forties as it needs another decade to reach maturity, after which it should keep for 30+ years. This vineyard, just south of Mouton Rothschild, has produced an opaque bluish/purple-colored 2006 with an extraordinarily pure nose of graphite, charcoal, sweet creme de cassis, and a hint of scorched earth. Incredible concentration, stunning richness, and a 60-second finish result in a wine that transcends the vintage as well as this estate’s 1855 classification. This enormously endowed, modern day classic is a legend in the making.

Alcohol content: 13%