The story of this château began at the brink of the 18^th century, when the property was established by Jean-François de Pontet, a Médoc governor at the time. He acquired some land to the north of Pauillac in 1705 before taking charge of the lieu-dit Canet in 1757…hence the adoption of the name Pontet-Canet for the estate. Within its first century, the domain gained renown and success, being bestowed with a place in the famous 1855 Grands Crus Classés du Médoc list, a ranking that continues to exist and hold sway to this day.

A decade after this crowning achievement, the keys to the estate were handed over to Henri Herman Cruse, a big name in Bordeaux trading. He had a head for pushing innovation, and gave Charles Skawinski the responsibility of building a new and ‘revolutionary’ winery. Herman Cruse went a long way to establishing the renown of Pontet-Canet’s wine across the globe, propelled by an extensive network and a firm belief in the estate’s produce.

Pressing on to 1975, Pontet-Canet was given a new owner: Guy Tesseron, a cognac trader. Working at the estate for twenty years with his son Alfred, the latter was then fully entrusted with the viticultural treasure in 1994. Precision and understanding in the vineyard became the driving forces behind Alfred Tesseron’s life work, insisting on the individuality of each terroir. His brother Gérard played an important role during this period, too, and the new generation is led by Justine Tesseron. Justine joined the estate in 2015, determined to carry on her family’s excellent work.