Chateau Pontet-Canet AOC Pauillac 2017

When Alfred Tesseron certified all 81 hectares of Pontet-Canet under both Ecocert and Biodyvin in 2010 — the first Médoc classified growth to do so — the decision was not cosmetic: it forced a complete rethinking of extraction, vessel choice, and cellar design, culminating in a 2017 facility built with hemp insulation and 12-volt LED lighting to eliminate electromagnetic interference during élevage. The estate's core plateau sits on Günz-era Garonne gravel over limestone bedrock, poor and sharply drained, concentrating Cabernet Sauvignon into tight, mineral-driven fruit; a secondary zone of clay-limestone closer to the Gironde carries the ≈32% Merlot component, adding mid-palate density without diluting structure. Hand harvest with double manual sorting, hand destemming above the vat (introduced 2017), and gravity-fed transfer into custom 40 hl conical concrete tanks precede indigenous-yeast fermentation with soft extraction. Élevage runs 16–18 months across three vessels: ≈50% new French oak barriques, 35% custom limestone-and-cement dolia (introduced 2012, a vessel type unprecedented at this classification level in Bordeaux), and 15% second-fill French oak. The 2017 vintage delivered a cooler, more tension-driven Pauillac than the opulent 2016, with the dolia fraction preserving fruit clarity and saline minerality. Drink 2025–2042.