Château Pontet-Canet is a Cinquièmes Cru Classé in Pauillac.   The estate is named after Jean-François de Pontet, Master of the Horse to Louis XV at Versailles.  Pontet became Governor of the Médoc and in 1705, he purchased a few acres of land to the north of the village of Pauillac, which he turned into a vineyard.  A few years later, he added several parcels in a place called Canet. 

The estate was owned by the Cruse family from 1865 until 1975, when it was purchased by Cognac merchant Guy Tesseron.  Run since 1994 by Guy's son Alfred Tesseron (with Jean-Michel Comme as his régisseur until May 2020), the estate has been transformed into one of the world's leading practitioners of biodynamics, converting fully in 2004.  Along the way, the reputation of this fifth growth has risen to compete with the very best second growths.  Pioneering the reintroduction of horses into the vineyards and the use of inert maturation vessels like concrete tanks and amphorae (to reduce oak influence and accentuate terroir), Tesseron has become a thought-leader in the very traditional world of the Crus Classés.

The estate has 81 hectares under vine, planted to 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot on deep gravel with clay and limestone soils.