2025 Chateau Pontet-Canet Pauillac Grand Cru Classe 750 ml

A legitimate rival to the First Growths that comes at a fraction of the price, Château Pontet-Canet is by far the top Bordeaux at Wine Access. That’s why securing it was one of our top En Primeur missions—and we’re thrilled to announce our allocation of the 2025.

The critics are effusive. 

The Wine Advocate had it ranked tied for the top of the year—one of only six wines to merit at 98-100–range score, and by far the least expensive—and called it “one of the wines of the vintage.” They praised its “degree of structural polish and sensuality that is rare in the Médoc.”

They weren’t alone. James Suckling awarded 97–98 points, calling it “a precise and beautiful wine.” Vinous was equally moved, awarding 96–98+ points and writing that Pontet-Canet is “one of the more refined, sublimely beautiful wines of the year”—adding that it “could turn out even better” than their already-exceptional score suggests.

Having changed hands only twice over two centuries, Château Pontet-Canet boasts a rare ownership legacy in Bordeaux. But it was the Tesserons—the family that owns Château Lafon-Rochet in St.-Estèphe—and the leadership of current proprietor Alfred Tesseron that has made Pontet-Canet one of the best properties of Pauillac.

Alfred converted their farming to organic—and later biodynamic—practices, halting the use of all chemicals and noticing a better concentration of flavors in the fruit. His innovations didn’t stop in the vineyard: He first converted to a gravity-fed facility, avoiding the use of pumps that can extract astringent seed tannins, and installed a double sorting line to ensure that only pristine berries make it into the must.

The Pontet-Canet philosophy is neatly captured in what Alfred once told us: “Throughout history farmers have been laboring, innovating, to get the most fruit possible from their land,” he said. “All that interests me is what we need to do to get the best quality.”