The history of this small château in the commune of Catenac, Margaux dates to 1650 when the Pouget estate belonged to the canon of Saint-Émilion, Étienne Monteil. There have only been a handful of families that have owned Pouget since its beginning. The property name comes from François Antoine Pouget, a local merchant in Bordeaux, and counsellor to the king. The estate was left to him by Theres Dorlhaic, grandaughter of Monsieur Monteil. Since 1906 the property has been in the hand of the Guillemet family. Lucien Guillemet is the fifth generation of the faimly to run the estate. He has been at the helm since 1996 after having previously worked as estate manager at Château Giscours. Lucien also is in charge of their neighboring property, Margaux 3rd growth Château Boyd-Cantenac.
The diminutive estate (Pouget is the smallest of the classified growths at a mere 10 ha producing just 5,000 cases annually) has always limited it’s presence with the négoce of Bordeaux, and until 1983 the wines were integrated into Boyd-Catenac production when a separate winemaking facility was established and it was once again produced as bottled under it’s own name. In the last decade, Ulysse Cazabonne, Bordeaux merchant with one of the deepest and broadest cru classé selections in the appellation, has taken over international exclusivity for Pouget, and as such, Massanois has partnered with both the winery and Ulysse Cazabonne to be the exclusive representative in the United States!
The defining soil character of Cantenac, Margaux is it’s gravel and sand which lend remarkable elegance to Pouget’s plantines of 60% Cabernet, 30% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The vines here have well-developed age, averaging 45-50 years. They have been farmed under organic certification since 2017 and no chemical fertilizers have been used in well over 30 years.
