High-profile chateau's second wine fails to make the grade

A mini scandal has had Bordeaux buzzing recently, as one of the most high-profile chateaux in the region has seen its wine fail an important test.

Hauts de Pontet-Canet, the second wine of Chateau Pontet-Canet, has for the first time failed its AOC Pauillac assessment, and will see its 2012 wine bottled under the label Vin de France.

In theory that means that it passes from being a prestigious Medoc wine to a humble table wine. Does anyone care? Pontet-Canet will certainly be hoping not. Its owner Melanie Tesseron says that - although she is "astonished" at the decision - it has not hurt sales and it is fast becoming a collector's item.

Various merchants agree that the brand is strong enough to ride out the hiccup. But is there a bigger warning for the chateau?

Pontet-Canet has seen something of a meteoric rise in recent years. With vines directly opposite those of 1st growth Mouton Rothschild, it was long a solid but unremarkable 5th growth in the 1855 ranking system that governs the Medoc. It converted to biodynamic farming in 2005 and has been officially certified since 2010 - the only classified growth in the Medoc to date to have received the official biodynamic stamp. This has coincided with a rise in critical acclaim, with the wines regularly equalling or bettering the big names of its appellation in points and prices.

The owners Alfred Tesseron and his niece Melanie (who has just spent a few years living in Hong Kong) are fanatical about quality and deeply proud of their superb terroir. The biggest sign of their confidence is that, while many chateaux in Bordeaux are reducing the quantity of main (first) wine produced at their estates, Pontet has gone the other way, routinely bottling around 90 per cent of production under its main label.

Does this focus on the first wine have anything to do with the second wine failing its taste test? And what does it mean to fail your AOC?