It is not often I do Weekend Wine double bills, with back-to-back wines from the same estate. Coincidentally, I think the last time I did it was two releases from last week's featured vigneron, François Pinon, when I pointed the spotlight at two versions of his 2012 Vouvray Extra Brut; one early release, probably after a year or two sur lattes, and one much later release, the 7 Ans Sur Lattes cuvée, the Ligérian equivalent of tasting Bollinger's Grande Année against the RD, even if the timescales are somewhat different.

This week, though, the first of two vintages representing significant moments in the recent evolution of Château Pontet-Canet; in both cases, as is (almost) always the case, both bottles pulled from the deepest recesses of my cellar (which explains the state of this week's label).

The early 1990s was a time of great transition for this estate. Its history is long and troubled, and too complex for this short report, but it is worth knowing that during much of the 20th century the estate's reputation was in the doldrums (although it wasn't all bad - a 1924 I drank early last year showed really well, at one hundred years of age). The property and vineyard was in the hands of the Cruse family for decades, but they were forced to sell and in 1975 it was purchased by Cognac magnate Guy Tesseron. He was joined by his son Alfred Tesseron, who remains in charge here today.

The inception of Pontet-Canet's renaissance can be traced to the Tesseron era, and I would point at 1989 as significant, as this was the year Alfred - keenly aware of the changes sweeping through Bordeaux, and the need to move with the times - appointed a young manager named Jean-Michel Comme. Together they devised a programme of work to improve the wines.

At a tasting with him back in 2010 Alfred Tesseron recounted to me some of the first steps he and Jean-Michel took to ameliorate the quality of the grand vin. In 1990, working without Guy Tesseron's knowledge, they subjected a section of the vineyard to a green harvest. While this might seem a simple move, in an era when quantity was perhaps prioritised over quality, especially if you have arrived from Cognac where high yields are de rigueur, it would have been anathema to Guy. But at this early stage he did not realise what Alfred and Jean-Michel were up to. Deeming it a success, in subsequent vintages they expanded the practice, until in 1994 the entire vineyard saw an extensive green harvest.

By this time Guy could not help but notice.

Returning to the château one evening Alfred found his father in a sullen mood, and eventually the reason spilled out; he disagreed with throwing away such a large percentage of healthy grapes. A rift developed, Jean-Michel and Alfred on one side, Guy on the other, but they agreed how it would be settled; the decider would be the quality of the wine. If it was improved, the younger men would continue, and Guy would limit himself to looking after the estate's finances, and not the viticulture and winemaking. If the wine was still inadequate, Alfred would leave. He staked his future at the property on his decision; an admirable and brave moment!

Of course, thirty years on, you can perhaps guess the result. In what was far from a great vintage, the increase in quality of the 1994 Château Pontet-Canet over prior vintages was easy to see. The wine accrued some good scores, including that from Parker who - as mentioned in my recent report on Château Rocheyron - was at the peak of his powers at this time. Alfred's future was secure.

Of course, he and Jean-Michel would go on to develop Château Pontet-Canet in way in which I suspect nobody could have predicted back in 1994. But that is perhaps a story for next week's wine. In the meantime, check out my note on the 1994.