One of the six communes (alongside Listrac-Médoc, Margaux, Moulis, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien) within the French Haut-Médoc region (Bordeaux) that are independent appellations and are authorised to bear the commune name on the bottle label.Pauillac is located between Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien. Here, sulphurisationsulphur of the wine in the barrelwasintroducedas early as the 18th centuryto prevent secondary fermentationfermentation .The town of Pauillac, locatedon the Gironde estuary,is rightly regarded as the wine capital of the Médoc , and it was from this harbour that the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) set sail to join the American rebels and take an active part in the fighting.

Vineyards

The area covers 1,200 hectares of vines and is divided into two extensive plateaus to the north-west and south-west of Pauillac. Both are low-lying gravel banks with optimal drainage . In the west, the soil consists of sand over stony subsoil, in the centre and south of gravel over layers of local stone. The three kilometre wide and over six kilometre long strip of land is divided by the Gaët stream.

Grand Cru

Pauillac is home to 18 of the 61 ChâteauxChâteau thatwere included in the Grand Cru listin the 1855Bordeaux classification.In terms of surface area, this is just under a third of all the Grand Cru estates in the Médoc. Three of the only five Premier Grand Cru Classé Châteaux are located here.These are Château Lafite-Rothschild , Château Latour and Château Mouton-Rothschild .The others are the two DeuxièmesDeuxième Grand Cru Classé(2nd rank) Château Pichon-Longueville Baron and Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse , the QuatrièmeQuatrième Grand Cru Classé(4th rank) Château Duhart-Milon-Rothschild and twelve CinquièmeCinquième Grand Cru Classé(5th rank). Some of the châteaux are associated with the names RothschildRothschild and Ségur .

Wines

Pauillac is the region of Cabernet Sauvignon par excellence; nowhere else does this grape variety (complemented by Cabernet Franc and Merlot )comeinto its ownin wines with a typical cassis flavourCassis .This is the typical Bordeaux blend of the Rive gauche (left bank). The red wines are deep dark, powerful, rich in alcohol and tanninsTannins , full of finesse, can be stored for many decades and are among the most excellent in Bordeaux.

Map: By Domenico-de-ga from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Modifications from the original by Norbert Tischelmayer 2017