WINES OF PAUILLAC

The history


In order to learn about the Pauillac’s history, it is necessary to trace the origins of the Medoc’s vineyards. “Médoc” means middle earth. Like in many French regions, the vines have been introduced at the Gallo-Roman times, in the Medoc. Pauillac has developed over the centuries a port activity (the first track of this activity goes back to antiquity), which enabled to control and increased its commercial development. This development has helped in particular to increase wine trade in the town of Pauillac. In XIXth century, the wines of Bordeaux knew their peak, followed by a few epidemics, which damaged the Bordeaux vineyards, but later, this entire region experienced a prosperous period, which has never declined until today.

The vines


The Pauillac’s vines are: cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, carmenère, black merlot, petit verdot, cot or malbec. The cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot are the most used in the wines’ production.
 
The cabernet sauvignon represents most of the plantings. It is a red grape variety, which offers a high custody potential, with a tannic structure.
The merlot is a red grape, used in the Pauillac’s region for the sweetness, which it is able to give during the final assembly.

The cabernet franc offers to the wine an aromatic finesse, out of the ordinary. Its spicy aromas are very distinctive.
The petit verdot brings body and color to the wine.

The Pauillac’s appellation

The Medoc is divided into regional appellations, Médoc and Haut-Médoc, and municipal designations as Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Margaux, Listrac-Médoc and Moulis-en-Médoc. Pauillac is therefore a municipal designation of the region of Medoc.

To claim the AOC Pauillac, the red wines must meet a number of conditions:

• They must come from the commune of Pauillac, or certain parcels defined in Cissac, Saint-Julien, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Sauveur.
• They must meet specific production conditions: the type of vine (cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, carmenère, black merlot, petit verdot, malbec or cot), a minimum quantity of sugar and an alcohol degree predefined.

The soils

The Pauillac’s soils are very homogeneous and offer exceptional quality and purity, which are the result of the proximity of the Gironde. The vineyard is located, on more or less sandy “Graves” and has a marl subsoil, made of limestines.

How to read a Pauillac’s wine label?

Various references are required on a wine’s label:  

• The name of the producer, of the clos or of the property
•  The name of the wine’s appellation: Pauillac, Pauillac premier cru classé, Pauillac second cru classé, Pauillac troisième cru classé, Pauillac quatrième cru classé et Pauillac cinquième cru classé
• The degree of alcohol
• The bottler, ie the name, address and function of the individual who has bottled the wine
• The country of origin
• The volume of the bottle
• The number of the lot
• The allergen mentions
  

Further information may be present on the same label:

• The Vintage: it will be presented on the label if the entire harvest comes from a single and same year.
• The mode of culture. Ex: organic wine

The classification of Pauillac’s wines

A first classification of Bordeaux’s wines was carried out, in the seventeenth century. However, the official results will be achieved in 1855 and this classification still remains a reference nowadays.
In 1855, the Bordeaux trade agency asked the brokers to list and rank the best Medoc and Sauternes wines. The ranking was planned to be presented at the 1855’s Universal Exhibition, organized by Napoleon III. The brokers based the ranking on prices, charged at the time, to set up the famous classification. It is relatively criticized as it has never been revised since then, except in 1973, to raise Mouton Rothschild from second cru to first cru.

Here is the ranking:

Premiers (“ First “) crus classés :
Château Margaux, Margaux
Château Lafite-Rothschild, Pauillac
Château Latour, Pauillac
Château Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac (Second cru in 1855, rose to first cru in 1973)
Château Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan, Graves

Seconds (“Second”) crus classés :
Château Brane-Cantenac, Margaux
Château Durfort-Vivens, Margaux
Château Lascombes, Margaux
Château Rauzan-Gassies, Margaux
Château Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux (known before as Château Rausan-Ségla)
Château Pichon-Longueville-Baron, Pauillac
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac
Château Cos d’Estournel, St.-Estèphe
Château Montrose, St.-Estèphe
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, St.-Julien
Château Gruaud-Larose, St.-Julien
Château Léoville Barton, St.-Julien
Château Léoville Las Cases, St.-Julien
Château Léoville Poyferré, St.-Julien

Troisièmes (“ Third“) crus classés :                                                                                             
Château La Lagune, Haut-Médoc
Château Boyd-Cantenac, Margaux
Château Cantenac-Brown, Margaux
Château Desmirail, Margaux
Château Ferrière, Margaux
Château Giscours, Margaux
Château d’Issan, Margaux
Château Kirwan, Margaux
Château Malescot St. Exupéry, Margaux
Château Marquis d’Alesme Becker, Margaux
Château Palmer, Margaux
Château Calon-Ségur, St.-Estèphe
Château Lagrange, St.-Julien
Château Langoa Barton, St.-Julien

Quatrièmes (“ Fourth “)  crus classés :
Château La Tour Carnet, Haut-Médoc
Château Marquis de Terme, Margaux
Château Pouget, Margaux
Château Prieuré-Lichine, Margaux
Château Duhart-Milon, Pauillac
Château Lafon-Rochet, St.-Estèphe
Château Beychevelle, St.-Julien
Château Branaire-Ducru, St.-Julien
Château Saint-Pierre, St.-Julien
Château Talbot, St.-Julien

Cinquièmes (“ Fifth “) crus classés :

Château Belgrave, Haut-Médoc
Château de Camensac, Haut-Médoc (before known as Château Camensac)
Château Cantemerle, Haut-Médoc
Château Dauzac, Margaux
Château du Tertre, Margaux
Château d’Armailhac, Pauillac (before known as Château Mouton-Baronne-Philippe)
Château Batailley, Pauillac
Château Clerc-Milon, Pauillac
Château Croizet Bages, Pauillac
Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse, Pauillac
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac
Château Haut-Bages Libéral, Pauillac
Château Haut-Batailley, Pauillac
Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac
Château Lynch-Moussas, Pauillac
Château Pédesclaux, Pauillac
Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac
Château Cos Labory, St.-Estèphe

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