THE PAUILLAC APPELLATION

Located in the heart of the Médoc in the northwest of Bordeaux, the "Pauillac" Appellation covers some 1,200 hectares located directly on the outskirts of the town of the same name, along the estuary of the Gironde.

It has no fewer than three of the four Premiers Crus Classés of the Médoc, and fifteen Crus Classés in 1855, which together represent more than three-quarters of the production of the town. The reputation of the appellation itself, as famous as it is, is sometimes outweighed by the very name of its great châteaux.

In the poverty of its soil lies its very richness. Of all the possible crops, only the vine finds fertile soil here, made of gravel whose composition and porosity ensure an ideal drainage. The vine deeply draws nutrients from it, which are the wellspring of a wine’s quality.

Consisting of large ridges of very pure gravel, the town is bisected from east to west at its centre, by the Pibran marsh and the Gaët channel, which flows into the Gironde. On either side of this drainage caesura are two large plateaus with vineyards to the north (Lafite, Mouton-Rothschild, Pontet-Canet etc.) and to the south (Latour, the two Pichon vineyards, Lynch-Bages etc.).

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot are the grape varieties of Pauillac. The majority of these are cabernets, with a large predominance of Cabernet Sauvignon, which give the wine its bright colour, subtle flavour and great aging potential. It is often said that Cabernet Sauvignon, king of fine grape varieties has found his kingdom in Pauillac. It is associated with Merlot, which complements it giving it its roundness and softness.

Pauillac wines are rich, dense and deep. Particularly fine and distinguished, over time they develop bouquets and flavours of great delicacy. Their aromatic palette is very wide, just as the "texture" of their tannin is silky and firm.

We cannot talk about the wines of Pauillac without quoting Hugh Johnson, who notes in his World Atlas of Wine: "If one had to single out one Bordeaux commune to head the list, there would be no argument. It would be Pauillac. […] Many claret-lovers would tell you that the wines of Pauillac have the quintessential flavour they look for in Bordeaux – a combination of fresh soft fruit, oak, dryness, subtlety combined with substance, a touch of cigar-box, a suggestion of sweetness and, above all, vigour. Even the lesser growths approach their ideal claret".