Pauillac AOC
The most aristocratic of the Médoc communes, Pauillac is home to three of Bordeaux's five First Growths and a byword for powerful, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon.
About Pauillac
Pauillac sits at the heart of the Haut-Médoc on the left bank of the Gironde, its deep gravel croupes draining freely and storing the heat that ripens Cabernet Sauvignon to its fullest expression. No other appellation can claim three of the five 1855 First Growths — Lafite Rothschild, Latour and Mouton Rothschild — alongside a deep bench of celebrated classed growths such as Pichon Comtesse, Pichon Baron, Lynch-Bages and Pontet-Canet. The wines are the archetype of the Médoc style: firmly structured, built around Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a touch of Petit Verdot, marked by cassis, cedar, graphite and tobacco, and famously slow to reveal themselves. Concentrated tannins and bright acidity give Pauillac extraordinary cellaring potential, with the finest bottles evolving gracefully over decades. For many drinkers it is the reference point against which all other Cabernet-based reds are measured.
Terroir & regulation
Principal producers
- Château Lafite Rothschild
- Château Latour
- Château Mouton Rothschild
- Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
- Château Pichon Baron
- Château Lynch-Bages
- Château Pontet-Canet
Editorial notes
Holds three of the five 1855 Premier Crus (Lafite, Latour, Mouton — Mouton elevated in 1973), more than any other commune.