Pauillac
Area under vine:
Approx. 1,200 hectares.
Important Châteaux:
For many winelovers, Pauillac embodies what Cabernet Sauvignon is supposed to be. Home to three of the five ‘first growths’, Pauillac is surprisingly ‘normal’ in appearance - residential and commercial buildings intermingling with vineyards and magnificent Châteaux. The roads leading into and out of Pauillac are single-carriageway roads, often thick with tractors and CV2s, and the inherent wealth that accompanies these world-famous landmarks subtly hidden away. But in many ways, that is simply true of Bordeaux.
For me, there are two distinct styles of Pauillac, especially noticeable in the wines’ youth - simply differentiated as ‘northern’, or those properties close to the St.-Estephe border, and the ‘southern’ or properties nearer to St.-Julien.
Of course, nothing is ever quite that simple, and it should be noted that there is a distinction to be made between those properties closer to the Gironde and those further inland.