Bordeaux

One of the six communes within the Haut-Médoc region in France (apart from Listrac-Médoc, Margaux, Moulis, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien) that are own appellations, and are permitted to state the name of the commune on the label. It is the best-known appellation of this group, and is located between Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien. Following a Dutch example, the practice of adding sulphur to the wine in barrel was introduced in the 18th century, in order to prevent a re-starting of fermentation. The town of Pauillac is located in the „funnel� of the Gironde delta, and is justifiably regarded as the wine capital of the Médoc, it is from this port that the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) sailed to join the American rebels, and to fight at their side. Pauillac is the archetypal Cabernet Sauvignon region, nowhere else is this variety (augmented by Cabernet Franc and Merlot) as important in the cassis-flavoured wines as important as here. The red wines produced here have a deep, dark colour, they are full-bodied with lots of tannin and high alcohol levels, full of finesse, they have an extremely long maturation potential and are among the very best produced in Bordeaux. The area has a total vineyard area of 1.200, divided into two extensive plateaus north-west and south-west of the town of Pauillac. Both are low-lying banks of gravel – in the west the soil consists of sand over a stony sub-soil, while in the centre and south it consists of gravel over layers of local stone. The climate is very similar to that in the remainder of the Médoc. 18 of the 61 chateaus classified as Grands Crus in Bordeaux in 1855 are located within the communal area. In terms of vineyard area, that amounts to one third of all Grand Cru estates of the Médoc. The pride of the commune are the three (of a total of five) Premier Cru Classé estates, Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Latour and Château Mouton-Rothschild, as well as the two Deuxièmes (second growths) Château Pichon-Longueville Baron and Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse. This impressive list is continued with the Quatrième (fourth growth) Château Duhart-Milon-Rothschild and twelve Cinquième châteaux (fifth growths). Quite a number of the famous estates are inseparably associated with the names of Rothschild#Rothschild and Ségur.