The appellation was established in 1936 and covers 1,220 hectares, about 7.5 percent of the Médoc, worked by 47 winegrowers. Eighteen châteaux were ranked in the 1855 classification, three of them first growths, and about 90 percent of the commune's wine carries the rank of classified growth. The soil is gravel, sand and clay laid down by the Garonne over millions of years, a mixture that drains well and sends the roots deep into the subsoil.
Cabernet Sauvignon leads the blends, with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The Bordeaux wine council describes the wines as powerful and elegant, with a great tannic structure, and notes of black cherry, liquorice, blackcurrant liqueur, rose petal, iris, cedar and incense. They are made to be cellared before they are opened. North of Pauillac lies Saint-Estèphe, to the south Saint-Julien, and the three communes share the same gravel banks along the estuary.
The wines above are every Pauillac in the cellar. See also Margaux, Pessac-Léognan or the full range of Bordeaux wines.
