Pauillac. Where Cabernet Sauvignon is king.

Gravel, the estuary and Cabernet Sauvignon

Pauillac lies on the Left Bank in the Haut-Médoc, between the Gironde estuary and the Landes pine forest, with Saint-Estèphe to the north and Saint-Julien to the south. The land was once salt marsh. Dutch engineers drained it in the 17th century, exposing deep gravel banks and gentle mounds called croupes.

Those gravel soils are the key. They store heat and release it to the vines at night, and they drain fast after Atlantic storms. As the local saying goes, the best vineyards can see the river, which moderates the climate. Pauillac has the highest share of Cabernet Sauvignon of any Left Bank commune, up to 90% of the blend at top châteaux, and dense planting of around 10,000 vines per hectare gives small, intense berries. The result is concentrated wine with firm tannin, fresh acidity and great aging potential. About 85% of the production is of Cru Classé quality.

Three First Growths and a classification

In the 1855 Classification, two of the four First Growths were in Pauillac: Château Lafite, listed first of all, and Château Latour. In 1973 Château Mouton Rothschild was promoted from Second to First Growth, the only significant change ever made. Other famous names include Pichon Baron, Pichon Comtesse de Lalande and Lynch-Bages.

From a hill overlooking the Pichons and the tower of Latour, the hosts show how a tiny creek separates Pauillac from Saint-Julien, and why very small differences in slope and drainage create very different wines. Andreas also shares the story of the first great wine he ever tasted, a Pauillac legend from the 1982 vintage, the year Robert Parker staked his reputation on.

Vintages, second labels and finding value

Vintage matters hugely in Bordeaux, because rainfall varies so much from year to year. Great Pauillac can take 30 years to come round, so the episode explains the difference between Growths and labels. A First Growth can make a second or even third wine, often from younger vines and ready sooner.

A Bordeaux négociant joins Susie to talk about second wines as an affordable way to learn an estate, and the hosts share their own value tips, from the Rothschild-owned Pauillac estates to own-label wines from a good merchant. She also names her favorite vintages: 1982 for a great First Label, and 2016 for second wines you can already start to enjoy.

La Place de Bordeaux and en primeur

Why are prices so high? The episode explains La Place de Bordeaux, the system in which châteaux sell through brokers (courtiers) to some 300 négociants, who sell to more than 170 countries. Top wines are sold en primeur, as futures, in tranches each spring. You will learn how demand from China drove prices up in the 2000s, what happened after the 2011 campaign and why Château Latour left the en primeur system in 2012.

There is lighter fun too, as the hosts dress up for a taste of the famous Médoc Marathon, with its wine stops along the route.

Mature Pauillac and a truffle risotto

Back in the studio, Susie pours a Fifth Growth, a Second Growth and a First Growth from three very different vintages, including Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2006 and Château Lafite Rothschild 2016. Hear why one vintage still puzzles Andreas, and how the Pichon estate came to be split in two. Expect leather, tobacco and cedar in the mature wine, and ripe, almost powdery tannins with pure, inky cassis in the young one.

Chef Alexandre Baumard of Le Gabriel in Bordeaux cooks a creamy summer truffle risotto with Parmesan. Andreas explains why great wine deserves a simple dish, and how cream and earthy truffle soften Pauillac’s tannins.

Go furtherStudying Bordeaux in depth? The Bordeaux Master-Level program from the Wine Scholar Guild is a natural next step after this episode.