Pauillac Wine: Overview of an Important Bordeaux AOC

Pauillac wine is from a communal AOC in Medoc France. Learn more about this important Bordeaux fine wine AOC.

Overview and History

Wine lovers from around the world get excited about the high quality French Bordeaux wine from this AOC. Even though the AOC is small, there is a wide variety of wines in this region.

Some are highly structured, while others are light and soft. You will even find some that are more fruit forward or some that are a little spicy. The variety of wine in this area is due to the differences in terrior even within this small area.

This AOC sits on the left bank of the Gironde River. The wine producers in this AOC are centered around the town of Pauillac.

Producers first began planting vines in this area in the middle of the 13th century. This area continued to expand as a popular wine producing area and eventually turned into a separate Medoc wine AOC. If you are unfamiliar with the definition of an AOC, visit the French wine labels section to learn more.

Pauillac Wine and the 1855 Classification

Three of the five Premier Crus in the 1855 Classification are located in this region. Of the 60 Medoc wines in the 1855 Classification, eighteen of them are in the Pauillac AOC.

Here is a list of the producers in this region included in the 1855 Classification:

Premiers Crus

• Chateau Lafite-Rothschild
• Chateau Mouton Rothschild
• Chateau LaTour

Deuxiemes Crus

• Chateau Pichon-Longueville
• Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Quatriemes Crus

• Chateau Duhart-Milon

Cinquiemes Crus

• Chateau Pontet-Canet
• Chateau Batailley
• Chateau Haut-Batailley
• Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste
• Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse
• Chateau Lynch-Bages
• Chateau Lynch-Moussas
• Chateau D'Armailhac
• Chateau Haut-Bages Liberal
• Chateau Pedesclaux
• Chateau Clerc Milon
• Chateau Criozet-Bages

Visit the Medoc wine and classification page to learn more about the importance of the 1855 classification system.

Types of Red Wine in this Region

Over 65% of the red wine planted in this region is Cabernet Sauvignon wine. Merlot wine, Cabernet Franc wine and small amounts of Petit Verdot also grow here.

Due to the different terrior in the region, Pauillac wine from the northern side of this AOC usually has a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in its blend. Those on the southern side have blends with a majority Cabernet Sauvignon, but not as high of a percent as their neighbors to the north.

Today, there are almost 90 growers in the AOC. Around 35 of those are independent growers and the rest are in a cooperative.