Pauillac

Château Latour dates the oldest document mentioning Latour to 1331, and records that Alexandre de Ségur, by then owner of Latour, acquired Château Lafite just before his death in 1716. The INAO cahier des charges traces the first vines at Pauillac to the Roman occupation, dates the first real wine-growing centres to the mid-13th century, and credits Dutch influence with the drainage that opened unworked land and with forming the large estates. From the 18th century, it says, new plantings were exclusively of small-berried varieties, above all Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pauillac became the most important wine port of the Médoc. In 1787 Thomas Jefferson's hierarchy placed Latour and Lafite among the first growths, and the 1855 classification ranked Lafite and Latour as Premiers Crus, with Mouton Rothschild joining them in 1973 (see 1855 Classification). Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild bought Château Brane-Mouton at auction in 1853 and gave it the name Château Mouton Rothschild, and Baron James de Rothschild acquired Lafite in 1868. At Latour, a Société Civile made up exclusively of Ségur descendants held the estate until 1962; the English financial group Pearson later became majority shareholder, Allied Lyons bought out Pearson in 1989, and François Pinault bought the Allied Lyons stake in June 1993 via his holding company Artémis (Château Latour).

• 1926 and 1936: a judgment of the Lesparre tribunal on 29 November 1926 granted the Pauillac name to certain parcels in Cissac-Médoc, Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle and Saint-Sauveur that historically belonged to Pauillac classified growths, and the AOC decree of 14 November 1936 took up these provisions (INAO cahier des charges)
• Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988): took Mouton in hand in 1922, introduced château bottling in 1924, had the Grand Chai built in 1926, and added Château Mouton d'Armailhacq (1933, renamed Château d'Armailhac in 1989) and Château Clerc Milon (1970) (Château Mouton Rothschild)
• Current stewardship: DBR Lafite names Saskia de Rothschild as part of the sixth generation to carry the family tradition forward; Château Latour has been under François Pinault's leadership since 1993

The INAO cahier des charges places Pauillac in the central part of the Médoc peninsula, 50 kilometres north of Bordeaux on the left bank of the estuary, with a production zone covering the commune of Pauillac plus parts of Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle and Saint-Sauveur. The climate is temperate oceanic, regulated by the waters of the Atlantic and the Gironde; rainy autumn depressions in some years and hot, very sunny late seasons in others give a marked vintage effect. The vineyard sits on Quaternary gravel terraces running parallel to the Gironde at altitudes of 3 to 30 metres, on average around ten metres thick, over Eocene and Oligocene marls and limestones. Streams known as esteys and jalles dissect the terraces, windblown sands fill the hollows, and recent alluvium called palus lines the estuary. The cahier identifies three main systems of gravel knolls: the largest in the south around the hamlets of Saint-Lambert and Bages, bounded by the Juillac valley at the Saint-Julien-Beychevelle limit; the smallest in the centre around Artigues; and a northern one around Le Pouyalet, bounded by the Lafite channel and marsh at the Saint-Estèphe limit. Decanter's 2021 profile gives the appellation's total area as 22.74 square kilometres, with an average altitude of 15 metres and a highest point of 30 metres.

• Gravel, sand and clay: bordeaux.com says the soils mix gravel, sand and clay carried down the Garonne into the estuary, with clay and sand that ensure drainage and force the vines to plunge their roots deep into the subsoil
• Delimited parcels: the parcel area takes in gravelly or sandy-gravel soils with fairly low fine-sand content and adequate permeability, and excludes modern alluvium, heavy windblown sand and poorly drained plots (INAO cahier des charges)
• Latour's Enclos: Château Latour's site (consulted 2026) describes a 96.5-hectare vineyard that includes the 47 hectares around the château known as the Enclos, a hilltop rising 16 metres above the level of the Gironde

The cahier des charges permits Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Cot (Malbec), Merlot and Petit Verdot. It describes Pauillac wines as deeply coloured, powerful and structured thanks to blends in which Cabernet Sauvignon is particularly dominant, with Merlot adding roundness and fruit and Cabernet Franc, and more rarely Petit Verdot, reinforcing structure and complexity. Decanter's 2021 profile puts Pauillac's Cabernet Sauvignon plantings at some 62%, a little behind only Saint-Julien among the Bordeaux appellations. Château Latour's site (consulted 2026) says its property is planted with about 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, and that Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for more than 90% of the Grand Vin blend, which is made exclusively from vines averaging 60 years old in the Enclos. Decanter's 2021 profile reports that Lafite Rothschild uses 80% to 90% Cabernet Sauvignon in its blends from a 112-hectare vineyard, and that more than 80% of Mouton Rothschild's 83-hectare vineyard is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon.

• Latour: Château Latour's site (consulted 2026) states that most of its vines stand on gravelly hilltops 12 to 16 metres above the Gironde, and that its entire vineyard has been managed according to organic principles since August 2015, with certification issued in August 2018
• Lafite Rothschild: Decanter's 2021 profile says the estate stresses finesse, from a well-drained vineyard of deep gravels, aeolian sands and limestone subsoil
• Mouton Rothschild: Decanter's 2021 profile says it is known for its opulence, with vivid ripe fruit and cigar-box aromas

The Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855 listing places 18 Pauillac estates in the classification. Beyond the three Premiers Crus, the two Seconds Crus are Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande and Château Pichon-Baron; the single Quatrième Cru is Château Duhart-Milon; and the twelve Cinquièmes Crus are Châteaux Pontet-Canet, Batailley, Haut-Batailley, Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Grand-Puy Ducasse, Lynch-Bages, Lynch-Moussas, d'Armailhac, Haut-Bages Libéral, Pédesclaux, Clerc Milon and Croizet-Bages. Decanter notes that the two second growths once formed a single property at the southern end of Pauillac, with Pichon Baron just across the D2 road from Pichon Comtesse. Château Pichon Baron says AXA Millésimes bought the estate in 1987. DBR Lafite's timeline lists Château Duhart-Milon in 1962, and Decanter describes Duhart-Milon as under the same ownership as Lafite Rothschild.

• Pichon Comtesse and Pichon Baron: Decanter's 2021 profile says both are known as super seconds, with Pichon Comtesse known for elegance and finesse and Pichon Baron for depth and power
• Lynch-Bages, Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Pontet-Canet: Decanter's 2021 profile says Lynch-Bages and Grand-Puy-Lacoste have long been known to punch above their fifth-growth ranking, and that Pontet-Canet has been certified organic and biodynamic since the 2010 vintage
• Rothschild family estates: Château Mouton Rothschild records the family's acquisition of Château Mouton d'Armailhacq in 1933, renamed Château d'Armailhac in 1989, and of Château Clerc Milon in 1970

The Pauillac AOC was recognised by decree on 14 November 1936 (INAO). Its cahier des charges reserves the name for still red wines and sets a minimum planting density of 7,000 vines per hectare, a yield of 57 hectolitres per hectare with a ceiling (rendement butoir) of 63, a minimum natural alcohol of 11%, and ageing until at least 1 June of the year after the harvest, with release to consumers from 1 September of that year. Labels may add the larger geographical unit Vin de Bordeaux - Médoc or Grand Vin de Bordeaux - Médoc. The cahier des charges (2025 modification) puts the vineyard at nearly 1,250 hectares, producing an average of 55,000 hectolitres of still red wine. In the 1855 classification, Pauillac's 18 classified growths break down, per the Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855 listing, into 3 Premiers Crus, 2 Seconds Crus, 1 Quatrième Cru and 12 Cinquièmes Crus; see 1855 Classification for the full ranking. Château Mouton Rothschild became a Premier Cru Classé in 1973 by a decree signed by Jacques Chirac, then Minister of Agriculture.

• 1855 Pauillac breakdown: 3 Premiers Crus, 2 Seconds Crus, no Troisièmes Crus, 1 Quatrième Cru and 12 Cinquièmes Crus, 18 in total (Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855 listing)
• Production zone: the commune of Pauillac plus parcels listed in the cahier's annex in Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle and Saint-Sauveur (INAO cahier des charges)
• 1973: Decanter describes Mouton Rothschild's promotion as a rare change to the practically immutable 1855 ranking

The cahier des charges notes that Pauillac became the most important wine port of the Médoc and that the town and port sit below the gravel knolls on the estuary shore; bordeaux.com says the port has been a window onto the world for more than 3,000 years, with bronze shipped from it in ancient times. INAO notes that the Marquis de La Fayette sailed from the port of Pauillac on 25 March 1777 to join the American War of Independence. Each September Pauillac hosts the Médoc Marathon, and Pauillac lamb has a PDO of its own (bordeaux.com). At Mouton Rothschild, the Museum of Wine in Art, designed by Baron Philippe and his second wife, Baroness Pauline, was inaugurated in 1962 beside the Grand Chai and holds precious objects from all ages associated with the vine and wine.

• Mouton Rothschild: the château says the 1962 inauguration of the Museum of Wine in Art made it one of the Bordeaux region's leading tourist attractions, and The Club, a building for tastings and visitors, was added in the 1970s
• Pichon Baron: Baron Raoul commissioned the château, with its two emblematic turrets, in 1851; after AXA Millésimes bought the estate in 1987, an architectural competition run with the Paris Pompidou Centre produced new operational buildings (Château Pichon Baron)
• Cooperative: the cahier des charges (2025 modification) says a cooperative cellar has federated Pauillac's small growers since 1933, alongside around sixty small holdings, while the large estates farm 90% of the vineyard

Primary sources (INAO, the CIVB's bordeaux.com, the Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855, and the châteaux's own sites for their own facts): https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/pauillac-24316, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/2--CDC-PAUILLAC-202510.pdf, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/medoc/pauillac/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/classifications/classifications-1855/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/legal-terms/, https://www.chateau-mouton-rothschild.com/the-history/key-dates/key-date-1973, https://gcc-1855.fr/ListingGCC1855-en.pdf, https://www.chateau-mouton-rothschild.com/the-history/key-dates/key-date-1853, https://www.chateau-mouton-rothschild.com/the-history/key-dates/key-date-1924, https://www.chateau-mouton-rothschild.com/the-history/key-dates/key-date-1945, https://www.chateau-mouton-rothschild.com/the-history/the-history-of-mouton/from-baron-philippe, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/in-the-beginning/from-generation-to-generation, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/in-the-beginning/the-land-of-pauillac, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/a-time-for-sharing/le-grand-vin-de-chateau-latour, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/in-the-beginning/since-1331, https://www.lafite.com/history/, https://www.pichonbaron.com/en/heritage. Secondary source: https://www.decanter.com/premium/pauillac-regional-profile-plus-top-wines-to-try-459736/. Last verified 2026-09-24