Appellation
Pauillac
Identity card
VillageAOPRed
Bordeaux › Médoc · Recognised on 14 November 1936
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Red only: Pauillac commune and a few plots in three neighbouring communes.
- Cabernet Sauvignon leads the blends; Merlot adds roundness and fruit.
- Three of the five 1855 first growths are in Pauillac (current classification).
Grape varieties
Red wine only
Allowed varieties
Cabernet SauvignonMerlotCabernet FrancPetit VerdotCot
A sixth variety on the list, on an equal footing: Carmenère
Production rules
57
hl/ha
Maximum yield
11
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
7,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: At least until 1 June after the harvest
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 67 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 12.5 % ABV across 63 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 75 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Soils: Gravel mounds over marl and limestone
- Lie of the land: Terraces 3 to 30 m above sea level, cut by small valleys
- Water: On the Gironde estuary, which tempers the climate
Wine style
- very deep colour
- powerful, firmly built
- tannic structure
- complex bouquet with age
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
27 April 2026
Arrêté du 27 avril 2026 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'AOC « Pauillac » (JORF n°0102 du 30 avril 2026, texte n°30), qui remplace l'arrêté du 15 mai 2019. Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 14 novembre 1936.
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceArrêté du 27 avril 2026 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'AOC « Pauillac »— Légifrance — Journal officiel de la République française
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Official sourceLe classement GCC 1855 par appellation — Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855— Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855 (Médoc & Sauternes)
- Official sourceDélimitation parcellaire des AOC viticoles de l'INAO (jeu de données ouvert)— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / data.gouv.fr
- Trade bodyVins de Bordeaux — site officiel du Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux— Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB)
A red communal appellation of the Haut-Médoc, recognised by decree on 14 November 1936, Pauillac is the only Bordeaux commune with three of the five first growths of the 1855 classification — Lafite Rothschild, Latour and, since its promotion in 1973, Mouton Rothschild — and eighteen classified growths in all. Its deep gravel mounds carry a dominant Cabernet Sauvignon that gives upright, tannic wines, slow to open and marked by cedar and graphite.
Classifications
The Official Bordeaux Wine Classification of 1855 — Médoc and Graves
| Tier | Estate | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Fourth Growths | Château Duhart-Milon | 1855 |
| First Growths | Château Lafite Rothschild | 1855 |
| First Growths | Château Latour | 1855 |
| First Growths | Château Mouton Rothschild | 1973 |
| Second Growths | Château Pichon Baron | 1855 |
| Second Growths | Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande | 1855 |
| Fifth Growths | Château Pontet-Canet | 1855 |
| Fifth Growths | Château Batailley | 1855 |
| Fifth Growths | Château Haut-Batailley | 1855 |
| Fifth Growths | Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste | 1855 |
| Fifth Growths | Château Grand-Puy Ducasse | 1855 |
| Fifth Growths | Château Lynch-Bages | 1855 |
| Fifth Growths | Château Lynch-Moussas | 1855 |
| Fifth Growths | Château d'Armailhac | 1855 |
| Fifth Growths | Château Haut-Bages Libéral | 1855 |
| Fifth Growths | Château Pédesclaux | 1855 |
| Fifth Growths | Château Clerc Milon | 1855 |
| Fifth Growths | Château Croizet-Bages | 1855 |
Mini-challenge
Pauillac
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