The 2009 Bordeaux vintage has lost none of its power to charm and captivate.

A recent tasting in Atlanta showed that most of these wines are still in their first blush of youth, and the best will live for decades.

The intervening years have only confirmed what we suspected even on release – this is among the epochal vintages from Bordeaux.

It represents a turning point in the wines of Bordeaux in so many ways – the warming climate, the changing styles, the fashion for the wines – yet 2009 stands alone.

The chance to revisit these wines was exciting for all the tasters. Michael Davis, principal at Hart Davis Hart auction house in the US, expressed it best when he said that for him 2009 was 'joyful and expressive'.

The alluring 2009 style

There were several top-flight vintages in the first decade of the new century, beginning with superb millennial vintage, the almost unbearably hot 2003 that delivered sybaritic delights; the monumental 2005, still tannic and not yet ready to drink, with the charming 2006 and 2008 just behind.

There are many wine lovers, however, who would argue that the finest vintage of the decade was 2009. The wines are voluptuous, accessible, and hedonistic, yet structured enough to last.

It occurred to me while tasting through these two dozen wines that 2009 resembles the wines from 1982, and I began to think of 2009 as an updated version of 1982 – almost a ‘1982.2’.

The wines in general are substantial and have abundant extract; lots of tannin yet no astringency; enough acidity to give definition but not so much as to make them hard or unyielding; and a sweet, ripe character to the fruit with no sense of it being baked or over-ripe.

The secret to the seductive nature of the fruit in 2009 is that the vines never shut down during the growing season, as they do in the face of excessive heat or drought.

There was just enough water in July and August to keep the vines ripening the fruit throughout the season, and while there were hot days (and plenty of sunshine), the grapes did not suffer the excessive heat spikes that they saw in 2000 or 2003.

The weather behind the magic

The year got off to an appropriate start with a cold, wet winter that plunged the vines into dormancy, refilled the water table, ensuring that budbreak didn't start too early.

There was no hint of spring frost, and although there was a hail storm on 11 May, it did not damage the best vines.

Flowering happened early and finished quickly, setting a large crop on the vines. Crucially, the growing season was hot and sunny, but not so much as to interrupt the grapes gentle ripening.

The region saw moderate rainfall on 18, 19, and 20 September, but there was no further rain until the harvest was complete.

The key to success was to wait until after the rain to pick the Merlot, and to wait until the Cabernet was fully ripe, beginning in mid-October.

Because of the gentle nature of the growing season, the vines ripened to levels not often seen in Bordeaux – mostly over 14% on the Left Bank and up to (and sometimes beyond) 15% on the Right Bank.

If picked at the right time, both Cabernet and Merlot were successful.

Because of the lush, forward character these conditions delivered, these powerful wines are beginning to open up now.

While it is not too early to pull some corks, the best of these wines should continue to improve for decades to come.

From boom to bargain: The market context

When the 2009 vintage came to market, the world was in love with Bordeaux wine. Demand was booming in Asia, and the 2008 financial crisis was disappearing in the rear window.

With consumers in the UK, US, and Hong Kong all avidly chasing top Bordeaux wines, the 2009 primeurs offers were optimistic, and prices seemed dear indeed.

In the intervening 15 years since this primeurs campaign, however, much has changed – Bordeaux wines have lost some of their shine, the global wine market is depressed, and producers are sitting on significant stocks.

As a consequence, prices for these sumptuous wines have not increased greatly, and are, in some cases, lower today than they were upon release.

For a buyer looking for immediate pleasure, long-term cellaring potential, and perhaps smart appreciation, the 2009 vintage represents a wonderful opportunity.

Standout performers

Among the delights of the tasting were second growths that were drinking like firsts, particularly Léoville-Las Cases, Léoville-Poyferré, Pichon-Baron and Gruaud-Larose (as well as perennial overachieving fifth growth Pontet-Canet).

There were also strong performances further down the price ladder like Poujeaux and Malescot-Saint-Exupéry.

Although were some disappointments – I felt that both Lynch-Bages and Pavie should have done better given the conditions – the best wines of the vintage are classics that will long outlive most of us, particularly Margaux and Lafite, with Cheval, Mouton, and La Mission Haut-Brion not far behind.

Bordeaux 2009: 24 top wines from this epochal vintage

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Overshadowed by the first and second growths, the Médoc’s third growth estates are quietly undergoing one of Bordeaux’s most compelling qualitative evolutions – often delivering second growth-level quality but at more approachable prices.

Ironically, the catalyst may be the very classification that’s considered by many as obsolete.

With two notable exceptions, the third growths occupy an uneasy position within the Médoc hierarchy, neither rivalling the established aristocracy of the firsts or ‘super seconds’ (those second growths widely considered now to be performing at potentially first growth standard), nor having their status challenged by any glaringly insurgent success stories emerging from the fifth growths, whose own stars regularly defy official ranking.

Fifths such as Châteaux Pontet-Canet and Lynch-Bages now regularly command secondgrowth pricing, for example.

The 1855 Classification, in other words, has long ceased to function as an immutable ladder of quality.

Instead, the third growths exist in a zone defined less by hierarchy and more by expectation: dependable, historically respected, yet less often thrilling.

But a recent comparative tasting shows how that perception is changing.

Natural progression

For this article, the Maison Héritage restaurant in Sessenheim, Alsace (formerly known as Auberge au Boeuf, holder of a Michelin star from 2015 until early 2026) hosted a horizontal tasting of all 14 Médoc third growths from the 2020 vintage.

Unsurprisingly, Châteaux Palmer and Calon Ségur emerged as clearly the leading wines. More revealing was how the remaining 12 compared.

Pricing data from Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, show that, aside from Palmer and the rapidly ascending Calon Ségur, these estates have traded within a significantly lower band of pricing for roughly a quarter of a century.

Qualitatively, however, divergence has become increasingly apparent. As you can read in the tasting notes, each wine was paired with an older reference vintage, to gauge not only stylistic identity but tangible progress.

Improvements in viticulture, investment in wineries and increasingly precise winemaking have begun to reshape the third growth category from within.

Hive of activity

The framework defining these estates remains frozen in time. Conceived for Napoleon III’s Exposition Universelle de 1855 in Paris, the Classification still governs perception despite more than 170 years of transformation.

Of the 14 third growths, 13 continue to display their classified status prominently on labels, serving as both historical credential and commercial shorthand.

Only Château Palmer declines to display the distinction.

The irony is in the history. Charles Palmer was still assembling vineyards in Cantenac shortly before the 1855 Classification was finalised, meaning the estate that today rivals Bordeaux’s elite had not yet fully taken shape when the rankings were fixed.

Palmer’s third growth status reflects timing rather than intrinsic quality – a discrepancy long since corrected by the market.

Leaps and bounds

If the Classification no longer accurately describes a hierarchy, it continues nonetheless to shape behaviour.

Over the past two decades, that influence has produced something unexpected: competition within the Classification itself.

Across the Médoc region, vineyard restructuring, sustainability initiatives and increasingly refined cellar practices have collectively raised standards.

In St-Julien, Château Lagrange illustrates how long-term investment can quietly bolster stature.

A complete cellar modernisation completed in 2010 nearly doubled fermentation capacity, enabling precise parcel-by-parcel vinification.

Château Langoa Barton, long overshadowed by second growth Léoville Barton, has refined its approach steadily over the past 15 years through careful replanting and increasingly precise gravity-fed vinification, improving tannin quality while preserving its own style of St-Julien restraint.

Château La Lagune, the only Haut-Médoc appellation wine among the third growths, reflects the long-term influence of Caroline Frey, whose tenure from 2004 to 2025 (now managed by sister Delphine Frey) saw conversion to certified biodynamic winemaking alongside the introduction of massal selection (by taking cuttings from existing estate vine stocks) starting in 2008, strengthening vineyard identity and resilience.

Rising tide of quality

Including Palmer, 10 of the 14 third growths come from the Margaux appellation, some better known than others.

Château Ferrière, which impressed many tasting participants (some of whom had never heard of it) continues to pursue certified biodynamic viticulture following cellar renovations in 2013 that have enhanced precision and transparency in winemaking.

Better-known Château Giscours has sustained technical stewardship and, especially since the beginning of this century, it has transformed former inconsistency into one of Margaux’s most compelling contemporary expressions, combining aromatic finesse with structural confidence.

Château Cantenac Brown has entered a new phase of refinement, with 9.5ha of newly acquired vineyard parcels in 2020, additions that contribute greater depth and compositional precision, as well as the installation of completely new cellars, inaugurated in April 2024 (first vintage 2023).

Château d’Issan, known for its parcel-by-parcel winemaking and one of the most appreciated wines in the tasting, also acquired vineyard parcels in 2020, bordering Château Margaux, adding Malbec and Petit Verdot as blending options since that vintage.

At Château Kirwan, a decisive stylistic shift endures, following the arrival of general manager Philippe Delfaut in 2007.

Moving away from later harvesting and heavy oak influence, the estate adopted softer extractions and a more classical expression, consolidated by new cellars opened in 2017 enabling parcel-by-parcel vinification.

Château Malescot St-Exupéry retains a richer, more modern Margaux expression shaped with late consultant Michel Rolland, although the wood regime here seems to evolve toward greater balance, with new oak usage reduced in recent vintages.

Château Marquis d’Alesme shows renewal through both technical and experiential investment.

Cellar renovations completed in 2015 improved vinification precision, while increased Cabernet Sauvignon plantings and the creation of Le Hameau, a tucked-away space for food accompanied by the estate’s wines, have positioned Marquis d’Alesme as an innovator in wine tourism within Margaux.

Unequal progress

Not all estates have advanced equally.

Aside from increasing percentages of Petit Verdot in recent blends, Château Boyd-Cantenac remains austere, while Château Desmirail, another less well-known estate, appears only recently to be translating technical evolution into qualitative momentum.

The inclusion of Petit Verdot from mature vines, advances in pragmatic ecological vineyard management and the addition of truncated wooden vats have allowed more refined maceration and improved structural polish.

Such disparities underline a central paradox: the Classification groups estates together, while modern viticulture increasingly separates them.

Above this transforming field stands Château Palmer, not a static exception but rather a moving benchmark.

Under director Thomas Duroux, biodynamic viticulture, rigorous parcel selection and tasting-led extraction have progressively refined texture and transparency, allowing the estate to redefine excellence within this Classification rank.

Château Calon Ségur represents a different, still unfolding ascent.

Extensive replanting since the mid-2000s has left the vineyard unusually young, yet increases in both vine density and the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyard promise further gains in structure and precision.

Recent vintages, including the 2020, already perform convincingly up against second growth-level wines.

Inspiring to improve

Which brings us inevitably to the enduring question: is the 1855 Classification obsolete?

Undeniably so, if judged as a hierarchy intended to reflect today’s realities. Yet its continued existence has produced a fascinating irony.

Unable to change their historical rank, estates have instead worked to be deserving of it.

Many of the third growths, positioned at the centre of Bordeaux’s most famous classification, consequently now count among the Médoc’s most dynamic properties.

The 1855 Classification may no longer precisely determine quality, but the desire not to fall short of its rankings continues to drive producers’ ambition.

In Bordeaux, history rarely disappears. Sometimes, inconveniently yet effectively, it contrives to keep everyone on their toes.

Médoc third growths: The Panos Kakaviatos (PK) revised ranking

If the 1855 Médoc Classification of grand cru classé estates were revised today, the following are my hypothetical rankings, based on current quality, market perception and qualitative evolution of each estate – listed in their proposed ‘new’ order, and alphabetically within that.

Tasting notes and pricing shown here (average price before tax as shown on wine-searcher.com on 12 April 2026) use the 2020 vintage as a benchmark; pricing among the Médoc third growths reveals how the existing 1855 hierarchy can still dictate market positioning, albeit not always in step with relative quality.

Châteaux Palmer and Calon Ségur are both priced in clear recognition of top performance in 2020.

Then there is the cluster of 12 other current third growths, though not all are equal in quality – in reinterpreting the rankings today, I would create a category similar to the ‘super seconds’, or in this case the ‘thrilling thirds’.

This is to reflect the reality that estates such as Cantenac Brown, d’Issan, Giscours, Lagrange and Langoa Barton are delivering relatively higher quality than the others, at prices that have not yet fully caught up.

By contrast, wines such as Château Desmirail and Boyd-Cantenac appear less compelling in value terms, relative to their peers.

The 1855 Classification appears on all their labels, other than Palmer, but the degree to which the Classification still anchors price, regardless of progress in viticulture and winemaking, creates striking disparities in value within the category.

Château Palmer

Margaux

PK revised ranking: First growth

Directed by Thomas Duroux, Palmer cultivates 66ha under certified biodynamic management, combining meticulous parcel stewardship with advanced research into climate resilience and vineyard adaptation.

Technical expertise underpins precise extraction and ageing, with wines maturing 20-22 months in 50%-70% new oak.

The inauguration of the estate’s Village complex in 2025, including staff facilities and a restaurant, reflects Palmer’s commitment to collective identity, sustainability and long-term cultural as well as technical leadership.

Average bottle price: £243*

Château Calon Ségur

St-Estèphe

PK revised ranking: Second growth

Directed by Vincent Millet, Calon Ségur cultivates a largely unchanged 55ha vineyard representing one of the Médoc’s rare historical continuities.

Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for roughly 57% of plantings here, with restructuring underway to increase its proportion. Ageing extends 18-20 months in new oak.

Average bottle price: £88*

Château Cantenac Brown

Margaux

PK revised ranking: Thrilling third

Under director José Sanfins, this 75ha estate is planted largely to Cabernet Sauvignon.

Since new ownership in 2019, vineyard acquisitions together with major investment – notably an eco-designed gravity winery first used for the 2023 vintage – have strengthened precision and estate coherence.

Wines mature for 16-18 months in about 60% new oak.

Average bottle price: £42*

Château d’Issan

Margaux

PK revised ranking: Thrilling third

Jointly owned by Jacky Lorenzetti and Emmanuel Cruse, d’Issan cultivates 55ha under technical director Eric Pellon.

Careful parcel-by-parcel selection and vinification, reinforced by recent vineyard acquisitions, enhance precision and integration across the estate.

Wines age for about 18 months in 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £45*

Château Giscours

Margaux

PK revised ranking: Thrilling third

Led by general manager Alexander van Beek, Giscours cultivates 100ha planted predominantly to Cabernet Sauvignon.

Continued refinement in both vineyard and cellar has reinforced consistency and precision across vintages.

Ageing lasts up to 21 months in around 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £47*

Château Lagrange

St-Julien

PK revised ranking: Thrilling third

Directed by Matthieu Bordes, Lagrange cultivates an unusually continuous 118ha estate dating back to 1855.

A major cellar expansion completed in 2010, which effectively doubled vat capacity, allows extensive parcel-by-parcel vinification and enhanced precision.

Wines age up to 21 months in roughly 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £38*

Château Langoa Barton

St-Julien

PK revised ranking: Thrilling third

Managed by Damien Barton Sartorius, Langoa Barton cultivates 20ha reflecting a classical St-Julien balance rooted in long family stewardship.

Recent investment has improved parcel precision while preserving traditional proportions.

Wines are aged about 18 months in 60% new oak.

Average bottle price: £36*

Château Ferrière

Margaux

PK revised ranking: No change

Owned and directed by Claire Villars-Lurton, Ferrière cultivates 24ha under certified organic and biodynamic management.

Old massal-selection vines contribute finesse and aromatic precision, reflecting a philosophy centred on terroir expression.

Wines age 16-18 months in roughly 40% new oak.

Average bottle price: £33*

Château Kirwan

Margaux

PK revised ranking: No change

Directed by Philippe Delfaut, Kirwan cultivates 37ha with an emphasis on gentler extraction and greater terroir clarity following stylistic evolution initiated in the late 2000s.

Modern cellars enable detailed parcel by parcel vinification, with ageing lasting 18-21 months in about 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £40*

Château La Lagune

Haut-Médoc

PK revised ranking: No change

Long guided by Caroline Frey and now managed by her sister Delphine Frey, La Lagune cultivates approximately 80ha planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.

Biodynamic certification achieved in 2021 reflects sustained attention to vineyard vitality.

Wines age 16-18 months in around 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £34*

Château Malescot St-Exupéry

Margaux

PK revised ranking: No change

Owned by Jean-Luc Zuger and guided for almost three decades by the recently late consultant Michel Rolland, this 28ha estate cultivates Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot alongside smaller proportions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

A gradual reduction in new oak seeks greater freshness within the estate’s historically opulent style.

Ageing lasts 16-18 months.

Average bottle price: £39*

Château Marquis d’Alesme

Margaux

PK revised ranking: No change

Acquired by Hubert Perrodo in 2006 and subsequently developed under the leadership of his daughter Nathalie Perrodo, this 14ha estate has undergone extensive renovation since 2015, improving vineyard precision and balance.

Wines age 16-18 months in about 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £36*

Château Desmirail

Margaux

PK revised ranking: Fourth growth

Now directed by Thierry Lurton, Desmirail cultivates 35ha combining Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with increasing Petit Verdot influence.

Expanded vineyard holdings and updated cellar facilities allow more detailed parcel vinification.

Wines age 16-18 months in about 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £31*

Château Boyd-Cantenac

Margaux

PK revised ranking: Fifth growth

Owned by Lucien Guillemet, this 17ha Margaux estate cultivates predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon alongside Merlot, Cabernet Franc and increasing Petit Verdot proportions intended to reinforce structure and freshness.

Wines are aged 15-18 months in 80%-90% new oak.

Average bottle price: £36*

Third Growth wines

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Pauillac stood out as one of the most classically powerful yet refined appellations of the vintage.

Its deep gravel soils, which can be unforgiving in pure drought years, benefited enormously from the heavier late-August rains in the northern Médoc (70mm fell at Mouton, 20mm more than normal) and the cool summer nights.

Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy, technical director at Château Mouton Rothschild, explained: ‘It was the earliest water deficit we’ve ever registered here at veraison but the vines didn’t appear to be stressed. In June 2022 we had 115mm of rain at the end of the month, in June 2025 we had 60mm.

'But unlike 2022 where we could see some stress on the leaves, leaf loss and the beginning of dehydration, we didn’t see any of that in 2025. Because of the early deficit the berries grew with the water restriction.’

The late rain arrived at exactly the right moment, easing water stress, moderating sugars without dilution, preserving acidity and allowing perfect phenolic ripeness.

Pierre Montegut technical director at AXA Millésime's estates explained how dryness delivered concentration while the early-September rain was ‘wonderful for the Cabernets’ at Pichon Baron, producing ‘more fruit, more freshness and more elegance’ than 2022.

Frédéric Casteja at Château Batailley called it, ‘quite an amazing vintage’ and one where ‘we had time to wait until each grape variety was ripe’.

The result is classically structured, mineral-driven Pauillac wines with intense colour, graphite, wet stone and liquorice notes, but delivered with unusual freshness, lower alcohols (mostly 12.5–13.5%) and a transparency that can be described as ‘hands-off’ and ‘terroir-led’.

High Cabernet percentages (98% at Mouton the highest ever in the blend) and precise winemaking amplified the precision and energy.

The wines are typically less dense than 2022, they don’t carry the same muscular structures and yet many of the IPT levels are just as high but with lower pHs giving a feeling of intense freshness, coolness and perhaps more streamlined at this point.

Game-changer

Winemakers were unanimous that the late rain completely changed the profile from what was expected at the end of August.

Eric Kohler technical director at Château Lafite Rothschild called it, ‘a vintage of happiness… a symphony of all the perfect parameters’, noting a yield of 27hl/ha and a style ‘closer to 2020 but perhaps more delicate’.

Nicolas Glumineau technical director at Château Pichon Comtesse stressed the dramatic contrast in rainfall, noting that 70mm fell between May-July 2025 while it was 280mm in May-July 2024.

Château Pedesclaux’s director, Christophe Congé, noted the north half of the appellation’s extra rain as an added benefit and one reason behind the unusually low alcohol levels of only 12.5% ‘with such mature tannins’.

As in other appellations, it was an early start for pickers, and the earliest harvest ever at Pichon Comtesse (young Merlots were picked from 28 August)

Meanwhile, the Mouton team finished the harvest on the 20 September, the earliest ever and just one day after Château Margaux started to pick its Cabernets.

Abundant aromas

Winemakers continually mentioned the aromatic intensity and profile of the 2025 wines in their descriptions and comparisons.

Nicolas Glumineau described an, ‘aromatic complexity close to 2020'.

Mathieu Bessonnet, technical director at Château Pontet-Canet said the wine style was ‘like 2023 with aromatics and brightness but a higher quality of tannins’.

Emeline Borie at Grand Puy Lacoste and Hélène Genin, technical director at Château Latour, both emphasised the freshness and abundant aromas.

For Danjoy, 2025, ‘brings us back to “classic” weight, balance and fruit expression.'

It's 'a very complete vintage like 2010, 2016 and 2020,' agreed Glumineau, while Genin said it had, 'the power of 2016 but the elegance and quality of tannins as 2020’.

AXA Millèsimes' managing director, Christian Seeley, summed it up as: ‘The charm of a solar vintage but with the advantages of freshness and slightly lower alcohols… that’s what everyone wants’.

Recent changes

In a personnel change at the group, long-time general manager of Pichon Baron, Corinne Illic, will head to the United States in July 2026 as general manager of AXA’s American properties; Outpost Wines on Howell Mountain and Platt Vineyard in Sonoma.

For the Jacky Lorenzetti-owned properties, nephew Félix Pariente Lorenzetti expanded his role significantly.

Already presiding over Châteaux Pédesclaux (Pauillac) and Lafon-Rochet (St-Estèphe) since July 2025, he is now also director of the family’s fine-wine trading subsidiary LD Vins (the Grands Crus Classés specialist négoce founded by Thierry Decré and Frédéric de Luze).

At co-owned Château d’Issan (Margaux), Edgard Kappelhoff Lançon joined to head commercial and marketing after Augustin Lacaille’s departure to Pape Clément.

Internal technical-director swaps included Vincent Bache-Gabrielsen (now at Lafon-Rochet & Lilian Ladouys) and ex-Lafite’s Christophe Congé at Pédesclaux.

Coming soon

Château Lafite Rothschild (Pauillac, 1st Growth) made its last vintage in the historic cellar before transitioning to a major new stone winery due in time for the 2026 vintage (a 4,500m² extension + 6,000m² renovation by Bernard Quirot and Atelier EGR).

Further reading from this report

• Pomerol
• St-Emilion
• Pessac-Léognan & Graves
• Dry whites
• Crus Bourgeois
• St-Estèphe
• Margaux
• St-Julien
• Sauternes

Bordeaux 2025: Top wines from Pauillac

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Born in 1925, May-Eliane de Lencquesaing grew up in Bordeaux’s Médoc region, daughter of Edouard-François Miailhe and Victoria-Charlotte Desbarats.

Her family ties to wine ran deep. Her father and uncle revived her grandfather’s brokerage business after World War I, investing in the region when confidence and sales were low.

They bought and ran Bordeaux estates including Château Palmer, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou and Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande.

‘I grew up among the vines – I learned by listening to my father and uncle,’ May-Eliane recalls. ‘I have loved everything about grapes and wine since I was a child. It’s in my blood.’

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 12 superb wines from Glenelly

Family influence

Her Bordeaux was one scarred by the vine-root louse phylloxera, two world wars and low demand.

‘I understood not just the wines but the climatic problems and economic uncertainties as well. I knew difficult times – for the wines and the markets.’

In the 1940s, May-Eliane’s university studies were cut short by her father, who decided she should work in the family office in Bordeaux city, where she learned business, teamwork and management.

An admired yet authoritarian figure, her father was to prove a key influence in her life, although her paternal uncle Louis – more relaxed, less controlling – and her four grandparents also shaped her early interests, between them instilling a love of soils and a passion for conversation, music and literature that would stay with her all her life.

In early May 1948, May-Eliane was introduced to Captain Hervé de Lencquesaing, and her father arranged for them to be married just six weeks later.

She left Bordeaux aged 23 for a life as an army wife, seemingly never to return to the gravel croupes, bustling chais and stately châteaux of her youth.

Return to Pichon Comtesse

Her years with Captain de Lencquesaing were eventful beyond wine, and included time in the USA which she enjoyed immensely, finding great warmth and intelligence in the post-war Midwest.

He retired as a general in 1974, and they were ready for a settled life in Pas-de-Calais in northern France, where May-Eliane was engaged in local politics.

But there was still the issue of her father’s estate.

After nearly 20 years in probate (he died in 1959, aged 61), the inheritance included châteaux, a Champagne house, real estate in Paris and tracts of Landes woodland.

‘The most iconic lot, Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in Pauillac, fell to me through the luck of the draw,’ May-Eliane recalls. ‘It was precisely what I had hoped to avoid, knowing the responsibility it entailed.’

It was far from her only challenge. ‘I was the first woman,’ she says. ‘There was no one else.’

Corinne Mentzelopoulos had not yet joined Château Margaux; Philippine de Rothschild would not arrive at Château Mouton Rothschild for another decade.

The Médoc wine world was profoundly hostile to the idea of a woman in charge. ‘I had to rely not on truthful men but on the men who lied to me the least,’ she recalls. Her experience in French politics helped, however.

‘In their eyes, I knew nothing. When I joined their conversations, they would stop talking. But when they realised I wasn’t going away, they had no choice but to accept me.’

Work ethic

May-Eliane recognised the need to study modern winemaking if she was to earn respect in the Médoc, and aged 53, she enrolled at Bordeaux University, studying under Professors Emile Peynaud and Pascal Ribéreau-Gayon.

‘I was in Pichon, leaving at 6am for classes, returning at 6pm to work on the administration,’ she says.

Her wines enjoyed great commercial and critical success, from the inaugural 1978 onwards, and she engaged in an intense programme of travel and tasting. ‘I was the one presenting the wines, pulling the cork. It was important that I was there,’ she insists.

But away from her husband and family, she struggled.

‘I was anxious and terribly lonely. My children did not understand my work at all. They thought I was having fun, living in a beautiful château, having dinner parties. My family did not support me; neither did my neighbours in Bordeaux.’

Eventually, General de Lencquesaing joined her in the Médoc, and Pichon Comtesse became a key property in the story of Bordeaux’s renewal in the 1980s.

She was hands-on and in charge of every detail, bringing to bear the fortitude and attention to detail of an army wife with the work ethic and business acuity of her father and uncle.

‘I knew how the flowering had been, and the budding and the maturation. I was never in Arcachon [on the nearby coast] in the summer like everyone else.’ She soon gained the epithet La Générale.

In this busy period she was the recipient of many honours and awards, and at the age of 69 was chosen as the 1994 Decanter Woman of the Year (since renamed the Decanter Hall of Fame award).

No one could have known then that, a decade later, she would be embarking on a new project on the other side of the world, or that she would subsequently be celebrating the conclusion of the 2025 harvest with her winemaking team at Glenelly, in Stellenbosch, at the age of 100.

Uprooting

By the early 2000s, despite its success, the future of Château Pichon Comtesse was uncertain.

The family’s jewel since 1925 (by chance, the same year as May-Eliane’s birth), it was to be sold in a move that surprised many.

‘It was a very difficult decision,’ she says. ‘My son Hughes could have taken it on, but he and his wife decided to stay in Paris. My daughter Violaine had an excellent palate but did not have a relationship with the workers.’

May-Eliane’s respect for her staff at Pichon was a crucial aspect of her time there.

‘If I have been successful it is because I always had a strong relationship with the workers. I would fly back from Chicago or Los Angeles and I would see them in the pouring rain in the vineyard, soaking wet and covered in mud.

‘I was full of admiration. “Thank you for doing the work you do,” I told them, “I’m going to tell you about the work I have been doing.” We talked. I knew them, I knew their families.’

Pichon Comtesse was finally sold to the Roederer Champagne group in 2006, and subsequently May-Eliane was able to devote herself to the development of the Glenelly estate in South Africa, which she had purchased in 2003.

Prior to this, May-Eliane’s first venture beyond Bordeaux had been a collaboration with Washington state’s Château Ste Michelle in the 1990s, though she withdrew from the proposed arrangement when the parent company demanded a fixed annual production volume in the contract.

Glenelly, Mandela & the Huguenots

As president of the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) in the 1990s, May-Eliane met many South African winemakers who were winning trophies with their Bordeaux blends, and Nelson Mandela’s victory in the nation’s 1994 presidential elections deeply moved her.

Her successor at the IWSC, Anton Rupert, a major name in South African wine, urged her to consider the Cape for her new project, pointing out its French Huguenot roots.

‘I told him I couldn’t start planting a vineyard at my age. He said, “Do it in honour of Mandela.” So I did.’

She chose Glenelly in Stellenbosch’s Simonsberg zone (pictured, above), drawn to its decomposed granite soils, varied slopes and reliable water supply – a foresight that proved crucial given the challenges of drought in the Cape winelands.

Though it had previously been planted with vines, Glenelly was a fruit farm when she bought it, and this allowed her to start from scratch with the knowledge she had gained in Bordeaux.

She hired young winemaker Luke O’Cuinneagain as cellar master and (much to his surprise) retained long-time agronomist Heinrich Louw, whose deep understanding of the estate she knew would prove invaluable.

Now living in Switzerland, May-Eliane still travels to Glenelly for several months each year. With her grandchildren helping in its running, it’s likely to remain in family hands.

In 2022, Dirk van Zyl took over as cellar master, maintaining important winemaking tenets such as wild yeast fermentation, while taking the bold move to pick not on the basis of technical analysis, but on the taste of the berries in the vineyard.

‘Heinrich is doing everything right in the vineyards in terms of sustainability, cover crops and so on,’ May-Eliane notes, ‘but if we are going to find more finesse in the wines, it will be through Dirk.’

A century into an exceptional life, May-Eliane de Lencquesaing continues to question and refine. Even now, her work is defined as much by what might still be possible as by what she has already achieved.

At 100, she’s still looking to the future.

See Jason’s pick from Glenelly’s admirable portfolio

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All Bordeaux 2024 coverage:

Full vintage analysis & top-scoring wines | How the weather conditions shaped the vintage | The growing season month by month | Wine styles: what to expect | Market conditions and pricing strategies 

Appellation analysis to come

St-Estèphe | St-Julien | Margaux | Pessac-Léognan | St-Emilion | Pomerol | Cru Bourgeois | Dry whites | Top value | Sauternes & Barsac

Pauillac 2024: The best wines transcended the difficulties of the vintage

Average yield: 29.5hl/ha

Variance from 2023: -45.9% (47.2hl/ha)

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top wines from Pauillac 2024

Vintage overview

It was a tricky vintage overall for Pauillac producers with the lowest yield of all the main four Médoc appellations.

‘It was extremely difficult in the beginning of the growing season,’ said Lafite Rothschild’s technical director Éric Kholer who commented on the very wet and warm spring and high disease pressure.

‘2024 was the fifth vintage out of seven with a high pressure for mildew’ he said, although thanks to the team’s reactivity the estate lost between 10-15% of their eventual yield.

‘Summer was the best we could have hoped for’ he continued noting that they had only 15mm of rain between July and August.

The team picked under the rain at the end of September and because of the homogeneity of the grapes it was ‘more labour intensive to sort the berries’. Overall yields nevertheless were 32hl/ha.

Mouton equally picked during the rainy conditions with more than 400 harvesters on call.

‘We had to be present in the vineyard every day,’ said technical director Jean-Emmanual Danjoy. ‘If you could control mildew early you could relax until veraison. A few years ago we started spraying in mid May and in 2024 we started in the first week of April’.

He added that on 10 different occasions tractors needed to be dragged back out of the muddy soils. The team picked non-stop for two weeks and then used a densimetric bath for sorting for the first time at Mouton.

‘Some grapes were three weeks behind others and 10 days before the harvest the majority had a potential alcohol of 5.5%’, Danjoy continued.

Fighting spirit

Pontet Canet’s technical director Mathieu Bessonnet emphasised the ‘fighting spirit’ needed in 2024 and said it was ‘all about teamwork’. The estate sprayed 31 times and said they ‘almost didn’t lose any fruity because of mildew.

‘The key was to pick ripe. We could have picked earlier, but for what we want to do with only one wine, the only way is to take risks’.

They certainly paid off as Pontet is only of my favourite wines of the vintage with freshness, purity ripe tannins and a sense of completeness.

Latour was also excellent, and even more impressive, given their tiny 11hl/ha yields due to ‘missing some key spraying windows’.

Technical direct Helen Genin compares the wine to 2017 in aromatics and structure and said: ‘It will gain in plumpness and sweetness with the barrels adding additional muscle to the wine.’

Both Pichon Baron and Pichon Comtesse achieved 20hl/ha with the latter’s technical director Nicholas Glumineau said, ‘2024 was exhausting. There was a new decision to be made every day’.

He compared the vintage to 2008 – ‘straightforward Cabernets’ but also 2001 and 1998 ‘but the difference is the way we’ve treated the 2024s – less extraction, more gentle and precise maceration.’

The best Pauillac wines of 2024

There are certainly some great wines from Pauillac in 2024 but fewer exciting wines than in St-Estèphe or Margaux.

The wines are mostly straight and firm, with precision but also a sense of strictness, some with harsh tannins and a lack of fruit to balance the high acidities.

Highlights

• Château Mouton-Rothschild
• Château Pontet Canet
• Château Lafite Rothschild
• Château Latour

Standouts

• Château Pichon Baron
• Château Pichon Comtesse
• Château Lynch Bages
• Château Pedesclaux
• Château Grand Puy Ducasse
• Château Duhart Milon
• Château Haut Bages Libéreal

Value

• Château Fonbadet
• Château Pauillac

See the top-scoring Pauillac 2024 wines

Search all 700+ Bordeaux 2024 en primeur ratings

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• The Bordeaux 2024 growing season: Punch by punch
• All the latest Bordeaux 2024 En Primeur wine releases

Cheval Blanc 2024 was released on Tuesday (6 May) at €276 per bottle ex-négociant. Data from Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, showed it is the lowest en primeur release price for this famous grand vin since the 2008 vintage. 

UK merchants offered Cheval Blanc 2024 at around £1,650 per six-bottle case in-bond (IB), around 29% below the debut price of the St-Emilion estate’s 2023 vintage in last year’s Bordeaux en primeur campaign.

Other top names released on Tuesday included Château Lynch-Bages, Château Smith Haut Lafitte and Château La Lagune.

To follow all of Decanter’s comprehensive en primeur coverage, subscribe to Premium today with the code BORDEAUX24 for 20% off an annual subscription

Cheval Blanc and Lynch-Bages lead way on discounts

Cheval Blanc and Lynch-Bages joined Angélus and Lafite Rothschild in releasing their 2024 en primeur wines as one of the cheapest available vintages on the market. 

Liv-ex said Cheval Blanc’s 2021 vintage was currently available for slightly less; £3,240 (12x75cl IB), compared to £3,300 on the 2024 en primeur wine. 

However, it noted that Cheval Blanc 2024 has received relatively strong praise from critics in a tricky vintage, and it said the volume of grand vin produced was down 35% year-on-year.

Farr Vintners offered Château Lynch-Bages 2024 at £360 (6x75cl IB) on Tuesday.

‘This is 25% down on last year and the price is at least 10% below that of any other vintage of Lynch Bages in the market today,’ it said.

‘It’s been a long time since we last saw a £60 bottle of Lynch-Bages.’ 

Liv-ex said Lynch-Bages 2024 was €60 per bottle ex-négociant, down 14% year-on-year and marking a return to its 2014-vintage release price.

Consultancy group Wine Lister said Lynch-Bages 2024’s price and strong brand ‘might make for an attractive proposition, depending on which critic you follow’.

A subdued early campaign?

Cheval Blanc and Lynch-Bages are often among the most sought-after names during Bordeaux’s annual en primeur campaign.

While it is too soon to judge demand this time around, their arrival comes amid a sense of the 2024-vintage release season still searching for a spark.

Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade trading platform at Bordeaux Index, told Decanter last week that the group saw good demand for Lafite 2024, although buying activity was not ‘frenzied’.

Miles Davis, market expert with Vinum Fine Wines, wrote on LinkedIn, ‘In a normal year [Lafite ’24] would have flown out of the door, but this is no normal year.’

He added: ‘We have been selling Lafite, just not as much as we would have liked.’ 

He said several factors may have contributed to a relatively subdued start to the Bordeaux 2024 en primeur campaign, from challenging fine wine market conditions to the trend for releasing early – ahead of scores from some major critics.

However, there is plenty of time to go. Prices are broadly in the right place and will be interesting to watch – particularly as more quality scores and tasting notes for the wines emerge. 

Davis told Decanter on Tuesday that Vinum Fine Wines had seen early demand for Cheval Blanc. Of the early campaign in general, he added, ‘The gestures [on price] are being made, there’s no question.’

Debuts for Smith Haut Lafitte and La Lagune

Among other releases on Tuesday morning was Château Smith Haut Lafitte (red) 2024, at €62.4 per bottle ex-négociant.

Liv-ex said it is the cheapest release from this Pessac-Léognan star since the 2015 vintage, which debuted at €60 per bottle ex-négociant.

In the UK, Smith Haut Lafitte 2024 was released at the equivalent of £744 per 12-bottle case (IB), although several merchants have been offering en primeur wines in six-packs. 

‘There are several less expensive vintages available on the market,’ said Liv-ex, highlighting the well-regarded 2019 vintage.

Some recent vintages were more expensive, in pound sterling terms, such as the 100-point Smith Haut Lafitte 2022, which carried a Liv-ex market price of £960 (12x75cl IB)

Farr Vintners also offered Smith Haut Lafitte’s 2024-vintage white wine at £643 (6x75cl IB). 

Château La Lagune 2024 was also released on Tuesday, at €20.4 per bottle ex-négociant, which translated to a UK offer price of around £244 (12x75cl IB).

‘The 2024 is one of the least expensive vintages available on the market,’ said Liv-ex.

Coming soon: Our full report on Bordeaux 2024, to be published exclusively for Decanter Premium subscribers

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Bordeaux estate Château Pichon Baron has become the latest property in the region to launch a white cuvée.

The Pauillac cru classé announced that the first vintage of its new white wine – from the 2023 vintage – would be made available through a ‘selected number of chosen négociants’ from October this year.

Les Griffons de Pichon Baron, Grand Vin Blanc Sec is a 100% Semillon and will be priced between £45 and £48 per bottle.

The estate made a massal selection of Semillon from Château Suduiraut, its sister property in Sauternes, back in 2018.

The cuttings were then grafted onto 20 year-old vines in a cool, chalky part of the Pichon Baron estate in Pauillac, a vineyard site known as ‘Boua’.

The wine was made with whole bunch pressing and then vinified in one-year-old barrels. It did not undergo malolactic conversion and was aged for nine months in oak with regular lees stirring.

Given current restrictions in current classification laws, it will be bottled as an AOC Bordeaux Blanc Sec.

‘We are extremely pleased with the result, which confirms both our faith in the quality, character and individuality of the Semillon we selected but also our confidence in the quality and suitability of this parcel for making dry white wine at the highest level,’ said the estate.

Growing offering

Pichon Baron’s announcement makes it just the latest in a growing list of Médoc estates adding white wines to their offering.

It was recently announced that Château d’Issan was picking the grapes for its first white cuvée this harvest – albeit from varieties typically found in the Rhône not Bordeaux.

And Decanter also recently examined the development of a new appellation for Médoc blanc which is currently under consideration.

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Although designated a Fifth Growth in the 1855 Classification, Château Grand-Puy Ducasse is unlikely to feature high on a list of most desirable purchases for Pauillac fans.

Perhaps this is down to its location (the château is situated in ‘downtown’ Pauillac) so doesn’t conform to the classical image of names such as Château Latour, Château Lafite or Château Mouton-Rothschild, graced by elegant buildings and surrounded by glorious vineyards.

Or perhaps it is simply down to the fact that the wine has a reputation for failing to deliver the same intensity and excitement as many other Pauillac classed growths.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for Andy Howard MW’s picks of recent Grand-Puy Ducasse vintages

Work in progress

At a recent masterclass in London, Director and Winemaker Anne Le Naour led a group of sommeliers through the 10-year project which Grand-Puy Ducasse has named ‘Renaissance.’

The work started in 2011 and reached a significant point in 2023, with the first harvest vinified in the new winery.

Initial impressions are that the team seem to be on the right track, although this is more of a ‘work in progress’ rather than the finished article at this stage.

The estate originated in 1675 with the acquisition of a family home on the Left Bank of the Gironde River, followed by expansion of vineyards over the next century, culminating in 1820.

One hundred years after being classified a Fifth Growth, Grand-Puy Ducasse launched its second-wine, Prélude, in 1955.

But, despite many changes, the estate and vineyards fell into decline, leading to the sale in 1971 to Mestrezet-Preller (a wine merchant connected with Cordier).

It is fair to say that, in recent decades, the wines of Grand-Puy Ducasse have failed to excite writers and consumers.

In 2003, Hugh Johnson wrote that, ‘the wines here have often lacked flair.’

Things had not improved in 2012, when Stephen Brook commented that Grand-Puy Ducasse was, ‘a wine that plays safe and rarely sets the pulses racing.’

Renaissance

In 2005 Grand-Puy Ducasse was purchased by Crédit Agricole Grands Crus, leading to significant investment in both vineyards, vinification and the tourist experience.

In the same year Crédit Agricole acquired Château Meyney in Saint-Estèphe, transforming it into a property which today substantially over-delivers.

The team are aiming to weave this same magic at the Pauillac estate. The highly respected Le Naour (along with Estate Manager Benjamin Cassoulet) are clear that the key to the Renaissance project involves a dual approach.

Investments in new production facilities are allowing the team to fully express the differences of the diverse plots which make up Grand-Puy Ducasse’s vineyards.

The estate has five key sectors all, according to Le Naour, having different roles to play both now and in the future.

The northern sector (adjacent to Pontet-Canet and Mouton-Rothschild) lies on gravelly hilltops, with the classic Grand-Puy sector to the west of the Gironde being characterised by gravelly sandy soil over a clay base, with many outcrops of pebbles.

Further west, the Artigues terroir is dominated by Merlot, while younger Cabernet Sauvignon vines (planted in the Pichon sector to the south) point to the future.

Finally, south-west of Pauillac, the Batailley sector is home to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot – a variety Le Naour has high hopes for.

The right direction

Work to completely change the château and winery took 10 years to gain planning permission, given its location in the centre of Pauillac.

The newly expanded vat room now hosts 46 double-skinned steel vats ranging from 30 hectolitres to 129hl, together with seven concrete vats for blending/ageing.

A focus on individual plot selection is seen as key, with Merlot still playing a key role in the distinctive style of Grand-Puy Ducasse.

The masterclass confirmed that the changes are moving the estate in the right direction.

And while Grand-Puy Ducasse remains ‘under the radar’ there should be potential for some smart buys over the next few years.

This is a Fifth Growth to keep a close eye on.

Grand-Puy Ducasse: Pick of recent vintages

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All Bordeaux 2023 coverage:

Verdict & top-scoring wines | How the weather conditions shaped the vintage | Decoding the yields | Wine styles: what to expect

Appellation analysis

St-Estèphe | St-Julien | Margaux | Pessac-Léognan | St-Emilion | Pomerol | Haut-Médoc | Dry whites | Top value | Sauternes & Barsac

Pauillac: The best wines showed an extra level of rare opulence

Average yield: 47.1hl/ha

Variance from 2022: +36%

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Pauillac en primeur 2023 wines

Vintage overview

The very first tasting we did for the en primeurs this year was at Château Duhart Milon with Saskia Rothschild, CEO of Domaines Barons de Rothschild and winemaking director Eric Kohler, where we also tasted the Château Lafite Rothschild stable of wines.

In addition to recounting the challenges of mildew in June, Kohler explained that the heat waves in late August and early September proved beneficial to concentrating the grapes, without which the wines ‘would have been too light’.

This proves a fascinating contrast with Château Margaux, further south, where the heat waves led to some sunburnt grapes that needed to be sorted out from the harvest.

Another key factor for Pauillac proved to be harvest times regarding rainfall on 21 September. Estates that picked their Cabernets before the rain risked having somewhat harder tannins, but the rule was not hard and fast as Lafite Rothschild picked ripe Cabernets between 18-20 September and crafted one of the very best wines of the vintage.

But Château Mouton Rothschild had an even stronger showing. Only one-third of the harvest had been picked by 23 September, and the barrel sample exhibited a more sumptuous profile for the vintage, despite a blend with one of the highest ever percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon at 93% Cabernet Sauvignon.

There wasn’t so much of a missing ‘Merlot richness’ as at other estates, given a rather gentle tannic frame, but the wine exhibited concentration and tannin – the IPT being about 75 – with cool blueberry, graphite, ripe cassis and much depth.

Overall, Pauillac has a wide variety of styles, including a forebodingly powerful Château Lynch Bages, which showcased a whopping 95 IPT of tannin. One finds more balanced, linear efforts in a precision-focused Château Latour and a structured yet suave Château Pichon Baron.

The best estates however had an extra level of opulence that was rather rare in 2023, and they include Mouton Rothschild but also a wonderful Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, blending 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc.

Even though one almost wants a bit more Merlot richness, the wine exhibits classy lead pencil and crushed mint with subtle dark chocolate, long on the finish, elegant and with mid-palate grip and juiciness. The good news is that mid-range classified brands succeeded too, including fine performances from Château Batailley, Château Clerc-Milon, Château Duhart Milon, Château Haut-Bages Libéral and Château Pedesclaux, for example.

As in other parts of Bordeaux, sorting and more sorting proved essential. Helène Genin, technical director at Château Latour, explained how the estate used a triple-row sorting table for the first time ever to remove lesser grapes with the utmost care, whether mildew affected, sunburnt or underripe.

See the top-scoring Pauillac en primeur 2023 wines

Search all 500+ Bordeaux 2023 en primeur ratings published

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A tale of two halves here in 2021 with some spectacular wines produced, but also winemakers having to contend with a barrage of problems.

Merlot in general suffered from frost and mildew, and rains in mid- and late-September meant some estates harvested quickly and before full phenolic ripeness.

Those who managed the stresses of the year well and waited until October to harvest, went on to produce some stellar Cabernet- dominant blends – many above 90% Cabernet – albeit with low yields, some at 15hl/ha.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Pauillac 2021 in-bottle wines

Château Lafite Rothschild is an absolute standout, the general ethereal nature of their wine suiting the 2021 vintage with a roundness, intensity and sense of completeness with juicy acidity and lots of subtle power. It’s a wine that will last and last and will always offer enjoyment.

Latour and Mouton Rothschild are also incredibly impressive with more density, concentration and character. Both are still displaying really youthful flavours so will need a few years before opening but they will be brilliant.

Pichon Comtesse, Pichon Baron, Duhart Milon, Grand-Puy-Lacoste are also very impressive, producing structured wines with plenty of life and lift.

BORDEAUX 2021 IN BOTTLE SCORE TABLE: Top-scoring 133 wines with 93 points or above

Individual appellation analysis and top-scoring wines

St-Estèphe 2021 | Margaux 2021 | St-Julien 2021| Pomerol 2021 | Pessac & Graves 2021 | St-Emilion 2021 |

See tasting notes and scores for the top Pauillac 2021 in-bottle wines

See all Bordeaux 2021 in-bottle wines in score order

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• Bordeaux 2021 in bottle: overview plus top-scoring wines

Pauillac 2022

Average yield:

• Average yield 34.8hl/ha, -27.4% relative to the 10-year average of 39.7hl/ha.

Rainfall during the vintage in mm and % relative to the 10 year average:

• Pre-budburst (Nov-March) 364mm (-25.0%)
• Véraison to harvest (August-October) 61.3mm (-47.7%).
• Total: 780.2mm (-12.2%)

What you find from the 2022 wines

A remarkable year for Pauillac with some stunning wines from all across the appellation showing refined power, finesse, energy, seduction, complexity and strength. But there is equally a mixture of styles from wines that are graceful and juicy to those that are more tannic and plush.

Drought occurred early in the season like much of the left bank although Pauillac received crucial rainfall in both April and June helping top up moisture levels and reviving thirsty vines. The appellation’s deep gravel soils also helped cope in the extreme conditions.

Hot days and cool nights allowed the grapes to ripen slowly keeping freshness and acidity in the resulting wines. Grapes were small and concentrated with thick skins and almost all harvests were concluded by the end of September, unprecedentedly early.

Yields were low given the lack of rain with strict selection also reducing percentages of grand vin production.

Top picks:

• Château Mouton Rothschild (98-100 points)
• Château Lafite Rothschild
• Château Latour
• Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
• Château Pichon Baron
• Château Pontet-Canet
• Château Lynch-Bages
• Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste
• Château Duhart-Milon
• Château Haut-Batailley
• Château Haut-Bages Libéral
• Château d’Armailhac
• Château Clerc Milon
• Château Pédesclaux
  

See the top-scoring Pauillac 2022 en primeur wines

Search all Bordeaux 2022 en primeur ratings published so far

Back to the main Bordeaux en primeur page

The appellation was extremely marked by the hot weather and drought conditions creating – in general – small but juicy berries with thick skins and high levels of tannins. Although there was large variability in grape size within vineyards let alone across the entire appellation with localised rainfall in April and August causing heterogeneity.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Pauillac 2020 in-bottle wines

Pauillac saw an average yield of 37.4hl/ha in 2020, lower than 2018 at 38.5hl/ha and 2019 at 46.7hl/ha.

Like other appellations in the Médoc the winter was mild and rainy, with a warm February and tropical spring with rain storms in March causing an uneven and protracted budbreak. April was hot and May entered the record books for the fourth warmest month in more than eighty years. Flowering was early, June was cool and rainy and August was dry and warm with several heatwaves causing drought situations on non-water retentive soils.

Some estates saw over 100mm of rain in August – much needed for thirsty grapes, though others saw only a few mm, again causing varied results. An early harvest – one of the earliest on record – with mostly dry and warm weather until the middle of September.

‘We picked everything in good conditions’ said Jean-Charles Cazes of Château Lynch-Bages. ‘The wines have good freshness, not overripe, bold but still refreshing with good acidity. It’s a vintage for the long haul’. 2020 was the first vintage in brand new cellar facilities at Lynch-Bages – an addition to the 2020 label – with gravity feeding installed to ‘respect the fruit’ as well as doubling the number of vinification tanks and therefore doubling the number of samples available during blending. The 2020 Lynch-Bages is one of my favourite wines of the vintage with such purity, energy and control on show.

For Nicolas Glumineau, director of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, 2ème Cru Classé, 2020 was all about strategic decisions and vineyard management.

‘First we had to deal with critical disease pressure during the spring, though fortunately summer was perfect. Then everything was about the strategy during the harvest – we had the choice to hurry to rush and finish the harvest before the forecast rain or to wait and see and to leave the Cabernet out in order for the tannins to become more silky. We chose to wait and it worked out well for us’.

Similarly at Lafite, ‘2020 will be remembered as one of those good winegrowers’ vintages, where you had to observe, change your mind ten times and where you could never be right on your own. It promised to be an extremely early vintage. It ended up just being ‘early’, with magnificent densities but without the spike we had feared. A vintage of contrasts…and of teamwork!’.

In terms of vintage comparisons, Glumineau said: ‘2019 and 2020 are close in quality, a step up from 2018 for sure. Like 2009 and 2010, I really love 2020 – it has depth, minerality and a verticality and, as for Pichon, the further we get with biodynamics the more it shows. 2020, more than 2019, has a true expression of what biodynamics can make’.

Top 14 Pauillac 2020 wines:

Château Mouton Rothschild, (1er Cru Classé) 100 points

Château Lafite Rothschild, (1er Cru Classé) 99 points

Château Latour, (1er Cru Classé) 99 points

Château Lynch-Bages, (5ème Cru Classé) 98 points

Château Pichon Baron, (2ème Cru Classé) 98 points

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, (2ème Cru Classé) 98 points

Château Batailley, (5ème Cru Classé) 97 points

Château Duhart-Milon, (4ème Cru Classé) 97 points

Château Haut-Bages Libéral, (5ème Cru Classé) 97 points

Château Pontet-Canet, (5ème Cru Classé) 97 points

Château Haut-Batailley, (5ème Cru Classé) 96 points

Château Batailley, (5ème Cru Classé) 96 points

Château Haut-Bages Libéral, (5ème Cru Classé) 96 points

Château Pontet-Canet, (5ème Cru Classé) 96 points [/breakout]

SCORE TABLE: top-scoring 349 wines with 92 points or above

Individual appellation analysis and top-scoring wines

St-Estèphe 2020 | Margaux 2020 | St-Julien 2020| Pomerol 2020 | Pessac & Graves 2020 | St-Emilion 2020 |

See all Bordeaux 2020 in-bottle wines in score order

See tasting notes and scores for the top Pauillac 2020 in-bottle wines

The following wines all scored 94 points or above. 

Related articles

• Bordeaux 2020 in bottle: overview plus top-scoring wines

Pauillac 2021

Average yield:

• 35.1hl/ha. An increase of 2% from 2020.

What you find from the 2021 wines

A tale of two halves here in 2021 with some spectacular wines produced but where winemakers had a barrage of problems to contend with.

Merlot in general suffered from frost and mildew and rains in mid and late September meant some estates harvested quickly and before full phenolic ripeness.

Those who managed the stresses of the year and waited until October to harvest, subsequently produced stellar Cab-dominant blends – many above 90% – albeit with low yields, some at 15hl/ha. Some of my favourite 2021s are in Pauillac including the exceptional Château Lafite Rothschild.

Top picks:

• Château Lafite Rothschild
• Château Mouton Rothschild
• Château Latour
• Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
• Château Pichon Baron
• Château Pontet-Canet
• Château Lynch-Bages
• Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste
• Château Duhart-Milon
• Château Haut-Batailley
• Château Haut-Bages Libéral
• Château d’Armailhac
• Château Clerc Milon 
  

See the top-scoring Pauillac 2021 en primeur wines

Search all Bordeaux 2021 en primeur ratings published so far

Back to the main Bordeaux en primeur page

After tasting more than 750 Bordeaux 2019 wines in bottle, Georgie Hindle has given her verdict on how the wines are tasting now.

Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for all 39 Pauillac wines tasted.

See also

Bordeaux 2019 in bottle: overview and top-scoring wines

Photo highlights: Bordeaux 2019 in bottle

Between Covid-19 lockdowns, I lunched with Philippe Dhalluin, former director of Château Mouton Rothschild. After pouring the 2009 vintage from a carafe, we pondered the proverbial fist in a velvet glove, sensing the wine’s inescapable tannic backbone underneath layers of opulence: so Mouton.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 12 Pauillac wines from 2010 worth seeking out

After lunch, we admired the just-constructed cellar at Château Lynch-Bages. Tastefully designed by Chien Chung Pei (son of the late IM Pei, who was responsible for the glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris), it houses 80 fermentation vats, nearly double the number used for the 2019 vintage.

The 2020 vintage will thus more closely ref lect careful picking of vine parcels identified in a painstaking mapping of the château’s 100ha vineyard, says Lynch-Bages co-owner Jean-Charles Cazes.

Pauillac bustles these days with renovations and reconstructions at other estates, recent and soon to come.

Despite the changes, the wines remain based on Cabernet Sauvignon and gravelly terroir. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot also make up blends. ‘But the very structure of Pauillac bears the imprint of Cabernet Sauvignon, which is predominant,’ explains Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy, who was appointed estates manager of Mouton, Clerc Milon and d’Armailhac last year.

Compact and consistent

Pauillac’s plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon stand at some 62%, a little behind only St-Julien as the highest proportion among the Bordeaux appellations. It thrives on gravel, ensuring not only an expression of tannic power but also elegance. ‘The wines are stylish, with notes of cedar and graphite,’ Danjoy says.

On the left bank of the Gironde estuary, between the northern stream Jalle du Breuil and the southern Ruisseau de Juillac, Pauillac measures 22.74km2.

Its elevated ridges of Quaternary gravel reach altitudes of 3m-30m, and the vineyards closest to the Gironde are said to ‘see the river’, which buffers temperature extremes here, whether that’s spring frosts or summer heatwaves.

Château Lafite Rothschild director Eric Kohler says: ‘Pauillac has the advantage of being a compact appellation and fairly homogenous qualitatively, while being well grouped around the town and the Gironde estuary to benefit from the best gravel slopes and the least frost-prone areas.’

Top trio to super fifths

Three of the five top-rated wines in the 1855 Médoc classification are in Pauillac: Château Latour, Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild (promoted in 1973, in a rare change to the practically immutable ranking).

Mouton Rothschild is known for its opulence, exuding vivid ripe fruit and cigar-box aromas along with impressive palate density and depth.

Deep gravel soils, ideal for ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, explain why more than 80% of its 83ha vineyard is planted with it. The estate played an historic role in the hiring of Dutch engineers to drain the Médoc marshes in the 17th century, which created most of the Pauillac vineyards that are celebrated today.

Château Lafite Rothschild stresses finesse, with 80%-90% Cabernet Sauvignon in its blends. The well-drained 112ha vineyard includes deep gravels, aeolian sands and limestone subsoil.

‘Pauillac produces fine and balanced wines, with terroirs often quite moderate in their proportion,’ says Kohler. ‘The great terroir of the Lafite plateau is perhaps a perfect example, which leads to balanced and delicate wine, while being dense enough to age well.’

See all of Decanter’s Pauillac wine tasting notes and scores

Château Latour blends at least 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, but more clay under gravel results in wines of extra texture, power and freshness. Its most famous plot of vines – l’Enclos – does indeed ‘see the river’. Château Latour was certified entirely organic in 2018.

Pauillac’s two second growths once formed a single property on the southern end of Pauillac.

Next to Château Latour, Château Pichon Comtesse in 2019 completed cellar renovations with an impressive tasting room overlooking the Gironde. It is known for its expression of elegance and finesse. Just across the D2 main road, Château Pichon Baron crafts wines that are better known for their depth and power. Both are known as ‘super seconds’, as quality approaches that of the first growths.

Healthy competition among the 12 fifth growths has led to such improvements that one can now talk of a ‘super fifth’ category.

Châteaux Lynch-Bages and Grand-Puy-Lacoste have long been known to punch above their respective fifth growth rankings.

In her encyclopaedic tome Inside Bordeaux, Jane Anson rates both châteaux as second growths in quality.

In recent years, fifth growth Château Pontet-Canet has blazed a trail towards organic and biodynamic viticulture, officially certified for both since the 2010 vintage. Anson also rates it a second growth.

Pauillac: eight names to know

1 Château Bellegrave

With vines close to Lynch-Bages and the two Pichons and with a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon with more gravels, Bellegrave produces structured and savoury wines for about £16 a bottle. The 2018 from this 8.7ha property is a sumptuous vintage, with ripe black fruit and juicy cassis.

2 & 3 Château Fonbadet, Château Pauillac

Fonbadet – a family-owned 20ha estate with vines on gravel outcrops at 14m-22m near Mouton Rothschild and Lynch-Bages, planted to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon – is crafting fine wines at economical pricing: about £25 in bond. Even more impressive is Château Pauillac, under the same ownership; at 1.5ha, the older vines grown on deep Garonne gravels yield a wine with more density.

4 Château La Fleur Peyrabon

The wines have improved since 2006, when its owner, Bordeaux négociant Millésima, acquired 2ha of its now 7.5ha near the gravelly plateau of Mouton Rothschild. At £25-£30, the 2018 is dominated by at least 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, and exudes full-bodied yet fresh ripeness on a very smooth palate.

5 Château Gaudin

A 4ha property located on the hillsides of St-Lambert village, many vines averaging 40 years in age on the gravelly Bages plateau, dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. Its Cuvée Collection from even older vines from the best plots is especially worth seeking out.

6 Château Haut de la Bécade

This is owned by Sylvie Raynaud, who presides over Pauillac’s cooperative. Located in the village of Bages, its vines of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon in deep gravel offer fine structure, with the blend in the excellent 2018 including 25% Merlot and 5% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The 12-month ageing in French oak barrels is nicely integrated, and the wine exudes rather pure fruit expressions of cherry and cassis.

7 Château Plantey

‘Value for money’, says oenologist Christophe Coupez. Part of the Meffre family of vineyards, Château Plantey has performed well, especially in top vintages like 2010, 2016 and 2018, with a plumper profile as the blend is equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

8 La Rose Pauillac

The oldest wine cooperative in Aquitaine, since 1933, offers a somewhat lighter expression these days, as its size has been reduced from 100ha to 25ha – many of its vines having been acquired by more celebrated estates. The 2018 vintage blends 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Its fruit-basket aromas are perfect for a summer picnic. Yet president Sylvie Raynaud is making efforts to craft wines with Pauillac character, including a brand called La Rose Pourpre, begun in 2009, a blend sourced from two plots of old vines near the Gironde estuary, representing 0.5ha.

Pauillac at a glance

AP established: 1936

Area surface: 2,274ha

Under vine: 1,213ha (7.5% of all Médoc vineyards)

Altitude: Average 15m above sea level; highest point in Pauillac is 30m

Crus: Three first growths, two second, one fourth, 12 fifth

Properties: 34, including a single co-op that works with 18 properties. Some companies own more than one estate, such as AXA Millésimes, which owns both Château Pichon Baron and Château Pibran

The other fifths have not sat idle, either. Take Château Batailley, for example. Long identified as ‘classic’ Pauillac, a new second wine in 2014 and a third in 2018 reflect more careful selection for the main wine. At Château Clerc Milon, renovations in 2011 under the direction of Danjoy have resulted in wines that surpass even the excellent 2010 vintage, such as the 2016.

After Jacky and Françoise Lorenzetti acquired Château Pédesclaux in 2009, their investments in doubling the vineyard, renovating the cellar and château, and hiring a talented winemaking team have made a wine once known as ‘Château Pedestrian’ into an excellent Pauillac, especially since 2015. Renovations are soon expected at fifth growth Château d’Armailhac, as well as Pauillac’s only fourth growth, Duhart-Milon, under the same ownership as Lafite Rothschild.

How to compare?

Château Pichon Comtesse director Nicolas Glumineau characterises St-Julien wines further to the south – those of Châteaux Léoville Barton, Beychevelle and Branaire-Ducru – as ‘a bit more floral, supple and round’ than those from Pauillac. In some instances, they are also ‘headier’, he says: ‘This can be so with Ducru-Beaucaillou [St-Julien]. Or they can approach a Pauillac style, as in the case of Léoville Las Cases.’

Glumineau also directs Château de Pez in St-Estèphe, where wines are distinguished from Pauillac wines by ‘higher tannin concentrations,associated with slightly more acidic pH, which can make these tannins a little more prominent’. For Château de Pez, he explains, a higher percentage of Merlot is needed for balance.

Ready for climate change

In terms of the changing climate conditions, Cabernet Sauvignon is sitting pretty. Christophe Coupez, director of the Oenology Centre in Pauillac, believes that ‘climate change works in favour of Cabernet Sauvignon, as it ripens better and more evenly’. In fact, its tannic power, freshness and aromatic complexity have ‘never been better’, he says.

Pauillac wines age in varying proportions of new French oak to tame the power of Cabernet Sauvignon, but as it has been ripening more completely in recent warmer years, many estates are soft-pedalling oak extractions to permit more pure-fruit expressions. Château Pontet-Canet even uses some 100 concrete dolia (amphorae) to mature one third of its wine.

Longevity

My tasting notes cover the celebrated 2010 vintage.

For Pauillac, these are children. I recall enjoying the impressive 1945, 1929 and 1900 vintages over dinner at Château Batailley to mark the introduction of its second wine, Lions de Batailley, in 2014.

A key goal for Glumineau is to craft wines accessible in their 10th year, but also complex at age 50. Indeed, the 2010s can be enjoyed today.

More ruby than garnet in tone, many require carafing, with the structure and substance to last another half century. Highly concentrated grapes were picked in 2010. The long growing season permitted grapes to reach phenolic ripeness, so that even cooler terroirs yielded lovely wines.

Higher-than-average alcohol levels are balanced by high acidities, as cooler nights up to the harvest ensured freshness.

The dozen top Pauillac wines from 2010 to seek out

See also

Bordeaux 2020 releases: Pricing and 2019 comparison

Bordeaux 2020: best value reds

Bordeaux 2020 wines: our en primeur verdict

Pauillac 2020

Average yield: 37hl/ha

Individual yields varied from:

• 41hl/ha at Château Croizet Bages,
• 33hl/ha at Château Lynch-Bages,
• 31hl/ha at Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande,
• 31hl/ha at Château Grand Puy Lacoste.
• 55hl/ha at Château Fonbadet which must be one of the highest

What you find

As with St-Julien, 2020 is not a slam dunk in Pauillac, but there are some brilliantly concentrated, super impressive wines.

Notably low alcohols at Lafite Rothschild, 12.8%, and about the highest I saw were at Les Tourelles de Longueville at 14.1% and 14% at Les Hauts de Lynch Moussas – meaning overall you are going to find classic balances that should age well.

Pauillac 2020 vintage characteristics:

The first wines of the main estates are almost uniformly successful – with a particular shout out to Pontet-Canet.

But there can be over concentration from the small yields, meaning big tannins that will need to be carefully handed over ageing. Jean Charles Cazes at Lynch-Bages said they were expecting up to 40hl/ha at the beginning of September, but the concentration happened very quickly with the mid-September heatwave which meant the Cabernet berries were particularly small – this despite rain in August with up to 120mm in Pauillac.

In September rainfall was similar across Margaux, Pauillac and St-Julien – around 65mm on average, falling mainly in the second half, before becoming more abundant in early October.

What’s new

New team at Mouton under Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy after retirement of Philippe Dhalluin (which also means the arrival of Caroline Artaud as technical director at Clerc Milon).

Changes also over the road at Pontet Canet with Jean-Michel Comme replaced by Mathieu Bessonnet as technical director.

New winery at Lynch Bages and Duhart Milon.

Quick links for Bordeaux 2020 en primeur ratings

Search Bordeaux 2020 tasting notes published so far

Bordeaux 2020 vintage: our en primeur verdict

Top-scoring Bordeaux 2020 wines

Top Pauillac 2020 picks:

• Château Mouton Rothschild,
• Château Latour

Value picks:

• Château Batailley, Les Lions de Batailley,
• Domaine les Sadons,
• Château Pibran.
  

See the top-scoring Pauillac 2020 en primeur wines

Search all Bordeaux 2020 en primeur ratings published so far

Back to the main Bordeaux en primeur page

Search all Pauillac 2019 wine ratings

Plenty of excellent Pauillac wines in 2019. Overall the appellation has performed better than 2015, similar to 2018, perhaps still a little below 2016 which remains the benchmark of the last five years in this corner of the Médoc.

There were concerns over water stress, as everywhere, but the rain fell at the right time, as noted by Philippe Dhalluin at Château Mouton Rothschild, where they recorded 31mm in July and 31mm in August.

Yields overall were relatively normal with an average of 46.7hl/ha (up from 38.5hl/ha average last year). Looking at individual châteaux, we saw Château Latour at 44.7hl/ha compared to the average for the estate of 24hl/ha, and Pontet-Canet back to a normal amount after a tiny mildew-affected 12hl/ha in 2018.

Scroll down to see the top-rated Pauillac 2019 wines

Ten wines scored 95 points or above, with five under 90 points.

Only one 98-100, which was Latour, with Lafite and Mouton both at 98, along with Pichon Comtesse – meaning all are outstanding, and all have the potential to go to 100 when re-tasted in bottle.

Just behind, but also exceptionally good, are Pichon Baron and Lynch Bages (both 97 points), followed by excellent performances by Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Clerc Milon and Pontet-Canet.

The rest (20 or so) are between 90-94, so at Highly Recommended level, suggesting this is an extremely consistent and impressive vintage. A good crop at 94 points – Pedesclaux, Duhart Milon, Petit Mouton and Batailley, all of which I would roundly recommend.

The three Pauillac Firsts are extremely different in personality this year, very true to themselves and really look set to power through the decades ahead – and all with high levels of Cabernet Sauvignon, with 92.5% at Latour, 94% at Lafite and 90% at Mouton.

A few new things to report in Pauillac, not least that this is the last vintage at Mouton Rothschild before Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy comes over from Clerc Milon as technical director. Philippe Dhalluin, who has so brilliantly headed up the team since 2003, will be remaining in place for the foreseeable future, but he will step back from daily operational control. A huge loss, but Danjoy has been making some of the most exciting wines of Bordeaux at Clerc Milon, so I look forward to seeing what he brings to the brilliance of Mouton.

Another big personnel change to look out for at Pontet-Canet, where 2019 will be the last vintage under Jean-Michel Comme as estate director after 32 ground-breaking years in the job. The man stepping into his rather dauntingly-big shoes is Mathieu Bessonnet, who has spent the past 15 years working with Michel Chapoutier. Elsewhere, work on the new Lynch Bages cellar had to be temporarily halted due to Covid-19, but should be ready for 2021.

Top Scoring

Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Pichon Comtesse, Pichon Baron, Lynch Bages.

Best Value

La Fleur Peybaron, Fonbadet, Grand Puy Lacoste if priced well.

Batailley is not inexpensive of course, but it’s a buy for me, a delicious, brilliantly characterful wine with great appellation signature.

See the top-rated Pauillac 2019 wines

The following wines have all been scored 93 points and above

Back to the main Bordeaux en primeur page

Originally published in Decanter magazine in 2017.

Producer profile: Château Batailley

Just before en primeur week in April 2016, Philippe and Frédéric Castéja, the father-son owners of fifth growth Château Batailley in Pauillac, invited a select group of the wine trade to celebrate the estate’s inaugural second wine, Lions de Batailley.

Michelin three-star chef Michel Guérard, of the celebrated Les Prés d’Eugénie in southwest France, travelled to Bordeaux to prepare a five course dinner, accompanied by 12 vintages of Château Batailley, which included legends such as 1961, 1945 and 1900, reaching as far back as 1881. ‘A once in a lifetime event,’ remarked Belgian sommelier Fabrizio Bucella.

View all of Decanter’s Château Batailley tasting notes

Some noted that the event seemed in contrast with the estate’s long-standing image as a discreet wine. Clive Coates MW once wrote that ‘the atmosphere at Batailley is quietly efficient, rather than showy, and the wine competent rather than compelling’. The estate’s location – not visible from the famous D2 Route des Châteaux and behind the Pichons and Latour at the southern end of the Pauillac commune – still reflects that image.

Ever since Philippe Castéja’s grandfather Marcel Borie and his brother Francis acquired the estate in 1932, Batailley has enjoyed a reputation for being a good value Pauillac – a perception that endures to this day. ‘It has been one of our most popular wines and best-value Bordeaux for more than 30 years,’ says Simon Staples of UK merchant Berry Bros & Rudd.

Michael Grimm of German retailer Bacchus-Vinothek has also been buying Batailley for his customers for several decades. ‘Of all the classified growths, it is one of those “lonely riders” – like the Bartons, for example – that don’t follow an all-around international style, where all you get is sweet cassis and toast,’ he says. ‘The château produces classic Pauillac that respects the vintage, and scores are not the main concern.’

Château Batailley at a glance

Owner/CEO Philippe Castéja

Appellation Pauillac, 5th growth

Vineyard area 60ha

Plantings 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot

Average age of vines 40 years

Planting density about 10,000 vines per hectare

Target yield 45hl/ha

Barrels 55% to 60% new oak, with ageing for 16-18 months

Annual average production 180,000 bottles of first wine; 70,000 bottles of Lions de Batailley; the rest sold in bulk

Rigorous selection

But over the past 15 years, the wine has gained in both body and structure, thanks to steady improvements in viticulture and in the vat room that ultimately led to the official launch of the second wine, Lions de Batailley.

‘It was complicated to launch it as we discussed the idea for several years,’ says 35-year-old Frédéric Castéja. Indeed, his father was content to maintain a single wine for the estate. ‘Frédéric wanted the second wine,’ says Philippe, who turned 67 in August 2016, but stresses that he will not be retiring ‘for a few years yet’. He adds: ‘Frédéric is getting more and more involved in managing the estate, both commercially and in viticulture as well, as he is very attached to the terroir.’

Aiming for higher scores proved a factor in the decision: ‘We noted that our grand vin was being scored more highly by critics, and realised that rigorous selection was key to this success. This could be achieved consistently by introducing a second wine,’ Frédéric explains. The estate had released about 30,000 bottles of the second wine unofficially in 2014, he says, but it was a ‘micro- production’ and not the ‘official launch’. Some 70,000 bottles were produced for the 2015 vintage, about one-third of total production – leading to a significant decrease in the amount of first wine produced.

Like the grand vin, Lions de Batailley is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, coming mainly from young vines and from plots deemed unsuitable for the final blend.

Château Batailley – A timeline

Late 18th century Owned by the St-Martin Family

1816 Acquired by Daniel Guestier of Barton & Guestier. He died in 1847 but his children managed it until 1866

1866-1932 Owned by Constant Halphen, a Parisian banker

1932 Purchased by the Borie brothers, Marcel and Francis

1942 Division into two properties. Francis Borie kept the smaller part, which became known as Haut-Batailley. The larger part, owned by Marcel (Philippe Castéja’s grandfather), retained the original name

1961 Following the death of Marcel Borie, the property transferred to his daughter Denise and her husband Emile Castéja, Philippe’s father

2001 Philippe Castéja takes over the property and the family-owned Borie-Manoux négociant house, through which Batailley is sold

2006 Cellar space revamped to allow for parcel-byparcel vinification

2015 Official launch of second wine, Lions de Batailley

Value proposition

Prices have not climbed as quickly as improvements in quality, making Château Batailley even more interesting for Bordeaux buyers who seek both quality and value. For example, release prices across the top 50 châteaux in Bordeaux increased by about 200% from the 2008 vintage to 2009, while the ex-négociant release price of Batailley increased by a more modest 37% in the same period, according to figures from Liv-ex.

Ben Giliberti, former wine columnist at The Washington Post, who now consults for Washington DC-based importer Calvert Woodley, pegs Batailley’s noticeable quality increase to 2009. ‘It was so sudden,’ he explains. ‘The market failed to digest it immediately. The 2009 was available at or near-opening prices for a long time, and we made multiple purchases.’

Like Grimm in Germany, Giliberti places Château Batailley in a ‘select group that, if not an outright steal like it used to be, still offers fair value, rather like Châteaux.

Langoa-Barton and Léoville-Barton, Branaire-Ducru and, in 2015, Rauzan-Ségla’. And sales data prove Giliberti’s point: more recent vintages reveal higher percentage price increases – in 2015 the release price was €32 (compared to €22 for 2010), but this remains competitive.

Decanter detailed the improvements at Batailley back in 2009, in an article reporting on experts tasting all Pauillac fifth growths (except Pontet-Canet) in a comparative blind tasting of three different vintages.

The general consensus was that, in the 2004 vintage at least, Batailley equalled the more famous Lynch-Bages and Grand-Puy- Lacoste. But backtrack to 1990, and the tasters favoured – by a wide margin – both Grand- Puy-Lacoste and in particular Lynch-Bages.

 Guiding influence

Denis Dubourdieu – Decanter Hall of Fame winner in 2016 – sadly succumbed to cancer just three months after attending the April dinner at Batailley, where he said: ‘This is a great event that celebrates the history of the château, and I am happy to have been a part of the work that led to the second wine.’

Philippe Castéja hired Dubourdieu to replace Pascal Ribéreau-Gayon in 2001 at Batailley, in part because of his specialisation with vineyards as an agronomist.

Dubourdieu introduced environmentally friendly vineyard working methods and reduced soil-damaging chemical treatments. Yields began to be more strictly controlled and a new vat room was added to the winery in 2006. Studies were made to assess how weather conditions affected vines in different parcels, partly to ascertain potential alcohol degrees. The new cellar space doubled the number of vats to 60, which enabled single parcel vinification.

In the past few years, Philippe explains, Dubourdieu guided staff to change pruning techniques in order to improve circulation of the vine sap, which enhanced veraison (the moment when grapes change in colour from green to black; the transition from berry growth to berry ripening). Changes in the vat room include Dubourdieu’s introduction of long and warm post-fermentation macerations – about a month, at 31°C – which, according to Philippe, results in ‘more subtle tannin extraction while lending more body and structure to the wine’.

Following the passing of Dubourdieu, the estate will continue to work with his associates Valérie Lavigne and his former student Axel Marchal. Batailley’s current cellarmaster Arnaud Durand also studied under Dubourdieu.

Given all the efforts in recent years, the improved quality at Batailley has been noticed not only in export markets but in France, too. Vino Strada bar owner and Bordeaux wine buyer Stéphan Maure concludes: ‘The 2010 is certainly a sign of change for this estate, as the wine just seems more vivid in a great vintage, and more so than in previous great vintages including 2005 or 2000.’

See Decanter’s recently tasted Château Batailley wines

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Visitors to Bordeaux cannot help but admire the gorgeous architecture of Pauillac’s two celebrated second growths – Château Pichon-Longueville Baron and Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande – facing each other along the Médoc’s famous D2 highway, known as the Route des Châteaux.

With emblematic turrets and an ornamental pool that, since 2006, conceals an elaborate underground cellar, the larger 19th-century Pichon Baron château is one of the most photographed in the Médoc.

Across the road, the more discreet estate of Pichon Comtesse – which includes an even more recently built winery with many small tanks, to enable parcel-by-parcel fermentation – exudes perhaps a more feminine charm.

Scroll down to see Jane Anson’s Château Pichon tasting notes

The masculine-feminine depiction dates back to the mid-19th century when the once unified 50ha estate was divided in two, after Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville died.

Three daughters inherited 30ha to form what became known as Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, and a son took 20ha of what became known as Pichon Longueville Baron.

For many years, women ran Pichon Comtesse, most recently the charismatic May-Eliane de Lencquesaing (1978-2007), who had amassed an impressive private glass collection that enchants visitors.

Wine commentators around the world also compare the wines in gender-based terms. Pichon Comtesse wines are more ‘feminine and elegant’, while Pichon Baron wines are more ‘deeply powerful and intense’, wrote Karen MacNeil in The Wine Bible. And Decanter’s Ian D’Agata dubs Pichon Comtesse as ‘one of Pauillac’s more feminine wines’.

Some clichés die hard – and some merit deeper study. The directors of both Pichons today are perplexed by this long-standing characterisation of their properties, but could it be that their very different winemaking is reinforcing it more than ever?

Take, for example, the 2005 vintage. Influential US wine critic Robert Parker gave the Pichon Comtesse a modest 86 points from barrel, critical of its ‘much lighter style’, but Pichon Comtesse director Nicolas Glumineau features the vintage in tastings to prove such criticism wrong.

Glumineau, who arrived at the estate from Château Montrose, St-Estèphe in 2012, heralds the wine as typical of the expressive Pichon Comtesse style.

By contrast, Pichon Baron’s Christian Seely has only recently included his 2005 in public tastings.

‘I’m happy with talking about Pichon Baron as a wine that reveals itself over time and sometimes – the 2005 is a case in point – it can be so reserved and austere that it is quite difficult to taste at the beginning.’

The masculine moniker is however ‘a tricky issue’, Seely says, ‘having known powerful, austere females in my life’.

For Glumineau, reducing descriptions of his wine to a feminine image is ‘a mistake’ and more ‘about marketing’, although he emphasises that elegance is very much part of Pichon Comtesse’s DNA.

Pichon Baron at a glance

Management Since 1987, AXA Millésimes

Managing director Since 2000, Christian Seely

Technical director Jean-René Matignon; AXA advisor Daniel Llose

Plantings Cabernet Sauvignon 62%, Merlot 33%, Cabernet Franc 3%, Petit Verdot 2%

Size 72ha, producing about 12,500 cases of the first wine

Second wines Les Griffons de Pichon Baron; Les Tourelles de Longueville

Average bottle price £70-£150 (depending on vintage)

Baron: soulful power

Since Christian Seely began working as director at Pichon Baron in 2000, he and his team have blazed a trail towards making more powerful wines. Of 72ha owned by the estate today, the first wine is made primarily from older vines growing on the estate’s prized 40ha plateau of gravel beds with poor soils that force the vines to penetrate deep into the ground.

But that was not the case in the 1990s. ‘When I arrived, we [along with long-standing technical director Jean-René Matignon] reached a strategic decision to make considerably less but better Pichon Baron than before,’ Seely explains.

Grapes from Merlot vines west of the plateau, which had been used to make Pichon Baron in the 1990s, now go into the second wine Les Tourelles de Longueville. This is a blend based on 65% Merlot; it is aged in 30% new oak – and is intended for earlier consumption. About 11,000 cases of Les Tourelles 2014 are expected.

Since 2012, Seely and his team have also introduced another second wine called Les Griffons. This new wine sits alongside Les Tourelles in quality but has a different stylistic intent. It has much more Cabernet in the blend as it is made from various parcels that are ‘geographically and in personality closer to the character of Pichon Baron’. For the 2014, some 5,000 cases of Les Griffons have been made – the most since the wine was introduced.

The resulting increase in Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend of the grand vin – from about 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot in the 1990s, to an 80/20 blend today – lends a more foreboding aspect to Pichon Baron when compared to Pichon Comtesse, which is typically 58% to 78% Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition, the wine is aged in 80% new oak, as compared to 50% for Pichon Comtesse, accentuating Pichon Baron’s larger-scaled aspect.

Seely recalls tasting the ‘beautiful’ 1959 Pichon Baron – essentially made from vines on the 40ha plateau – and while the intention is not to ‘copy’ that older wine, it is to make wines that best reflect the ‘soul of the place’, he says. The 2005 vintage marked a ‘turning point’ in terms of both quality and quantity.

‘It showed how great the wine can be, and it ensured that I would keep my job, given the high-risk strategy of making half as much wine as we had before,’ Seely remarks. The average annual production of Pichon Baron is now about 12,500 cases – about the level of a smaller vintage of Pichon Comtesse.

Pichon Comtesse at a glance

Management The Rouzaud family of Louis Roederer Champagne purchased the estate in 2007 from May-Eliane de Lencquesaing

Managing director Nicolas Glumineau

Consultants Eric Boissenot and Denis Dubourdieu

Plantings Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 30%, Cabernet Franc 12%, Petit Verdot 8% (Cabernet being increased)

Size 89ha, producing 12,500-15,000 cases of the first wine

Second wine Réserve de la Comtesse

Average bottle price £70-£150 (depending on vintage)

Comtesse: expressive charm

While Pichon Baron has enjoyed consistent direction under Seely for some 15 years, Pichon Comtesse witnessed some significant changes over the same period – both before and after its purchase in 2007 by the owners of Louis Roederer Champagne.

In 2011, Thomas Dô-Chi-Nam, who had been Pichon Comtesse technical director since 1992, left the estate to work at Château Margaux. That same year, Sylvie Cazes replaced Gildas d’Ollone as managing director. But in 2012, Glumineau replaced Cazes.

Consultants have also varied. For example, in 2006, Hubert de Boüard of Château Angelus in St-Emilion was hired for the estate. He advocated de-leafing vines on both sides, which resulted in a more concentrated style of Pichon Comtesse that garnered more points from US critic Robert Parker than the 2005, but is not the kind of wine that Glumineau necessarily seeks, he says.

Shortly after Glumineau arrived at the estate, he tasted a vertical of all Pichon Comtesse wines from 1970 to 2010, admiring the ‘very Pauillac’ nature of vintages such as 1989, 1996 and 2010. He does admire the Cabernets in Pichon Baron: ‘They are great wines. I love the silky tannins with a cocoa powder-like feel at the end of the tongue.’

However, although he allows that the 2005 Pichon Comtesse ‘could perhaps have used a bit more density’, he has no intention of making the same wine as ‘across the street’. Picking times for Cabernet are not necessarily later under his direction, but they are being tailored to each of the parcels, so that the Cabernets can achieve that ‘greater density’. The 2014 and 2015 vintages, for example, convey ‘something very Pauillac’ for Glumineau, ‘in balance with the charming expression of Comtesse’.

With regard to Cabernet Sauvignon, Glumineau’s vision is to increase its density in a subtle manner in the Pichon Comtesse blend, while maintaining the wine’s elegance and freshness. Upon purchasing the estate, the Louis Roederer group commissioned a detailed geological study of the vineyard, which found too much Merlot had been planted on deep gravelly soils that are better suited to Cabernet.

A replanting programme now under way should increase the vineyard’s percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon from the current 50% up to as much as 65%, says Glumineau, who gives an example of a 2ha plot called La Turcade, where the Merlot vines were uprooted just after the 2015 harvest, to be replaced by Cabernet Sauvignon in 2018.

Distinct personalities

Nevertheless, the percentage of Merlot in Glumineau’s ideal blend for the grand vin – about 25% – remains higher than that at Pichon Baron. Indeed, the higher percentage of Merlot in Pichon Comtesse has often been cited as a factor in its softer, ‘more feminine’ expression, by comparison to Pichon Baron. Pichon Comtesse is also known for its Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, which Glumineau likes most at about 10% of the overall blend – in fact, Cabernet Franc has not featured at all in the Pichon Baron blend since 2006, when it was just 2%.

So, although both Pichon estates focus on making wines of the utmost quality, stylistic goals differ substantially. Whereas Seely has been cutting down the amount of Pichon Baron grand vin, Glumineau hopes to produce ‘more first-label wine’ and ‘certainly’ has no plans to create another second wine in addition to the existing (since 1973) Réserve de la Comtesse.

Current production of Pichon Comtesse varies between 12,500 and 15,000 cases – generally higher than Pichon Baron. Glumineau would like higher yields as well. In 2014, the yield was 36hl/ha. ‘It has to be higher – we could make 45-50hl/ha,’ he says, pointing to the success of higher yields in wines made in the 1980s, a decade that cemented Pichon Comtesse’s position as a ‘super second’. Over lunch after a tasting, Glumineau serves a wonderfully balanced 1985 by way of example.

At Pichon Baron, although Seely does not seek ‘super-low yields’, the average yield from vines grown on the estate’s 40ha plateau is about 30hl/ha – the overall average yield for the grand vin is higher, though, when factoring in other plots used to make it.

Both Glumineau and Seely respect one another’s wines. Seely, for example, particularly likes the ‘deeply romantic’ 1982 Pichon Comtesse, which was served at his mother’s second wedding.

But they stress that the common origin of both estates does not mean at all that they are similar. Readers should note that just because the two Pichons face one another across the D2, their vines are not equally divided either side it. In fact, most of Pichon Comtesse’s vineyard plots are situated on the same side of the road as those of Pichon Baron. Pichon Comtesse also has a vineyard to the south of the appellation, in St-Julien.

‘The fascination people can sense with grand cru wines in Bordeaux – and with properties from other regions of the world that show the same level of quality – is how properties that are very close to each other can produce very different wines,’ comments Seely. ‘So it is perfectly normal that two neighbouring properties are very different in character and personality; in the case of Baron and Comtesse, they happen to share parts of the same name.’

As the tasting notes below by Jane Anson illustrate, the two Pichons express different styles of Pauillac. The debatable masculine/ feminine cliché may not wholly explain the difference between the two, but it points in a logical direction.

See Jane Anson’s tasting notes comparing the two Château Pichon estates:

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Search all Pauillac 2018 wine ratings

Château Lafite’s Eric Kohler described Bordeaux 2018 as an extreme version of a classic vintage in Pauillac.

‘It always rains during spring here, it’s just that [2018] was on the far end of the scale,’ he said. Looking at the year as a whole, you can see what he means. Pauillac saw 874.3mm of rain in 2018, just a slice above the appellation’s 30-year average of 868.2mm.

Mildew attacks also came a little later in Pauillac than in much of Bordeaux, with the worst assault in July, well after flowering.This meant that, in most cases, the worst affected yields still hovered around the 20-25 hectolitre (hl) per hectare (ha) mark. Pontet-Canet was a notable exception.

Did those pursuing organics and biodynamics suffer most through restricted treatment options? The data suggests any effect was far from uniform. Latour, for example, saw 24hl/ha and organic and partially biodynamic. ‘We never thought about wavering from it,’ said winemaker Hélène Garcin.

Haut-Bages Libéral, which is entirely biodynamic, saw yields of 45hl/ha. Average yields across Pauillac were 38.5hl/ha.

You really feel low yields with the high density plantings of 10,000 vines per hectare that are common in St-Estèphe and Pauillac, because these are already big, tannic wines and so the extra concentration is rarely needed.

It is probably a good thing that generally there were some extremely high yields in the appellation, such as 55hl/ha at Fonbadet and 50hl/ha-plus at the three Castéja estates in Pauillac, which include fifth growth Batailley.

As with St-Estèphe, it was a great Cabernet year in many instances in Pauillac.

But the Cabernets got extremely ripe and alcohols often exceeded those of Merlots, which is rare.

This changes the usual balance of these wines and, although they might be impressive in the glass, I question if it is really the signature that style that estates are going for.

There was a little less rain in the northern Médoc than in the south, plus a strong wind blew in early October that many estates commented on, which is perhaps why the Cabernets got so concentrated.

Merlots have a gravity and structure to them that is also unusual. They have in many cases have provided exceptional body to the finished wines. Merlot ripens earlier than Cabernet and did not suffer from the same over-concentration.

All this resulted in at least seven Pauillac estates reaching record alcohol levels, including Armailhac, Mouton and Pichon Baron. The result is not as effortless always as St Julien, but then when is it ever? That’s not what you come to Pauillac for.

Pauillac 2018 wines potentially offering great value: Haut-Bages Monpélou and Tourelles de Longueville.

Top scoring wines: Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Pichon Comtesse, Pichon Baron, Latour and Lynch-Bages.

Best Pauillac 2018 wines

The following wines have been scored 93 points and above. Search all Pauillac 2018 wines here.

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They include a re-release for the 2008 Grand Vin, priced at £2,550 per six bottles in bond with Fine + Rare, and the first release of Les Forts de Latour 2013 at £825 per six.

In 2012, Château Latour announced that it was quitting the en primeur system after the release of its 2011 wines, and has since released older vintages each year, still through the Bordeaux merchant system.

The property has retained all of its new vintages for release when it considers they are ready, including last year’s debut of the 2012 Les Forts de Latour vintage, and this year’s release of the 2013.

According to Fine + Rare, Latour 2008 combines ‘power, concentration and structure without losing any of its fruit purity’; Jane Anson described it as having ‘power, structure, impact and kick’ when she tasted the wine last year as part of her Bordeaux 2008: 10 years on tasting.

In 2018, Latour re-released the 2006 Grand Vin at a 16% premium above secondary market prices – something which fine wine trading platform Liv-ex said was ‘met with a lukewarm response’. However, it reported ‘strong demand’ for the 2012 Les Forts de Latour.

This year’s 2008 Grand Vin release price of £2,550 per six-bottle case represents an 11% premium above the wine’s current secondary market price, according to Liv-ex figures.

See also: Anson – Pauillac vs Pomerol 

I love tastings that set one thing against the other. Not to turn it into a competition, but to allow the differences to illuminate both sides. The usual way to do this is by comparing two contrasting vintages, but to really up the ante, I suggest trying it out with two contrasting appellations.

Pauillac and Pomerol make for a particularly special pairing. Not only because they are names that always provoke a thrill when you’re sat in front of a bottle, but because the way in which they reflect and contrast each other highlights a number of useful things about Bordeaux.

The history

For a start, and most obviously, Pauillac is set on the Left Bank of the Garonne river and Pomerol is over on the Right Bank (of the Garonne and the Dordogne, if we want to get picky). The history of Pauillac dates back a full 2,000 years, with the Romans first heading there to make bronze coins for the Holy Roman Empire, although viticulture had to wait until the 16th and 17th centuries to really get going with the draining of the land by the Dutch. Pomerol took even longer. There were vines off-and-on for many centuries in Pomerol – certainly when the pilgrims were heading through there during the Middle Ages, but things were always quieter than in neighbouring St-Emilion. Widespread viticulture only really started in the 19th century in Pomerol, with polyculture typical until relatively recently. The name of the appellation didn’t make much of an impact internationally until the 20th century, and the arrival of Petrus in America, by which time Pauillac had already long been controlling auction markets worldwide.

The size

You can see the result of this in dozens of tiny – and not so tiny – details. Where Pauillac is 1,200ha in size, Pomerol is around a third smaller at 800ha. If you’re anything like me, you might actually be surprised that the size difference isn’t bigger, given the difference in image of the two appellations; Pomerol all artisan craftsmanship and Pauillac all powerful millionaires. But when you break down the numbers a little further, it starts to make more sense. Pauillac has just 57 winemakers in those 1,200ha giving an average estate size of something like 22ha. The big guys have far more than that – Lafite 110ha, Latour 92ha, Mouton 83ha. When you take into account all of their other properties, the biggest names – not just those three, but around 15 properties – account for something like 90% of the vineyard land in Pauillac.

Compare that with Pomerol, where there are close to 135 wine producers across the 800ha, giving an average size of under 6ha. The biggest château in Pomerol is de Sales at 47ha, but the majority have vines that they can easily walk through, from one side to the other, in little more time than it takes to brew a pot of tea.

The owners

And there’s undoubtedly a difference also in the type of owners. Many live on-site in their properties in Pomerol, sending their children to the local school in the village such as Olivier Techer-Laval at Gombaude-Guillot or, far more typically, in neighbouring Libourne or St-Emilion. In Pauillac, pretty much the only owner that I know of who went to the local school is François-Xavier Borie at Grand-Puy-Lacoste. Most of the big châteaux owners send their children to school 50km away in Bordeaux, or up in Paris, where they also tend to live full-time.

Classifications

And then there are the classifications – the daddy of them all in Pauillac in the form of 1855, with a full 18 Cru Classés – three firsts, two seconds, one fourth and 12 fifth growths. Over in Pomerol there are precisely no classified châteaux, as the appellation has chosen to go low-key instead and let the market decide pricing and prestige – though they did flirt with the idea at various points as you can see the words 1er Cru carved on a few walls around the appellation. This also helps to explain why you’ll find sprawling, architect-designed 18th and 19th century châteaux dotted around Pauillac that have become almost as famous as the wines – the spires of Pichon Baron being perhaps the best example. Pomerol also has a few classical châteaux (de Sales and Beauregard among them), but many properties are unmarked and little more than country houses or small farms, making finding your way around this appellation much more of a challenge.

Grapes

Next up; the grapes. In terms of plantings, Pauillac is the land of Cabernet Sauvignon while in Pomerol, Merlot rules – giving a nice window into the two grape varieties that define Bordeaux. The exact plantings are, for Pauillac; 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. In Pomerol, the vineyards are planted instead to 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Underground, things are also not quite as different as you might think when looking at those plantings. Yes, Pauillac has more gravel than Pomerol (up to 9m in depth at Lafite, and not far behind at Grand-Puy-Lacoste), but there are large areas of clay and even limestone around Pauillac. And Pomerol has lots of clay, but also plenty of areas of both sand and also gravel. The difference is, that where Pauillac estates will pretty much always plant Cabernet on gravel, you’ll find Merlot on the same soil type over in Pomerol. This means an early-ripening grape planted on early-ripening soils (gravel is hotter than clay) and goes a long way to explaining why the tannins in Pomerol can be quite so fleshy and inviting.

All in all, comparing the two is an utterly fascinating exercise – particularly in brilliant vintages such as 2009, as we did here. And no feeling sorry for Pomerol. Not only are names such as Moueix in Pomerol every bit as powerful as the Rothschilds in Pauillac, you’ll find that both areas have vineyard land that average close to €2 million per hectare, the highest in Bordeaux. The average bottle price in both is way above the average of the region – good luck finding a bottle of either Pauillac or Pomerol for much less than €20, and you’ll soon be heading upwards of €100 as the names climb in prestige. These are two appellations that can more than hold their own.

The wines: Pauillac vs Pomerol

The wines below were tasted at a Decanter Premium tasting in New York

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Jane Anson revisits the 'hugely acclaimed' 2015 vintage in Pauillac, tasting a total of 32 wines, both grand vins and their second labels...

Pauillac is a name that towers over the Left Bank of Bordeaux. It contains some of the most highly priced vineyard land in the world – good luck finding pretty much anything below €1 million per hectare, with the average now closer to €2 million, the highest in Bordeaux.

Its 1,213 hectares cover just 7.5% of the vineyards on the peninsula but contain 18 classified growths from 1855, and three first growths – more than any other appellation.

But even here, in this most hallowed of grounds, there are plenty of differences in style. For a start, although there are an abundance of gravel soils, mainly set on outcrops that range from 3m to 30m in height, there are also pockets of sand, clay and even limestone.

Scroll down for Jane’s Pauillac 2015 tasting notes & scores

And then there is the fact that Pauillac is split into two distinct zones between north and south, with deep well-draining gravels in the northern section and more clay alongside the gravel in the southern part.Just look at the difference between Lafite Rothschild and Latour if you want to understand what this means – Lafite (in the north) all elegance and Latour (in the southern stretches towards St Julien) all power. The different soil types also help explain why you have, for example, 80% Merlot at Prélude à Grand-Puy-Ducasse compared to 85% Cabernet Sauvignon at Bellevue-Cardon.It’s why doing a horizontal tasting from across the entire appellation is so instructive – and particularly fascinating to do it from the 2015 vintage, which was hugely acclaimed across Bordeaux but which had more challenges up in this northern sector of the Médoc than it did on the Right Bank.Among the challenges were patches of heavy rainfall at the end of August that led to some swelling of berries and dilution, particularly in the Merlots (Pauillac saw almost 100mm over August, compared to just over 70mm in St Emilion). In September it was St Estèphe that saw the most rain, with 118mm against the average across the region of 35mm, with Pauillac’s proximity meaning that the northern sector in particular was also affected and meant there was a little more pressure to pick here than the rest of Bordeaux.

The estates with the best terroir – in Pauillac this means well-drained gravels, and almost always closest to the river – have a natural advantage when dealing with any challenging conditions, something that is even more true when budgets are generous. To get a real overview of how a specific appellation has done, the best way is to look at a wider selection at all pricing levels.

This tasting, which was held in St Estèphe a few weeks ago, included first and second wines from both classified and non-classified properties, 32 wines in total. As there are 33 independent winemakers in the appellation, this is an extremely comprehensive showing, taking into account nine of the bottles tasted are second labels, and one here is from the cooperative cellar La Rose Pauillac.

It showed that the vintage in Pauillac was certainly more mixed than the general reputation of 2015 would suggest. The 2015 second wines in particular offer plenty of opportunity to begin drinking soon, far sooner, for example, than the 2016 second wines are likely to be ready. There were some clear highlights in this category – I would put Griffons de Pichon Baron right up there with a score that beat many grand vins – but also some disappointments.

Overall, there are many excellent bottles, and there is no question that 2015 is a great vintage here – it is just not an exceptional one in the way that 2016 is. I was not tasting the first growths, but only scored three wines at 95+, with the highest score going to Pichon Comtesse. This is compared to more than 10 Pauillac wines that scored 95+ with me in 2016.

Seven out of the 32 wines scored below 90 points, which suggests that there is still a majority of bottles that offer plenty to get your teeth into – and some great values in the non-classifieds, including La Fleur Peyrabon, Lagneaux à Pauillac, Bellevue-Cardon et les Sadons. These are wines of great typicity, that show just how beautifully adapted Cabernet Sauvignon is to this part of the world, and how even with challenging conditions, Pauillac delivers.

See all 32 wines tasted

Jane’s 12 top Pauillac 2015 wines from the tasting:

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See Jane Anson's verdict on the Pauillac 2017 wines tasted en primeur...

Pauillac 2017 en primeur scores

Bordeaux 2017 is a vintage that is hard to generalise, even at the appellation level, according to Decanter expert Jane Anson.

• See Jane Anson’s Bordeaux 2017 vintage overview here

However, ‘if you taste just the big name Pauillacs, you would be hard pressed to understand that this has been a challenging vintage‘.

Anson also noted a high level of ‘precision’ winemaking across the vintage, with careful and specific amounts used in blends, or oak ageing.

‘And perhaps the prize for this maniacal approach needs to go to Latour, who carried out a blind tasting of the berries in the cellars for three weeks before harvest,’ she said.

There is also a noticeable change in Latour, ‘almost certainly due to biodynamics’.

Restraint is also a ‘signature’ quality of the 2017 vintage, noted in the Château Mouton Rothschild.

‘The Pauillac first growths have done a great job in 2017.’

Château Lafite Rothschild was a ‘contender for red wine of the vintage.’

See all Pauillac 2017 wines here

Top Pauillac 2017 wines from 90 points and upwards

Back to the main Bordeaux en primeur page

This Pauillac second growth has plenty of admirers, but it also has equally illustrious neighbours...

Location

AOC Pauillac, opposite Château Pichon Baron, and next to Château Latour.

Production

85 hectares, producing 30,000 cases of the grand vin and 6,000 cases of second wine Réserve de la Comtesse.

Plantation and vineyard work

Cabernet Sauvignon (45%), Merlot (35%), Cabernet Franc (12%) and Petit Verdot (8%), planted at 9,000 vines per hectare. This is a fairly low proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon for such a prominent Pauillac estate, and explains why it has a reputation for such feminine, elegant wines.

Average age of the vines are 35 years. A replanting programme has been underway since Roederer took over however, and they hope to end up 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot.

View all of Decanter’s Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande tasting notes

Vinification

In the vat cellars there are 33 temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks which have both heating and cooling systems. Blending is carried out in late December to early January. The wines spend 18-22 months in oak barrels, with around 50% of new oak each year. Around 25% new oak is used for the second wine.

Terroir

Garonne gravel on clay, containing an iron-rich layer of subsoil. The plots circle the château and lead down to the river alongside Latour.

History

At first, the history here exactly mirrors its neighbour Pichon Baron, as they were one and the same estate. A document in the archives refers to ’40 very gravelly plots’ that were used to first plant the estate by Pierre de Rauzan.

His daughter Therese married into the Baron de Pichon-Longueville family, and the Pauillac estates became known under the family name of her new husband (hence why in Margaux the name Rauzan continues, whereas in Pauillac they are Pichon Longueville). It was to remain in the hands of this family for 250 years.

As befits its name, Pichon Comtesse had its history mapped out by three influential women – first Therese de Rauzan, then Germaine de Lajus and Marie Branda de Terrfort – who looked after the estate up to the French Revolution (another influential woman came along in the 20th century in the form of Dame May Eliane de Lencquesaing).

As we know from Pichon Baron, from around 1850 the estate was divided between his sons (Pichon Baron) and his daughters (Pichon Comtesse). They have remained separate ever since.

In 1920, Pichon Comtesse was sold through auction to the Miailhe brothers Edouard and Louis, and it was Edouard’s daughter May-Eliane who was to become the defining owner of the property in the 20th century. In 2007, as she looked to retire and knew that none of her children wanted to take over, she sold her château to the Louis Roederer Champagne house.

It's not all multi-million euro mansion houses and vineyard estates in this vaunted appellation on Bordeaux's Left Bank. Jane Anson meets the winemakers who still represent another side of Pauillac.

‘It’s not like we get a knock on the door every single week asking us to sell,’ Alain Albistur is telling me. ‘But we know they are listening’.

The others in the room nod at this, before his neighbour Gerard Bougès adds, ‘at the same time we know that we benefit from the power of the Pauillac name. And it’s nice to know that if we want to retire, it’s going to be possible. That’s not quite so easy for friends with wine estates up in the northern reaches of the Médoc’.

We are stood in the small back room of Domaine les Sadons. It’s a short two minute stroll here from the D2 Route de Châteaux, just set back from Château Fonbadet in Saint Lambert. Out of the window we can see the vines of Pichon Baron stretching away. Albistur himself has only 87 ares (just over two acres) of vines in the appellation, and is well aware that he is unlikely to ever have any more of what is perhaps the most expensive agricultural land in France. Just this small amount is worth something close to €1.5 million, maybe even €2 million considering their location, even though he only produces 500 cases a year. He has spent most of his career working as cellar hand at Grand Puy Lacoste – a role that continues to be his day job – and works his vineyard on the side, the first generation of his family to make the leap. Until 1997 the patch of land that is now vines was a vegetable garden but he was able to plant by using planting rights from his brother-in-law, only able to take over himself in 2006 – at first using old barrels from Pichon Baron.

There is always someone willing to relieve you of your vineyard

In the room with us are four other producers, the ‘little guys’ of Pauillac. There are other independent producers in the appellation – Fonbadet, Château Gaudin and Château Dompierre to name a few – but they are larger, at 12ha, 4ha and 2.3ha respectively. The producers that Albistur has gathered for this tasting all own just above or just below one hectare, or 2.5 acres, of vines – a precarious position in an appellation where there is always someone with deep pockets willing to relieve you of them.

Yannick Mirande of Château Chantecler has experience of exactly that. His family sold 12 hectares of vines in the village of Pouyalet to Mouton Rothschild on ‘May 15, 2004. I will always remember the date’. This was Château La Fleur Milon (you can still see the name on a cellar building, although the vines have become part of Mouton and Clerc Milon today). Mirande was able to keep just under 3 acres, bottling them under the name of the former second wine.

Others here have benefitted indirectly from the rapacious attitude of the big guys. Adrien Lagneaux, owner of Château Petit Bocq in St-Estèphe, picked up 1.2 acres of vines in Pauillac back in 2010 from a ‘stubborn independent producer who refused to sell to the big names’. Split over two plots near Châteaux Clerc Milon and Pibarnon, this one goes for a full polished Pauillac expression, aged in new oak barrels from 12 different coopers, vinified in their cellars in St-Estèphe (where the wine is sold for half the price, €22 for Petit Bocq instead of €44 for the Pauillac).

The other two producers, Gerard Bougès at Château Le Fon de Berger and Sophie Martin at Château Julia both work vines that have been in the family for generations but were until recently sold to the cooperative cellars La Rose de Pauillac.

Bougès’ 2.69 acres of vines (‘the numbers after the decimal point are key at this size’ he says with a smile) were planted by his great-grandfather. From 1999 his father began bottling a part of the production himself, but it was only with the 2015 vintage that the 29-year-old Bougès himself took over and began 100% château bottling.

Over at Château Julia, Martin has only a small part of the family vines, with the rest still being sent to La Rose de Pauillac, where her brother is Vice President.

‘I have 62 ares (1.5 acres) on the Route de Château, mainly small plots opposite Cordeillan Bages, the smallest of which is just 22m2,’ says Martin. ‘They had been going into La Rose de Pauillac since its creation in the 1930s, but the lack of control over them became frustrating, so when the five-year contract came up in 2009, I took them back and now vinify in buildings that used to be our family farm’.

Although these are vines that have been in the family for generations, she was effectively a first time winemaker, borrowing equipment from friends (including Albistur, just as he had done a few years earlier) and still works with a succession of consultants ‘until I really find a winemaking style that suits me’.

Bougès says that the differences between the big and small players in the appellation manifests in many different ways. ‘Whatever your size you have the same amount of paperwork to do, although the large Pauillac estates have more hands on deck. And we have far smaller travel budgets’.

‘And it’s not even worth trying to hand it over to our children because of taxes,’ says Mirande. ‘There’s no point crying over it, as we will be compensated in other ways. It’s tough to know that I will be the last of the family to have this life, but the money will help, it’s still something to pass on’.

‘It’s true that in Pauillac almost all of us would make more money by selling our land than making wine,’ agrees Albistur. ‘You have to love it to work as a tiny producer here, but I do want to hand over to my children, and am trying to find ways to perhaps sell some of the vines and keep the rest. I like the idea that if you give them vines, you also give them work – because if they don’t work it themselves they’ll never make anything’.

The styles vary widely, as you would expect from estates that are true reflections of personal efforts. And if they don’t always have the polish of classified Pauillac, then the prices of these wines (Lagneaux aside) are also distinctly old school, with consumer prices of €26 for Chantecler. €25 for La Fon du Berger, €25 for Château Julia, €23 for Les Sadons. The names also are usually a reflection of something personal to them, rather than something inherited over the centuries. Les Sadons, for example, is a unity of measure that equals 850 vines. ‘Not far off what I actually have’ says Albistur.

And the Domaine part? ‘I didn’t want to call my estate a château,’ Albistur says, ‘it just didn’t feel like me’.

Wines to Try

Château Lafon du Berger AOC Pauillac 2014

From a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, lovely austerity on display, with the 70% new oak given attractively smoked tannins (they use four different coopers and four different barrel toasting methods). Grip and power, if a touch drying on the finish. Enjoyable for medium term. 88.

Domaine Les Sadons AOC Pauillac 2014

Aged in 30% new oak from five coopers and five different toasting levels (upped in 2016 to nine different coopers, pretty amazing for such a small production but reflective of his professional life in callars I guess), this has a beautiful polish on the finish. A classic Pauillac expression of cassis, methol and cedar, excellent value and a lovely wine from 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot. 91.

Château Julia AOC Pauillac 2011

Low SO2 at bottling because this was early days and she got the levels wrong, Martin admits with disarming honestly, but it has worked out excellently. This is floral, delicate, nicely placed, a very pretty wine that is ready to drink. Touches of caramel are flecked through the intense cherry fruits from a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. 88.

Lagneaux à Pauillac AOC Pauillac 2011

This is rich, intense, powerful, from a plump blend of 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Toasty grilled almond and dark chocolate, from the (now unusual) method of 200% new oak, which means vinifiyting in new oak then transferring into new oak barrels for ageing. Certainly an approach aimed at creating maximum impact. Gourmet and sexy, if a little much for the vintage. 89.

Château Chantecler AOC Pauillac 2010

With a beautiful depth of dark fruit, this is classic Pauillac. A big wine, definitely one that will continue to develop over further ageing, blackberry, cassis held in place by still-tight tannins. A blend of 40% Merlot, 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in 60% new oak. 14.4%abv. 91.

Plus…

Hauts-Iris IGP Vin de Pays Atlantique 2015

I mention this one just as an interesting aside. The winemaker is based in Pauillac but his vines are just outside the appellation, so bottled at Vins de Pays Atlantique. Certainly a good value option – grown with no chemical weed killers, a distinctly Medoc blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot. Very much an emphasis on dark fruits, low tannins, good for early drinking. 85.

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‘Pauillac wine with a difference’

The Pauillac second growth, owned by Louis Roederer Champagne house and headed up by Nicolas Glumineau brought an amazing selection of stellar vintages to Shanghai back to 1996 direct from the château.

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a wine, as Glumineau told the room, ‘that is a Pauillac wine with a slight difference – an aromatic freshness and a touch of florality that makes it stand apart’.

• Wine fans meet ‘heroes’ at Decanter Shanghai Fine Wine Encounter 

The tasting started straight after lunch, but the room didn’t take long to fill up, with Glumineau looking as sharp as ever, handkerchief in pocket, well cut suit, highly-polished shoes, red socks. I am sat next to a Chinese journalist who lives locally and has been to every year of the Shanghai Fine Wine Encounter.

To kick off, Glumineau takes the room through the development of the estate, most notably its history of women at the helm, and the influence, from 1925 to 2007, of the Miahle family (ending with Edouard Miahle’s daughter May Eliane de Lencquesaing), who planted extensive Merlot at both Château Palmer and Pichon Lalande, explaining why historically both have been estates with higher Merlot in their vines than many neighboring Médocs (Pichon today is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot).

• Four decades of Lafite Rothschild

Glumineau also covered recent developments such as the move towards biodynamic farming on all newly planted plots, and the extensive improvements to the winemaking facilities, with an entirely new cellar completed for the 2013 vintage that allows for separate vinification of each individual plot across the vineyard.

The tasting itself showcased many of the greatest vintages of the past 20 years, with the chance to try both the first and second wines of the standout 2009 and 2010 vintages – so both Réserve de la Comtesse and Pichon Comtesse itself. I would suggest the 2009 Réserve is the best of the four for drinking today and over the next few years, as it is already displaying exceptionally seductive grilled red and black fruits and a generosity that showcases the best of the 2009 vintage.

The biggest surprise came with the 2003. The famously hot vintage has suffered from rapidly-ageing wines in many appellations, but this Comtesse remains exceptionally fresh, intense and spicy and still full of life. It’s a testament to the influence of terroir and microclimate, says Glumineau.

‘The proximity of our vineyard to the river really helped in 2003. It was true for the corridor of chateaux along the Garonne in St Julien, Pauillac and St Estèphe – so through Ducru Beaucaillou, Latour, Comtesse, Montrose and up to Sociando Mallet, with the river acting like an air conditioner and retaining freshness in the wines’.

Wines tasted:

Réserve de la Comtesse AOC Pauillac 2010

Réserve de la Comtesse AOC Pauillac 2009

Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande AOC Pauillac 2010

Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande AOC Pauillac 2009

Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande AOC Pauillac 2008

Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande AOC Pauillac 2005

Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande AOC Pauillac 2003

Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande AOC Pauillac 2001

Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande AOC Pauillac 1996

Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande AOC Pauillac 1995

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I’ve never seen a live phylloxera bug before, still less a tiny group of them sat like a angry set of blisters on the leaf of the vine.

Instinctively the small group of us recoil. All, that is, except Fabien Teitgen, technical director of Château Smith Haut Lafitte, who is well used to this sight in Bordeaux.

‘These bugs are everywhere,’ he says cheerfully. ‘It’s not that we have eradicated the phylloxera louse in Europe, simply that we have worked out how to control them. They don’t like the leaves of our European vines so they head down to the roots, where they do all the damage.

‘But on these American vines, they leave the rootstocks alone, but live happily on the leaves. It’s why the combination of the two makes for phylloxera-free vines.’

We are standing on the site of one of the last few secrets of Bordeaux viticulture – a tiny island paradise where Smith Haut Lafitte is trying to square the circle.

‘We have spent years developing an organic, environmentally-sensitive approach to winemaking at our main estate,’ says Teitgen. ‘And yet we were having to buy commercially-grown rootstocks that we had no control over. The most sensible thing seemed to grow our own’.

As luck would have it, they had just the place.

Ile de la Lande

This is Ile de la Lande, a 51-hectare private island dotted with lakes and woodland in the Garonne river that was bought by the Cathiards in 1995, just a few years after they arrived in Bordeaux to buy their Pessac Léognan estate.

There had been extensive viticulture on the island until the 19th century. Ruins of former cellars greet you when you step foot off the jetty and make your way past the thickets that guard the entire place from view, constructed to vinify the 20 hectares of vines that were grown here.

This gave way to gravel quarries in the 20th century, and for at least 50 years there have been of no vines here at all, meaning the soils are free of nematodes and other viruses. Combine this with its total isolation, and the sandy-clay soils that dominate now that the gravel has gone – and you have the perfect spot for a rootstock nursery.

‘We buy 30cm pieces of base shoots of American vines from a specialist supplier,’ explains Teitgen, ‘and use these to grow three different types that respond to our specific soil types. After one year here we select the most suitable ones, cut the rootstocks and take them to a nursery on the mainland to do the grafting onto our healthy vitis vinifera vines’.

Today up to 50% of the Smith Haut Lafitte vines benefit from this vertical integration, where every step is genuinely overseen by the Cathiard family. I don’t know of another Bordeaux wine estate that can make a similar claim.

It’s a fascinating place to visit, but the Ile de la Lande is just one part of a rich and hidden history of island wines in Bordeaux, dotted within the often swollen, sulky river.

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Garonne river

The Garonne river starts out life somewhere 1,800 metres up a mountain in the Spanish Pyrenees, from where it runs through southwest France to the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean.

It is the river that is at least partly responsible for the dominance of Bordeaux wine for much the past millennia, because Bordeaux is lucky enough to be the last major port before it heads out to the open sea, giving it the advantage of being the clear trading post, top of the queue in deciding which goods were loaded onto boats when no other transport options were available.

During the final stretch of its journey, there are parts where it reaches several miles across, resembling more an inland sea than a simple transport artery – and like any sea, it has its fair share of islands.

Bordeaux wine islands – and one to visit

There were once 11 islands, but some have been enlarged and joined together.

In the 1700s and 1800s, they – including Ile de Paté and the Ile de Margaux – were the source of the sought-after ‘vins de palus’ that in old trading ledgers reached among the highest prices of the time. Not many have vineyards today, but there are a few clinging on to tradition.

The most open to visitors is the Ile de Patiras, accessible via a 10 minute boat trip from a jetty on the Pauillac quayside.

As recently as 30 years ago there were 150 people living here, and the island had its own school and 20 hectares of vines along the south side. When harvesting up to 1,000 people would swell the population. All islands used to have access to the appellations of their closest mainland neighbors (Patiras could choose from Blaye or Pauillac), but today they are all Bordeaux or Bordeaux Supérieur.

Patiras is now uninhabited, although a restaurant, Le Refuge, welcomes guests who have booked in advance and for much of the summer you’ll find groups of visitors clambering up the lighthouse that stands alongside the restaurant.

Just three hectares of vines remain on the south side of the island after winemaker André Lurton bought up the rest to use the planting rights elsewhere on ‘mainland Bordeaux’.

The vines make just one commercial wine called Le Mouton Noir Girond’1. The first vintage of this came in 2014, after winemaker Dominique-Léande Chevalier – known for his high-density planting season and traditional methods of viticulture, set out to save the island’s historical production.

Not an easy wine to find (try the Maison des Vins in Pauillac) but truly you can say you are drinking a forgotten piece of Bordeaux history.

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Having the deepest gravel in the Medoc with some chalk and clay, Pauillac also has the highest proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon and so was a strong contender for the best commune in 2014 – especially as the autumn heatwave meant Medoc Cabernet ripened later, giving an advantage over Merlot.

• See also: Chateaux hail strong 2014 vintage but market pressure builds

There are many different Pauillacs, but they are all definitely ‘Pauillac’, and in a Bordeaux vintage like 2014 the showing was strong overall. Yet, along with some striking successes, there were still some wines that failed to capture the clarity and class of the vintage.

• See also: Pauillac’s pulling power

Perhaps this will show in time, but with a harvest so well suited to the commune I expected more regularity. 2014 was not a year to go for over-extraction and my preferred wines showed elegance over power. The two Pichons were, as usual, totally different in profile, while the second wines from the three first growths showed particularly well.

• See more Bordeaux 2014 coverage here

Here are Steven Spurrier’s 10 top scoring Pauillac reds:

See also:

• Bordeaux 2014: Top 10 Margaux reds
• Bordeaux 2014: Top 10 St-Emilion wines

Though soils and microclimates play a vital role in Pauillac, Ian D'Agata finds it is the human touch that provides the key to this region's sheer magnetism and longevity...

Pauillac at a glance:

Surface area: 22,74 km2

Location: Aquitaine

Region: Gironde

Department: Lesparre-Médoc district

Population: 5,265;

Population density: 231.5 inhabitants per km2 (2007)

Average altitude: 15 metres(m) above sea level (highest point in Pauillac: 29m!)

Area under vine: 1,119 hectares

Number of classified growths: 18; Pauillac has the lowest number of crus bourgeois of any Bordeaux appellation

Number of châteaux: 115, but not all produce their own wines, preferring to sell grapes to cooperatives

Number of bottles produced: 8 million per year

After 25 years spent visiting Bordeaux’s vineyards up to five times a year, I know which wines suit my palate best. Last year, I wrote in these pages that my favourite Bordeaux wines are St-Julien’s – but, if my heart says St-Julien, my head says Pauillac.

Why? The answer is simple enough – while Pauillac may not offer the remarkable overall quality level of St-Julien (quality levels drop precipitously between Pauillac’s greatest wines and its less successful ones), it is undoubtedly where the highest quality peaks in Bordeaux are found. Three of the five first growths named in the famous 1855 classification are in Pauillac (north to south, Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, and Latour), as well as a long list of ‘super-seconds’ (Pontet- Canet (pictured below, right), Pichon-Longueville Baron, Pichon- Longueveille-Lalande and Lynch-Bages spring immediately to mind). In fact, from medieval times to the present day, Pauillac’s wines have always ranked among the Médoc’s elite; and not only domaine wines, but also those from the area’s two main parishes, St-Martin de Pauillac and St Lambert de Rignac.

This enviable reputation is well deserved – at their best, the wines of Pauillac offer a balance of power and grace that is not found in Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blends made anywhere else. And though ‘graceful Pauillac’ may seem an oxymoron, Pauillac’s greatness lies in powerful wines that are rarely overripe brutes or needlessly extracted, tannic behemoths. Perhaps more than any other AC, it is Pauillac that says ‘Bordeaux’ to the world.

Rocky stories

In fact, generalisations about Pauillac’s wines are difficult, because its soils and microclimates are extremely varied. Roughly 90 minutes’ drive north of Bordeaux, in between St-Estèphe and St-Julien, Pauillac’s soils and topography share features of each, but with their own twists.

The appellation is characterised by four main soil types that originated millions of years ago during the different glaciations that formed the earth’s crust. All these soil types are characterised by a strong gravel component, one of the main reasons Cabernet Sauvignon thrives in Pauillac.

These four soils are found throughout Pauillac, though each soil type dominates in specific areas. In the southern reaches of the appellation, the soil is rich in gravel deposited by the Gironde river during two Mindel glaciation periods (most books and articles usually mention Günzian gravels, but relative to Pauillac, this is incorrect); these are called Mindel gravel soils type I and II. The former are a brownish hue in colour, and are characterised by sandy-clay subsoils rich in iron oxide; the latter are also gravelly and brownish-looking, but have clay-gravel subsoil. In the northern part of the appellation, it is almost all Mindel I gravel.

Interspersed among these two are the other two main soil types, the somewhat confusingly named Mindel gravel I type 2 (large diameter gravels) and the Savoisian marl (calcareous soils with a heavy clay subsoil). The Mindel soils are the oldest (and therefore the first to be formed geologically). Consequently, they are also the ones found at the highest altitudes. This may seem a trivial point (given that in Bordeaux, vineyards are less than 50m above sea level), but even a few metres makes a huge difference in Bordeaux’s continental climate.

Mindel II soil more commonly lines the lowerlying banks of the Gironde river. During the later Würm glaciation, the river eroded the banks and sculpted reliefs and troughs that characterise much of Bordeaux’s topography. Farther inland, Pauillac was less affected by the hollowing-out process and remained a plateau with a higher sand content. As Pauillac’s estates are located in different areas of the appellation and their vineyards sit on mixes of these different soil types, you’d expect the wines to differ from each other; and you’d be correct, up to a point. For example, the nature of the geological terroir of two of the most famous first growths in Pauillac, Latour and Lafite- Rothschild, is very different, with Mindel II gravel dominating the soils of Latour and Mindel I gravel those of Lafite-Rothschild. And to an extent, differences between these two world-famous wines reflect these geological differences.

The personal touch

Inland, properties such as Château Batailley (on the high plateau at the back of Pauillac), or Lynch- Moussas (the most westerly of Pauillac’s great crus) or Grand-Puy-Lacoste (pictured below, left), owned and run by Xavier Borie and his charming family, rest on less gravelly soils, and make wines that are naturally lighter and charming, though all are extremely long-lived.

However, it’s not so simple: the human element always plays a very large role. For example, once owner Philippe Casteja took over the reins of sister properties Batailley and Lynch-Moussas, new cellar innovations and the ongoing technical help of consultant winemaker and university professor Denis Dubordieu have had a recognisably positive effect on the wines. Clearly, soil is only part of the story. Generally speaking, the higher clay content of Pauillac’s northernmost soils (similarly to those of St-Estèphe) should make for bigger, tougher wines, yet Lafite-Rothschild, the last northermost bastion of Pauillac, is the most graceful of all the first growths. And while a soil’s capacity for ion exchange may be reflected in the minerality of its wines, many other factors (total acidity, pH, residual sugar, the soil’s bacterial diversity) influence the overall texture and aroma/flavour profile of wines.

In Bordeaux, proximity to the river is also all-important. Vineyards located at the river’s edge bask in a microclimate 3-4°C higher on average than those inland, a huge difference in an area where cool weather is not uncommon. Winemaking also plays a huge role: for example, cold-stabilised wines have a lower potassium concentration than those that aren’t, and so will taste different, just like wines aged in different kinds of new or used oak.

Pauillac is both the name of the appellation and its main town, known as Pauliacus in ancient Roman times. The town has a pretty river front, not unlike that of a small seaside town. I like sitting at one of the simple cafés to read the paper or gaze across to the island of Partiras while munching on bichettes, the small shrimp typical of the estuary.

There are other smaller quaint villages, such as Artigues, Le Pouyalet, Milon, Mousset and the best known of all, Bages. The latter has been especially developed by the Cazes family, owners of Château Lynch-Bages, who have set up an outstanding hotel and restaurant (Château Cordeillan Bages, a member of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux chain), a butcher, a pastry shop and a solid café called Lavinal where I like to drop in bright and early for coffee and croissants.

Road trip

A drive through the Pauillac appellation begins with world-famous Château Latour, its most southern property; the vineyards are separated from those of Léoville-Las-Cases in St-Julien by a stream. The wines, powerful yet balanced, are magnificent at all times, but stand out even more in poor years (for example, 1960), and have a hallmark iron nuance discernible in most vintages.

Right next to Latour sits Château Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse de Lalande (or Pichon-Longueville-Lalande, for short), beautifully designed by Henri Duphot, the architect who later also designed Latour’s main building. Once a portion of the much larger Pichon estate owned by Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan, it was born in 1850 when the property was divided in two (the other half being Pichon-Longueville Baron).

Pichon-Longueville-Lalande is one of Pauillac’s more feminine wines, no doubt thanks to an unusually high percentage of Merlot used (35% on average, depending on the vintage), but in fact women have also played an important role. One of de Rauzan’s daughters, Virginie, wife of the Count of Lalande, managed the estate splendidly for years; in more recent times, May-Eliane de Lencquesaing was long associated with this property’s fortunes, and a magnificent, world-class art glass collection is housed at the estate, which today belongs to the Rouzaud family of Louis Roederer fame.

Pichon-Longueville Baron sits across the D2 road from Pichon-Longueville-Lalande; in my view, its fairytale turreted castle is the Médoc’s most beautiful. Somewhat brooding when young, the wine opens with age to reveal an opulent, classic Pauillac mouthfeel. Long-time cellarmaster Jean-René Matignon describes it as ‘having an austere breeding and unique class, deriving from the combination of the gravelly brown soils, to which Cabernet Sauvignon is especially adapted, and human work’.

Moving north, just before the town of Pauillac, is Bages, where estates such as Haut-Bages-Libéral, Lynch-Bages and Croizet-Bages are found. Haut- Bages-Libéral makes one of the most underrated wines of all Pauillac, a classic Pauillac eschewing the voluptuously ripe fruit and soft pH values of so many others. Owner Claire Villars-Lurton is a firm believer in the concept of ‘Haut Bages-ness’, a further subdivision of ‘Pauillac-ness’. ‘About half our vineyards sit close to the river’s edge in Haut-Bages,’ she says. ‘The others are found on the other side of the road on the plateau of Bages; but it’s the former that are especially noteworthy, located on the geological formation continuing south into St-Julien; Latour, Léoville-Las-Cases and Ducru- Beaucaillou all have vineyards on it. It is a soil rich not only in gravel but limestone, which allows for wines of greater finesse and breeding.’ Villars- Lurton believes this specific portion of Pauillac makes truly distinctive wines, but adds ‘Most Pauillac properties grow vines on a mosaic of different soils, so differentiating between wines based on a particular sub-zone of Pauillac is not easy’.

Over at nearby Château Lynch-Bages, technical director Nicolas Labenne agrees. ‘Clearly, there are differences in our soils; but there are just too many factors at work for us to be able to say this is a wine from Bages, or this is from Moussas. Perhaps that might be possible in areas where vineyard sizes are very small’. Over at Mouton Rothschild, general director Philippe Dhalluin believes there is a general ‘Pauillac-ness’ to the wines, but any further subdivision is perilous. He rightly points out that many of Mouton’s vineyards are located close to those of Lafite Rothschild and yet the wines couldn’t be more different.

Another example are the wines of Château d’Armailhac, located close to Mouton Rothschild, and under the same ownership. One of my favourite Pauillac wines, it is characterised as much by its soils and winemaking as it is by its unique blend, in which the old Cabernet Franc vines (of a much higher quality than what is usually found on the Left Bank) provide unique floral and noble cocoa aromas and flavours.

Clearly, owning vines that grow on a mosaic of soil types located both closer and farther away to the river’s edge is part of the secret to Pauillac’s success. To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, there is very much a ‘there’, in Pauillac. But in ultimate analysis, while soil plays a role, the magic that is Pauillac results from a mix of place and human skill.

Written by Ian D’Agata

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Though soils and microclimates play a vital role in Pauillac, Ian D'Agata finds it is the human touch that provides the key to this region's sheer magnetism and longevity...

D’Agata’s pick: a mixed case illustrating Pauillac’s appeal

Château Mouton Rothschild 1CC 2010

20/20pts (100/100pts)

A legendary wine, probably one of the best ever. Balance, power, silk. If you and your friends were to splurge on just one wine in your life, this would be a fine choice.

Price £425(ib)-£863 Bordeaux Index, Justerinis, Millésima, Roberson

Drink 2025-2120

Alc 14%

Château Lafite Rothschild 1CC 2001

18.75/20pts (95+/100pts)

Amazing finesse: lead pencil, cassis, cedar, and unforgettable. A very underrated vintage.

Price £460(ib)-£800 Bordeaux Index, Bancroft Wines, Cadman’s Fine Wines, Hedonism, Millésima, MWH Wines

Drink 2016-2075

Alc 13.5%

Château Pichon-Longueville- Lalande 2CC 1986

18.75/20pts (95+/100pts)

Marvellous old Bordeaux with delicate cassis, graphite, and faded violet nuances. A legendary wine for this estate, equal to the 1982 but ageing better.

Price £126-£170 Fine & Rare, Peter Wylie

Drink 2014-2020

Alc 13%

Château Pontet Canet 5CC 2008

18.5/20pts (95/100pts)

Beautifully poised and balanced, with memorable fruit density. Smart buyers know this is one of the year’s top wines, and almost as good as the much more expensive ’09 or ’10.

Price £33.03(ib)-£85.84 Bancroft, Cadman’s Fine Wines, En Primeur, Fine & Rare, Millésima, R&B

Drink 2020-2060

Alc 13.5%

Château d’Armailhac 5CC 2009

18.25/20pts (94/100pts)

Amazingly perfumed and sleek, with vibrant Cabernet Francinfluenced red fruit aromas and flavours. I’d guzzle away without shame.

Price £32-£45 En Primeur, Frazier’s Wine, Justerini & Brooks, Millésima, MWH Wines, Nicholls & Perks, R&B, Z&B

Drink 2020-2030

Alc 14%

Château Haut Bages-Libéral 5CC 2010

18.25/20pts (94/100pts)

Classic lead pencil and blackcurrant, attractively fresh and balanced; sneaky concentration and length.

Price £34-£42 Christopher Piper, Fine & Rare, Laithwaite’s, James Nicholson, Millésima

Drink 2023-2035

Alc 13.5%

Château Lynch-Bages 5CC 2005

18.25/20pts (94/100pts)

Almost forward but still young; spicy cassis lifts and lengthens its rich dark berry flavours. One of the best Lynch-Bages ever.

Price £90(ib)-£150 Bordeaux Index, Berry Bros & Rudd, Fine & Rare, Hedonism, Lay & Wheeler, Millésima, Nickolls & Perks

Drink 2018-2040

Alc 13.5%

Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 2CC 1995

17.25/20pts (90+/100pts)

Ripe but fresh, with cedary and flinty blackberry and plum fruit still lingering on.

Price £70-£92 Ancient & Modern, Frazier’s Wine, Lay & Wheeler, Peter Wylie, Robert Rolls & Co

Drink 2014-2030

Alc 13.5%

Château Batailley 5CC 1975

17/20pts (90/100pts)

Catch a glimpse of wonderful red Bordeaux as it used to be: glorious leafy elements, delicate blackcurrant and cedar mingle with ’75’s telltale chewy tannins. From an estate that has an exceptional stock of old bottles.

Price £79 Fine & Rare

Drink 2014-2020

Alc 13%

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 5CC 2004

17/20pts (90/100pts)

Charming blackberry and blackcurrant fruit aromas and flavours with the ’04 telltale leafiness. Glorious drinking now but will last another half decade.

Price £24-£42.06 Berry Bros & Rudd, Fine & Rare, KWM Wine & Spirits

Drink 2014-2020

Alc 14%

Château Fonbadet CB 2009

16.5/20pts (88/100pts)

Supple rounded and juicy. Medium-bodied and still reasonably fresh.

Price £10.50 Fine & Rare

Drink 2014-2020

Alc 14%

Château Lynch-Moussas 5CC 2009

16/20pts (86/100pts)

Lovely precision to the raspberry and blackcurrant aromas; graphite and cedar adds complexity. Politely styled, easy-drinking, almost light claret in keeping with the terroir and winemaking style.

Price £20-£33 Farr Vintners, Fine & Rare, Millésima, R&B, Roberson

Drink 2017-2025

Alc 13.5%

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Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, owner of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Clerc Milon and Chateau d'Armailhac in Pauillac and of all the Baron Philip de Rothschild SA properties, died on August 22, aged 80.

Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, Bordeaux’s ‘grande dame’

Madame de Rothschild, as she preferred to be known, was the only daughter of Elizabeth Pelletier de Chambure and Baron Philip de Rothschild, whose tireless belief in Mouton led to its promotion to First Growth in 1973. His daughter had continued his legacy, becoming indelibly associated with Mouton as president and controlling shareholder of the family estates and personally overseeing their direction.

In her earlier years, before returning full-time to the family wine estates at the death of her father in 1988, she had a notable stage career with the Comédie Française under the name Philippine Pascal, and received the Legion of Honour for Arts and Letters.

She considerably expanded the family wine estates, developing the partnerships in Chile (Almaviva) and California (Opus One), and was the driving force behind the Paintings for the Label exhibition which took labels by artists such as Dali and Picasso to leading art galleries worldwide.

The mayor of Bordeaux Alain Juppé released a statement honouring the ‘grande dame’ who did so much for the cultural life of France, while Olivier Bernard of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux said, ‘make no mistake, she was the lady of Mouton Rothschild, remarkable in her charisma, attention to detail and unflagging energy’.

She leaves behind her three children, Camille Sereys de Rothschild, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild and her husband Jean-Pierre de Beaumarchais.

A memorial service is due to be held in Pauillac on 1 September.

Written by Jane Anson

Strong winds and heavy rainfall over the weekend wreaked devastation across much of the Medoc with Pauillac being the worst affected commune.

Iconic trees uprooted at Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, credit: Hamish Wakes-Miller

The adverse weather conditions, between 11pm on Friday night and 2am Saturday morning, saw wind speeds reach up to 165km/hour and 60mm of rain fall within one hour.

The bell tower of Pauillac church was blown into a house 50 metres away, injuring a 71-year old inhabitant. Local chateaux have also been affected, with the famous bank of willow trees at Chateau Lafite-Rothschild largely uprooted, flag poles down at Cos d’Estournel and Pontet Canet, and the park at Chateau Fonbadet devastated.

Further down the Médoc, the oak tree in front of Chateau Palmer was also uprooted.

By Saturday afternoon, electricity was still out in some parts of Pauillac, causing potential issues with wine storage as outside temperatures climbed back upwards.

Both Guruad Larose and Pontet Canet have backup generators, but many other classified estates have no permanent generators on site. The local EDF branch confirmed that most electricity was back by Saturday night, but that the more remote areas may be without power until Monday or Tuesday.

Hamish Wakes-Miller, managing director of Bella Wine Tours, told decanter.com, ‘In parts of Pauillac, it was like a tornado had passed through. The only obvious vine damage was loss of foliage, it seems the trees took the brunt of it. Lucky really, as the hail canon at Gruaud Larose was ineffective as the electricity power-out cut the feed to the radar’.

‘The storm was shorter but more intense than the (last major storm) in 1999,’ Pauillac mayor Sébastien Hournau said on Saturday morning.

Over on the Right Bank, there were reports of hail falling in Fronsac and Lalande-de-Pomerol. ‘But nothing hugely serious,’ according to Bordeaux Wine Bureau president Bernard Farges.

Written by Jane Anson

Francois Pinault, owner of Chateau Latour in Pauillac, has bought Napa's Araujo Estate.

This takes the number of wine properties now owned by the French billionaire and his son Francois-Henri to four – Latour in Pauillac, Chateau Grillet in the northern Rhone, Domaine d’Eugenie in Vosne-Romanée and now Araujo in Napa. Pinault also owns chardonnay vines in Le Montrachet and Batard-Montrachet.

The price of the purchase was not disclosed, but is likely to have been at least US$300,000 per acre. The sale included the Eisele Vineyard, 38 acres of vines, the winery and existing stocks.

‘Araujo Estate and its jewel, the unique Eisele Vineyard, have been producing consistently one of the very best wines of the Napa Valley,’ said Frederic Engerer, CEO of the Pinault wine group, in a statement.

‘We would very much like to pay tribute to the exceptional work of Bart and Daphne Araujo, whose pioneering vision, dedication to excellence and attention to detail has built one of the most respected wine estates in the world.’

Bart and Daphne Araujo bought Eisele Vineyard, located just outside Calistoga, in 1990, although the vineyard itself dates back to 1884, and is known particularly for its cabernet sauvignon wines.

After the purchase, they hired Michel Rolland as consultant, and also converted the estate to biodynamic farming – something that Chateau Latour has itself been doing over the past few years.

In a letter to staff and clients, the former owners said that they had received an unsolicited expression of interest from the Artemis Group, owners of Latour, and were slowly convinced that they were ‘the perfect buyers for this amazing vineyard we have called home for 23 years’.

The Araujo family will stay at the estate until January 2014 to help with the transition, and the rest of the estate’s team will remain in place.

Written by Jane Anson

Property magnate Jacky Lorenzetti has beaten at least one First Growth in a fierce bidding war for Pauillac estate Chateau Béheré, whose vineyards lie next door to Chateau Mouton-Rothschild.

Lorenzetti (pictured), owner of Chateau Lilian Ladouys in Saint Estephe and Chateau Pédesclaux in Pauillac, recently bought a 50% stake in Chateau d’Issan in AOC Margaux.

Chateau Béheré is a small ‘cru artisan’ Pauillac estates with just over 4.7 hectares of vines, making around 33,000 bottles per year.

It is next door to Chateau Mouton Rothschild, and all its plots of vines are surrounded by prestigious classified properties.

Decanter.com understands it has been at the centre of a fierce bidding war from several top Pauillac estates over the past few years, including at least one First Growth.

‘At that price, it was only really viable for a cru classé,’ vineyard expert Alexander Hall told Decanter.com, citing the likely price per hectare of around €1.4m.

The previous owners, Jean-Gabriel and Anne-Marie Camou, created the property in 1993. Camou had run his own plumbing business, and bought vines that had been sent to the Pauillac cooperative, creating his own estate. His parents had moved to Pauillac from the Basque region of France in the 1950s as workers for the more prestigious estates nearby.

The Camous are selling the vines, not their house, and as the cellar is attached to the house, the new buyer will have to construct a new cellar – or vinify within the Pauillac appellation.

Lorenzetti, also owner of Paris rugby club Racing Métro 92, made his money through property group Foncia. His fortune was last year estimated at €245m by French business publication Challenges, having risen in 2011 but fallen from a pre-financial crisis high of around €700m.

Emmanuel Cruse, managing director of Lorenzetti’s other estates, is expected to run the new property.

Written by Jane Anson in Bordeaux

Six vintages of Pichon Comtesse de Lalande spanning over 30 years pleased many a palate in a master class hosted by Sylvie Cazes and Mark Bingley MW. Cazes drew attention to a brand new era for this venerable second growth Pauillac.

So long associated with Chateau Lynch Bages, Cazes had been appointed managing director of Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande, which belongs to the Champagne house Louis Roederer.

Even more recently, Philippe Moreau was appointed winemaking director, replacing Thomas Do Chi Nam, who had left to join Chateau Margaux as technical director: “Which we consider a compliment,” Cazes told participants.

Cazes said that quality will not only be maintained, but improved. One of the first things Moreau did was to cancel the practice of “prix fait” in the vineyard, which meant that workers were paid by how fast they worked per vine.

Cazes explained that such a practice promoted quicker working habits and was perhaps not the best way to assure quality. She also announced denser plantings for some parcels and decreasing use of weed killers.

Participants enjoyed a charming 2007, a seductive 1989, and a series of Pichon vintages ending in “5”, from a rather imposing and not ready to drink 2005 to what Cazes called a “classic Pauillac” 1975, with cigar box aromas and flavors.

“A wine for British palates,” remarked Danish wine consultant Kayne Steadman, who preferred more youthful 1995. The tasting offered something for everyone, including neophytes like Gaulaleh Eagle, a beginning wine blogger, who had never heard of Pichon Comtesse before. “The scale was impressive, and I learned so much,” she told Decanter.com.

In addition to the six Pichons, participants sampled four vintages of Chateau de Pez and a pair of Reserve de la Comtesse, the second wine.

Panos Kakaviatos

Written by Panos Kakaviatos

波亚克

即便位于南边圣于连和北边圣爱斯泰夫之间900公顷的居中之地，波亚克仍以不与任何一方雷同而自豪

波亚克的风格是多样化的—— Lafite 的芳香，Latour 的刚烈以及 Mouton 的奢华都强烈地印证了这一点。普遍来说，它的风格是浓郁的芳香和结实的单宁，需要时间来舒展开。在所有的村庄中，波亚克是最为以赤霞珠为主的，2010年更是这一特点完美的表现。有一些非常优质的，近乎不可超越的葡萄酒，整体来说品质非常的好。

5星*****

Ch Lafite-Rothschild（一级酒庄）20分

难以置信的野紫罗兰清香，美好的贵族般坚定的柔软口感，一款陈年能力非常强的令人着迷的葡萄酒。适饮期2020–50

Ch Latour（一级酒庄）20分

惊人的颜色深度，果香具有难以置信的甜美与成熟，然而厚重而繁复，是一款 Latour 酒庄酒不朽的表达。适饮期2025–70

Ch Mouton-Rothschild（一级酒庄）19.5分

庞大的异国情调杂果香气，多重层次感的芳香，饱满厚重与根深蒂固的酸度交相辉映，是这种厚重质感葡萄酒的完美平衡，是近年来最优秀的一款 Mouton。适饮期2020–50

Ch Pichon-Baron de Longueville（二级酒庄）18.5分

精彩的烟熏果香，相当的紧实，带有赤霞珠的天然深度，巨大的陈年潜力。适饮期2022–45

Ch Pichon-Comtesse de Lalande（二级酒庄）18.5分

柔软和丰满的果香，美好的口感，缺少的也许是这一年份的力量感，但不乏光滑和优雅。适饮期2020–40

Ch Pontet-Canet（五级酒庄）18.5分

大量的浓缩黑加仑果香，但已经具有顶级波亚克的野紫罗兰清香，极好的中度香甜，完美的结构和悠长回味，也许比 Pontet-Canet 最好的2009年份还要更优雅。适饮期2016–35

4星****

Ch Clerc-Milon（五级酒庄）18分

浓厚的黑加仑果香与干草药/咖啡香料的香气，非常好的适中果香以及结实优雅的结构和品质，是顶级的酒堡之一。适饮期2018–35

Ch Duhart-Milon（四级酒庄）18分

浓缩的黑色水果香气，饱满有力量，结构紧密，能保持长时间的优雅，一款极好的 Duhart。2020–35 

Ch Grand-Puy-Lacoste（五级酒庄）18分

仍旧相当保守，但有紫罗兰和铁味的优秀深度，波亚克葡萄和完美的回味，优雅，一款精致经典的葡萄酒，在长期贮藏后将得到回报。适饮期2017–35

Ch Lynch-Bages（五级酒庄）18分

非常优秀的浓缩赤霞珠果香，浓厚而带有泥土芳香，充满生气与活力的味道，很强劲，是一款能再次印证酒庄名声的葡萄酒。2020–40

Les Forts de Latour（副牌）18分

有一丝烟熏的香气，表达出非常好的丰满，富有生气的果香，极好的新鲜度和结构。适饮期2020–35

Carruades de Ch Lafite（副牌）17.5分

精美的芳香以及优雅表现在复杂的层次之中，完美的和谐，表现出最精美的波亚克。2016–26

Ch d’Armailhac（五级酒庄）17.5分

美好的浓缩黑色水果香气，已经有花香和香料气息，清爽而优雅经典，一款独有香料风味、（对波亚克来说）迷人的葡萄酒。适饮期2017–28

Le Petit Mouton（副牌）17.5分

饱满的黑加仑和摩卡巧克力芳香，爆发般的，乃至带有异域风情，由坚实的单宁作为支持，将带来很好的愉悦感。适饮期2015–25

Ch Batailley（五级酒庄）17分

深色，一丝烟熏味和黑加仑果香，一抹紫罗兰清新，饱满而充沛的风味，表达了这一可靠酒堡一贯的圆润和深度。适饮期2018–28

Ch Haut-Bages-Libéral（五级酒庄）17分

优质提纯的成熟黑加仑果实香气，复杂而醇厚，优秀的芳香和纯净度，结构紧致，回味悠长，在此五级酒庄的同辈之上。适饮期2017–28

Ch Haut-Batailley（五级酒庄）17分

非常好的优雅赤霞珠果香浓度，具有令人愉悦的芳香，一款完美均衡的 Haut-Batailley。适饮期2015–25

Ch Grand-Puy-Ducasse（五级酒庄）16.5分

充满了美味多汁的黑加仑果香，优秀的浓味，丰沛的香气，也许不是最复杂的。适饮期2017–27 

Ch Lynch-Moussas（五级酒庄）16.5分

优秀，轻微带黑梅-香料气息的黑加仑果香，良好的清晰度和深度，是这个不断进步的酒庄中一款非常吸引人的酒。适饮期2016–26 

Ch Pédesclaux（五级酒庄）16.5分

优秀的坚实果香和良好的口感，回味悠长，清澈有深度。适饮期2017–28

Ch Pibran 16.5分

丰富的黑加仑果香，富有能量，带有黑梅的深度，具有很好的陈年潜力。适饮期2016–25

Les Tourelles de Longueville（副牌）16.5分

很好的烟熏味和黑加仑果香，具有令人印象深刻的葡萄园成熟度，以及优秀的波亚克深度。适饮期2016–25

Pauillac de Ch Latour（三级酒庄）16.5分

特好的黑加仑果香，新鲜多汁并带有控制精密的单宁，是 Latour 生产以来最好的波亚克。适饮期2014–20

Réserve de la Comtesse（二级酒庄）16.5分

花香，芳香的香气，迷人的口感，丝绸般的优雅，伴随酒体和表现出现。适饮期2016–26

3星***

Ch Croizet-Bages（五级酒庄）16分

饱满的黑加仑果香，非常好的新鲜成熟度以及优质的单宁做支持，在瓶中持续不断地改善，但还不及大部分五级酒庄的复杂度。适饮期2016–28

Lagneaux à Pauillac 16分

非常古老的美乐葡萄树主导着这半公顷的葡萄园，表现出愉悦的新鲜芳香，经典，复杂悠长的回味。适饮期2014–20

Ch Bellegrave 15.5分

浓郁的黑加仑果香和浓度，良好的中等波亚克。适饮期2015–20

Ch Fonbadet（中级酒庄）15.5分

很好的黑加仑果香以及优秀的成熟度和深度，未来将添加更多的复杂度。适饮期 2014–18

Ch La Fleur-Peyrabon（中级酒庄）15.5分

优秀的黑加仑果香，在简单的风格中有很好的平衡。适饮期2014–18

Ch Plantey（中级酒庄）15.5分

浓郁萃取的黑加仑果香，李子香气和结实的单宁作为支持。适饮期2014–18

3星（15分）***

Ch Haut-Bages Monpelou（中级酒庄）15分

Written by Steven Spurrier 撰写

Sylvie Cazes, director of the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux, and co-owner of Chateau Lynch-Bages in Pauillac, has been appointed director of Pauillac second growth estate Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande.

Pichon Lalande, as it is more typically known, is owned by Louis Roederer Champagne, who bought it from May-Eliane de Lencquesaing in 2006.

Cazes will replace Gildas d’Ollone as managing director, who along with technical director Thomas Do-Ch- Nam, has been credited with the renaissance of the wine in recent years.

Cazes continues as president of the UGC, and as councillor in the Bordeaux local government, where she will continue to work for the development of the Wine Cultural Centre, due to open in the city in 2013.

Jean-Charles Cazes will continue to direct Chateau Lynch-Bages and the other Cazes family estates, as he has since 2006. Decanter.com understands that Sylvie Cazes will remain president of the advisory board for Lynch-Bages and rest of the family estates.

Frederic Rouzaud, great grand-son of Camille Olry-Roederer and the owner of Pichon Comtesse, confirmed the appointment to the Bordeaux trade today.

Written by Jane Anson in Bordeaux

We had a feeling they were going to be big - but the numbers coming out of Hong Kong today would have raised even the most reserved of eyebrows.

As prices started to trickle out, amid gasps and exclamation marks from the Twittersphere, the Decanter office tried make sense of the numbers. Can these be right, we wondered.

Why? Well, only two days ago, we were reporting Lafite 2008 rising 20% to an all time high of c.£10,500 a case, thanks to the promise of a symbolic addition to its bottles.

A mere 48 hours later and a case had just sold in Hong Kong for £21,500.

Vintage after vintage, the current market trading prices for Chateau Lafite Rothschild were blown away, with more than 14 examples of lots reaching double their last trade on Liv-ex.

The chart below shows a selection of Lafite case prices – and compares the latest traded figures [in £, courtesy of Liv-ex] against the price they reached at auction in Hong Kong today.

Take a deep breath.

Written by John Abbott

Pauillac had rarely looked as gloomy as it did on the wet spring day Anthony Rose took to the Route des Châteaux to taste the 2009 from barrel at Pontet-Canet...

Château Pontet-Canet at a glance

Owner Alfred Tesseron

Area Pauillac, Bordeaux, France. 80ha

Varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab Franc and Petit Verdot.

Soils Günzian gravel over clay and limestone

Château Pontet-Canet profile

Like a growing number of proprietors, owner Alfred Tesseron had withdrawn from the generic en primeur tastings put on by the Union des Grands Crus, feeling that anyone who really wanted to taste the wine would make the extra effort to get to the château.

He had no shortage of trade and press visitors keen to make the pilgrimage, despite the weather.

The sodden earth didn’t bother Opale, Reine and Kakou much either. It was a root day on the biodynamic calendar and the three Breton horses were in their element as they pulled their specially adapted carts through the vineyard, spraying cow-horn dung as they went.

View all of Decanter’s Château Pontet-Canet tasting notes

Seeing biodynamic viticulture in Burgundy or in the Loire Valley is par for the course.

But in the Médoc, with its sizeable estates and humid weather, it comes as a shock to be confronted with the theories of Rudolf Steiner. Not least at a cru classé. So much so that you could be forgiven if it crossed your mind that Opale, Reine and Kakou might be merely players on an elaborate marketing stage.

But on the evidence of recent years, Pontet-Canet is about more than just image. Despite its status as a mere fifth growth, its potential, with vineyards next to those of first growth Mouton-Rothschild, is for greater things. The critical reception to – and clamour for – its wines over recent vintages suggests it is starting to realise them.

‘Sound and competent’ were the words used by Robert Parker to characterise its wines before the château was bought from the Cruse family in 1975 by Cognac merchant, Guy Tesseron, in the wake of the 1973 Bordeaux wine scandal (Henri Cruse was convicted of blending the estate’s wine with cheap Rioja).

Since the full-time management of the property was taken over by Guy’s son Alfred in 1994, the wines have grown steadily in quality. From the landmark 2000 vintage onwards, the wines have grown in reputation, too. Indeed the rapturous reception given to the 2009 vintage has been such that Pontet-Canet can consider itself a member of the elite club of over-achieving non-first-growth châteaux that includes Ducru-Beaucaillou, Cos d’Estournel and Palmer.

Turning point

Realising the vineyard’s potential was the catalyst that drove Alfred Tesseron from the moment he first got his hands dirty in 1977. Sorting was introduced in 1987, green harvesting began soon after, and he gave up herbicides altogether in 2003. In 2004, he decided on a bold plan unique for a cru classé: to turn the vineyards over to biodynamic viticulture via advice, and the requisite Maria Thun preparations, from biodynamics expert, the late François Boucher. How did it happen?

It came down to two things: a yearning to improve the wine; and admiration for what Jean-Michel Comme, technical director since 1989, had achieved at his own estate, Champs des Treilles in Ste-Foy la Grande. In 2004, Tesseron made the huge decision to entrust Comme with Pontet-Canet’s direction. ‘In the end, you have to decide if you’re going to stand still or improve, and what I saw at Champs des Treilles was the turning point’, says Tesseron. ‘I said to Jean-Michel, “If you think you can do it, let’s try.” It was a question of confidence. I wouldn’t have done it with just anyone, but he always explains what he’s doing.’

Divided into two main parcels, and sub-divided into a further 92 plots, the soils at Pontet-Canet are composed of classic Médoc Günzian gravel over clay and limestone. Registering with organic certifier Ecocert in 2005 (and then its biodynamic counterpart Biodivin), Tesseron replaced the stainless steel in the cellar with small conical concrete vats that are gravity-filled for gentler tannin management and the best vinification for each individual plot. As the yields came down naturally instead of by green harvesting, the quantity of grand vin rose from 50% to 80%, while the second wine, Les Hauts de Pontet-Canet, diminished.

Eight hectares of vineyard were chosen for horse power in place of tractors, and 14ha in total for the first experimental biodynamic vintage in 2004. Two years later, Comme extended the ploughing, spraying and replacing of dead vines to 24ha. The long-term aim is to ditch the tractors and bring in a full complement of 10 horses to work the entire 80ha, roughly two-thirds of which is Cabernet Sauvignon, along with Merlot and a smattering of Cab Franc and Petit Verdot.

Tesseron insists that abandoning artificial fertilisers and chemicals is, literally, a down-to-earth approach aimed at making better wine.

‘For us, working biodynamically, like Chinese medicine, is a holistic approach. It’s not some magic wand, nor is it a gimmick. It’s constant, everyday work that puts us in close touch with the vineyard.’

There were horses at Pontet-Canet until 1960 and Tesseron feels that using them is a reversion to traditional methods that prevent compaction of the soil. ‘Our vineyard is very narrow and the tractors squeeze the roots which then don’t work well. But the vineyard gets its food from the roots, so if we improve it, the roots do a better job. Spraying cow-horn dung helps the roots to penetrate deeper and the leaves become healthier. We used to cut them; now we tie them together. They go straight up, like a man.’ The latter piece of information is delivered deadpan, with a knowing twinkle in the eye.

Lessons learned

The 10ha of Champs des Treilles worked biodynamically by Comme and his wife Corinne was the inspiration behind Tesseron’s move to go biodynamic. Comme believes there’s no single reason for converting to biodynamic viticulture but rather that it makes sense if you want to improve the health of the vineyard, and with it the quality of the wine. ‘Using pesticides is not logical and not a good way for the future,’ says Comme. ‘We cannot improve quality any longer always using the same techniques – green harvesting, deleafing and so on. Biodynamics gave us a new vision and a new way of working.’

Comme is not a fan of organic viticulture, which he feels doesn’t get to the root causes, as it were. ‘With bio, you try to understand the disease without worrying too much. You try to understand things globally. Now we try to read nature. It may sound strange but it’s true.’

But worrying too much is precisely what Comme did. The challenges of the inclement 2007 vintage exemplified the risks they were taking and the reasons why the ‘if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it’ mentality prevails in Bordeaux. The onset of mildew nearly drove him over the edge. ‘Without my family and children, I would have probably committed suicide. The pressure was so heavy I couldn’t sleep’, he admits.

Eventually he and Tesseron decided they had to use chemicals to eradicate the mildew. It was a huge blow at the time, resulting in three years of lost certification, yet it signalled an important change. ‘We learned a lot from 2007. It was a failure, but the start of the experiment. We lost crops but the wine was good and people began to realise there may be a price to pay for higher quality. 2008 was just as bad but we managed because we had learned from 2007. We realised that bio was necessary for good results, so now everything we do is with that vision.’

It might seem surprising that Tesseron employs Michel Rolland, not least because the ubiquitous consultant is better known for his association with Right Bank garagistes than with biodynamics. But Tesseron has used Rolland since 1999 not so much for his winemaking skills, as to bring an experienced external eye to Pontet-Canet. ‘Michel is curious about biodynamics and even if he’s not totally convinced, it’s good to have an alternative view,’ says Tesseron. ‘We don’t follow everything he says slavishly, but he explains things clearly and simply and gives me good examples. He’s a really good country person and he sees things in the vineyard’.

In respectable tweed jacket and cravat, the affable 62-year-old Tesseron seems an unlikely pioneer. Yet his ambition, open-mindedness and readiness to take risks have led him to see his vineyard and its potential afresh. Some 285 years after the property was founded by Jean-François de Pontet, governor general of the Médoc and secretary to King Louis XV, Pontet-Canet, which survived the Revolution, is today on course to deliver its full potential. There’s a new revolution going on that the Médoc grand crus classés will follow with admiration – and interest.

With three first growths, Pauillac is the Médoc's classiest commune, but its lesser châteaux are often forgotten. STEPHEN BROOK looks at the best of the rest.

Bordeaux admirers fall into two camps: decadents seduced by the easy Right Bank charms of Merlot, and classicists who identify great Bordeaux with ripe Cabernet Sauvignon from the Médoc. I’m in the latter camp and, at least until recently, was persuaded that the greatest Médoc château was Pauillac. It’s hardly an eccentric view, since the merchants and brokers who drew up the 1855 classification evidently felt the same way, placing more first growths in Pauillac than in any other Médoc château.

Despite basking in glory for more than 150 years, Pauillac doesn’t really have much identity. There must be many Bordeaux enthusiasts who adore their Lafite and Lynch-Bages and Pichon-Lalande but are only dimly, if at all, aware that these fine growths come from Pauillac.

There was a time when the first growths – Latour, Lafite, Mouton – might have been tempted to rest on their laurels. That’s no longer the case. Competition is severe. The first growths are all backed by rich families who can afford the investments that are essential to maintaining and improving quality. Such dedication comes at a price – paid by the consumer. Uncomplainingly, for the most part, since all three first growths, despite occasional stumbling, deliver the goods.

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CLASSY GROWTHS

Snapping at the heels of the firsts are a number of other classy growths of impeccable quality. Lynch-Bages and Pichon-Longueville share the same winemaking team, and are dark, rich, boldly flavoured and oaky. Grand-Puy-Lacoste is less well known than Lynch-Bages or Pichon-Longueville but, in a more discreet way, is on the same quality level. So too, for the most part, is Pichon-Longueville’s great rival, the estate owned by May-Eliane de Lencquesaing and usually known as Pichon-Lalande. It has more Merlot than is usual in classed-growth Pauillac, so the style is a touch more gentle, though it also manages to show remarkable elegance and longevity.

Because of the price wars within Bordeaux, all these wines are very expensive, but, it’s worth considering them in less prestigious years such as 1998 or 1999. Quality is still exceptionally high, but the demand for the great years such as 1990 or 2000 means that prices for ‘lesser’ vintages can be surprisingly accessible – relatively speaking.

But Pauillac is not a Médoc château for bargain hunters. There are some cheap wines, but they lack the typicity of fine Pauillac: richness, power, density, length of flavour, and a capacity to develop. Wines such as Châteaux Haut-Linage, Pedesclaux, Colombier Monpelou and Lynch-Moussas are not expensive, but neither are they terribly interesting or concentrated, although Lynch-Moussas can be surprisingly enjoyable. Croizet-Bages shows some signs of improvement, but it usually seems more impressive when tasted en primeur than after it goes into bottle. Clerc-Milon, a Rothschild property from the Mouton stable, used to be a bargain, but the Rothschilds gave up on bargains, and the price has soared.

A rising star is the fifth-growth Château Haut-Bages-Libéral. It has never been that well known, but since 1983 it has been one of a group of Médoc properties run originally by Bernadette Villars, and now by her daughter Claire Villars. Haut-Bages-Libéral’s vineyards lie just north of the Médoc Château Latour. And there is some resemblance to the wines of Latour: they are dark, brooding, and tannic. What they lack, perhaps, is finesse, but the wine, even in 2000, is eminently affordable.

Château Pontet-Canet is less obscure than Haut-Bages-Libéral, and quality has been superb during the 1990s. It’s a large property, with vineyards close to those of Mouton. Alfred Tesseron runs the estate and has been single minded in raising quality. No young vines are used for the grand vin, which is aged in 75% new barriques, and bottled without fining or filtration. In blind tastings I rated the 1998, 1999 and 2000 very highly. It’s not a bargain, but the price is far from outrageous.

Fifth-growth Château Haut-Batailley is from the same stable as Grand-Puy-Lacoste, belonging to the Borie family, who also own Ducru-Beaucaillou in St-Julien. It’s probably closer in style to St-Julien than Pauillac – graceful rather than powerful – and is made in the same meticulous way as Grand-Puy-Lacoste, but with less use of new barriques.

As one would expect, some crus bourgeois offer good value. At Château Pibran, part of the AXA-Millésimes empire, the vines are ideally located, adjoining Mouton, Lynch-Bages and Pontet-Canet. The wine is not especially structured, but is packed with succulent blackberry fruit. In some vintages, such as 2000, it is almost jammy and doesn’t have the finesse of top Pauillac, but it’s usually better value than the ‘second wines’ of the classed growths. In 2001 AXA bought the neighbouring property of La Tour Pibran.

HAUTE BOURGEOISIE

Château Fonbadet is another reliable cru bourgeois. The château itself can be glimpsed in its park in the village of St Lambert, but the 16ha (hectares) of vineyards are dispersed. This is a very traditional estate, run by Pierre Peyronie and his daughter Pascale. Yields are low, at around 40hl per ha. The wine is aged in 25% new oak for 18 months and bottled without filtration. It’s a compact, almost austere, wine and doesn’t show well when young. But in top vintages such as 1982, 1990 and 2000, Fonbadet is an excellent wine with the ability to age for decades.

I have a soft spot for the wines from La Fleur Milon in Pouyalet village, run by the Mirande family. The vines are old and some adjoin Mouton. The winemaking used to be quite old fashioned, but since 1995 the wine is aged in one third new oak. The wines are rich but chunky, without much elegance. But they are authentic Pauillac, even if in an old-fashioned style. I tasted the 1964 in 1997 and it was still going strong, though the 1971 was drying out. They are relatively good value.

In a similar style, but a touch more sophisticated, are the wines from Roland Fonteneau’s Château La Bécasse: worth seeking out in good vintages, and avoiding in poor years.

There’s a tiny cooperative in the centre of town: La Rose Pauillac. The wines are cheap so there is a tendency to overlook them. They tend to be robust and somewhat charmless, and in difficult years the wines can lack ripeness. But from a good vintage they are worth sampling and even buying.

Stephen Brook is a contributing editor to Decanter.

Written by STEPHEN BROOK