Bordeaux Wine Guide: Region 5 - Pauillac

[Matthias R WHT]

I have already argued that the wines of St Julien are perhaps the
epitome of claret, but I am sure that many would argue in favour of
this commune, just to the north of St Julien. With its three Premier
Grand Cru Classé estates, each of which has been responsible for 'wine
of the vintage' at some time or other, those who support this notion
would seem to have a strong case. But when I talk of claret's epitome
I don't necessarily speak of the greatest wines, if such a thing could
possibly be defined, rather I speak of a certain style. It is the
combination of elegance with austerity that marks St Julien, whereas
in Pauillac we have something with a little more flesh perhaps, a more
concentrated and maybe, with some wines at least, a more voluptuous
style. That is not to say the wines do not typify Bordeaux; they most
certainly do, and the wines of both communes can age magnificently.
But it is undeniable that those from Pauillac have their own character
which is distinct from the daughters of the great Léoville estate and
their neighbours to the south, a character marked by aromas of fresh
pencil shavings, cedar, blackcurrant, cigar-boxes and old wooden
cabinets.

I suspect all this talk of distinctive styles rather suggests that all
Pauillac resembles nothing else, and that the same can be said for St
Julien. This is of course not true, as here, just as it is with any
commune or appellation, there are estates with their own philosophies,
techniques and styles, providing a gradation across a spectrum of what
might generally be regarded as Pauillac. And with Latour we have
perhaps the prime example, in this appellation at least, of this. The
vines border those of Léoville-Las-Cases, in the St Julien
appellation, and there are many that would prefer to draw comparisons
between the wines of Latour and this latter estate, number one in the
pack of 'super-seconds', the leading pretender to a new first growth
crown, than with any other estate in Pauillac.

Nevertheless, the many classed growth estates in this commune do
deserve detailed inspection away from any comparison with others, and
it is on the three first growths that our gaze should naturally fall
first.


The Triumphant Triumvirate

Of course the 1855 classification only truly includes two first
growths, Latour and Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild having been
ranked as a deuxième cru by the merchants who were responsible for
positioning the chateaux of the Medoc on the five rungs of the ladder.
As I describe in my profile, the property and the vineyard were in bad
condition when acquired by Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild in 1853, and
perhaps this had some bearing on Mouton's ranking. Having said that,
we should remind ourselves that the merchants drew up the
classification based on price, and so really this should not have had
any effect; at this time prices for Mouton were strong, matching other
first growths in 1854 and again in 1858. Nevertheless, this clearly
was not sufficient, and it has been speculated that the lack of a
grand chateau may have influenced the decision, or maybe the fact that
Mouton was then in foreign hands - Nathaniel was of the English branch
of the family - counted against it. It is also quite plausible that
the first tier was already long decided; based on price and prestige
alone, there were four accepted first growths at the time, these being
Lafite, Latour, Haut-Brion and Margaux, and it was not the business of
the négociants to place the upstart Mouton alongside these illustrious
names.

Within a few decades the quality of the wines suggested to all that an
error had been made with Mouton's position, but more than one hundred
years had passed before it was rectified. This was the work of
Philippe Rothschild, who campaigned for the righting of what he termed
the 'monstrous injustice' of Mouton's second growth status. For years
the labels stated simply Premier ne puis, second ne daigne, Mouton
suis, or 'First I cannot be, second I do not deign to be, I am
Mouton'. Of course no review of this classification was ever planned,
but Philippe's tireless protest eventually prompted Jacques Chirac,
then Minister of Agriculture, to pass a decree conferring the status
of Premier Grand Cru Classé upon Mouton-Rothschild in 1973. At last
the wrong against the Rothschilds had been righted, and from then on
Mouton's labels bore a new inscription, Premier je suis, second je
fus. Mouton ne change, or 'First I am, second I was. Mouton does not
change'.

Meanwhile, Latour and Lafite-Rothschild have had no such identity
crisis over the years. The latter has long been in the ownership of
the Rothschilds, although not as long as Mouton in fact, which was at
least in their ownership when the 1855 classification was published.
Here the estate was acquired by Baron James de Rothschild, at auction,
in 1868. It was sold at a knock-down price, and was a veritable
bargain considering that this was the first of the firsts. It is often
forgotten that the 1855 classification included a rating of the
properties within each category, and just as with the four rungs below
them the first growths were ranked in order, with Lafite leading the
pack. Some today argue that this was an alphabetical listing (Haut-
Brion being named Pontac, after the owners of the day) but this was
not true of any other category, so I do not see why it should be true
of the firsts. Nevertheless, many would argue for placing Latour in
this position today, certainly when comparing the three contenders
from Pauillac, although I suspect it is true that many would rank it
as the greatest estate and the home of the greatest wine in all
Bordeaux. It has a far greater propensity for ageing than other wines
in the commune, even its first growth companions, and is also often
hailed a success in lesser vintages. It is perhaps no wonder, with the
commune led by these three properties, that the wines of Pauillac are
for many the most desirable in all Bordeaux.


Pauillac - The Appellation

The appellation itself is effectively divided into two by the Chenal
du Gaer, which flows past Artigues and then north of Grand-Puy-Ducasse
to enter the Gironde just to the north of the town of Pauillac. To the
south it is bounded by the Ruisseau de Juillac, which demarcates the
transition from Pauillac to St Julien, whereas to the north the Jalle
de Breuil provides a convenient boundary, on the other side of which
lies St Estèphe. Between there are over 1100 hectares of vines, and as
this is the Médoc it is the gravel croupes that provide the best
terroir, stony mounds on which the greatest estates can be found.
These waterways aid the drainage immeasurably, although along the
muddy banks of these rivers and streams themselves, and also by the
very side of the Gironde, the land is completely unsuitable for the
vine.

For many years Pauillac has provided the wine drinker with both ends
of the quality spectrum; the magnificent wines of the first growths,
especially Latour, but also disappointment and poor performance from
some of the seemingly innumerable (although in truth there are twelve)
fifth growth estates. Of all these wines there is one I have so rarely
encountered it is difficult for me to judge conclusively, this being
Pédesclaux. I once spotted a bottle, in Frankfurt airport if my memory
serves me correctly, but otherwise our paths have rarely crossed, and
I certainly can provide no recent tasting notes. Of others I have a
little more experience, and over the years I have seen much room for
improvement with some estates, from Croizet-Bages and Lynch-Moussas,
for instance. With the wave of regeneration that has swept Bordeaux in
the late 20th and early 21st Century, however, and the renewed
worldwide interest in wine, we can hope for even lesser properties to
raise their game and give us the wine we desire. If not, we can always
look to the Cru Bourgeois properties of the appellation although
Pauillac, as is the case with St Julien, is not awash with notable
estates at this level.



Pauillac - The Classifications
Notable Chateaux


Premiers Crus, 1855

Ch. Lafite-Rothschild
Ch. Latour
Ch. Mouton-Rothschild


Deuxièmes Crus, 1855

Ch. Pichon-Baron
Ch. Pichon-Lalande


Quatrièmes Crus, 1855

Ch. Duhart-Milon


Cinquièmes Crus, 1855

Ch. d'Armailhac
Ch. Batailley
Ch. Clerc-Milon
Ch. Croizet-Bages
Ch. Grand-Puy-Ducasse
Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste
Ch. Haut-Bages-Libéral
Ch. Haut-Batailley
Ch. Lynch-Bages
Ch. Lynch-Moussas
Ch. Pédesclaux
Ch. Pontet-Canet

Cru Bourgeois

Ch. Pibran



Surprisingly, for what many would argue is the world's most
significant wine region (I accept that many would argue that this is
in fact the Loire...) Bordeaux is hardly a hotbed of culinary
delights. In and around Pauillac, however, there are at least some
points of interest. The region is renowned for saltmarsh lamb, the
young animals having grazed on the aforementioned land alongside the
Gironde which is unsuitable for the vine. There are some notable
restaurants in Pauillac, but nearby Bages is also of interest thanks
to investment by Jean-Michel Cazes. Having grown up in the town, Cazes
was looking to expand his wine storage facilities and was presented
with the option of demolishing some of the vacant properties in the
village and extending his already capacious warehouse. But he took a
different path, and he began to invest in the tiny village, restoring
houses and shops. Today the village is a tourist attraction in itself.
This was not quite a road he had never trodden before, however, as the
Cazes family own Bordeaux Saveurs, a company which specialises in
Bordeaux hospitality, and he had already established a very successful
hotel-restaurant at Chateau Cordeillan-Bages.

Naturally diners at these establishments are presented with a list of
local wines to drink with their lamb, and in Pauillac we could start
with one of the two Pichon estates, Lalande and Baron, both of which
are currently turning out superlative wines. There are no estates,
ranked as troisième cru, but there are some decent wines made at
Duhart-Milon. As I have already mentioned, the bulk of Pauillac hides
at the bottom of the 1855 classification, although here there are some
truly excellent wines to be found which indicate just how foolish it
can be to use this ancient listing as a true guide to quality today. I
have found wines from d'Armailhac, Clerc-Milon, Grand-Puy-Lacoste,
Lynch-Bages and Pontet-Canet to be excellent at one time or another,
and many of the others can be superb value even if the absolute
quality is not quite up with these first few. Both Haut-Bages-Libéral
and Haut-Batailley certainly fit into this category. Of this brief
listing, it is probably Pontet-Canet that is worth knowing best; with
a massive turn-around in the last decade of the 20th Century, the
wines now sit comfortably with those ranked as Deuxième Grand Cru
Classé, and show an amazing concentration in some vintages.

Beyond the 1855 listing there are of course the Cru Bourgeois
properties, although there are not many; here Pibran probably ranks
among the best. I have also tasted a few wines from La Fleur Peyrabon,
which are sourced from a small 5 hectare plot within the Pauillac
appellation, although they are vinified at Chateau Peyrabon, a Haut-
Médoc estate. These wines have not been so impressive.


- Wine Doctor.