Discovering Pauillac wines and top Bordeaux chateaux
We explore Pauillac AOC - home to world-famous Bordeaux wines - and visit 2 top Bordeaux growths, Château Pichon Baron and Château Lynch Bages
Château Pichon Baron - Source: Winekeller
The great Bordeaux wine appellations are on the ‘left bank’ in the Médoc region, north of the city of Bordeaux on the superior, higher land, with well-drained, gravel soils. One of the most famous, prestigious and illustrious Bordeaux wine regions here is Pauillac, home to not one but three of the five top-rated Bordeaux growths (according to the 1855 Bordeaux wine classification).
Here we visit two superb, top-rated Pauillac Bordeaux châteaux, Château Pichon Baron (second growth Grand Cru Bordeaux wine) and Château Lynch Bages (fifth growth Grand Cru Bordeaux wine) …
Pauillac, Médoc, Bordeaux - source: Vins de Bordeaux
Where is Pauillac AOC?
The Pauillac AOC, established in 1936, lies on the left bank of the Gironde Estuary, about 40 kms north of Bordeaux and constitutes 7.5 % of Médoc vineyards, with 1,213 hectares under vine. Pauillac produces over 7million bottles of Bordeaux wine in an average year.
The elevated gravel ridges of the Pauillac AOC extend to 30 metres above sea level and this Médoc region benefits from some of the best gravel slopes and a maritime climate, with lower risks of frost and extreme temperatures.
The town of Pauillac has been linked to the port and wine industry for several centuries, with its location on the Gironde and its favourable conditions for growing vines, especially the efficient natural drainage of the gravel soils.
The D2 road runs vertically through the Pauillac AOC and its famous Bordeaux châteaux are laid out either side of it.
Bordeaux Médoc wine routes - Source: Winekeller
Pauillac Grand Cru wines
There are 33 independent winegrowers in Pauillac Bordeaux and 21 others that are part of a cooperative.
Search here to learn more about the Pauillac Bordeaux châteaux.
There are three first growths in Pauillac, as mentioned above - these include: Château Lafite-Rothschild (formerly Château Lafite); Château Latour and Château Mouton Rothschild. Then there are two second growths - Château Pichon Baron (formerly Pichon Longueville) and Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - one fourth growth - Château Duhart-Milon and twelve fifth growths.
See the full list of 1855 Grands Crus Classés
There’s no doubt that Pauillac is a highly prestigious Bordeaux appellation with many of its famous châteaux under renovation and reconstruction, with top-class wine tourism offerings to enjoy and experience.
What kind of wine is Pauillac?
The predominant Pauillac Bordeaux grape variety is Cabernet Sauvignon, which flourishes on the gravelly terroir and represents over 60% of all plantings. Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot make up Pauillac blends.
Pauillac Bordeaux is tannic and full-bodied but also balanced and elegant, with aromas of black cherry, liquorice, crème de cassis, sour cherry, rose, iris, cedar, smoke, and incense. Ageing can be up to 30 years.
Visit to Château Pichon Baron
Château Pichon Baron is one of the greatest historic vineyards in Bordeaux as well as one of the most famous - and beautiful - Bordeaux châteaux. Grand Cru classified, it is one of the two second growths in Pauillac Bordeaux and both are known as ‘super seconds’, the quality of their wines approaching that of the famous first growths.
What is the history of Château Pichon Baron?
Château Pichon Baron has a fascinating and intriguing history.
Today it’s owned by AXA Millésimes (who also own Château Pibran). It used to be family-owned but like many of the large Bordeaux châteaux, inheritance tax dealt a severe challenge to the family to grow and to maintain the estate.
The estate was first established in the late 17th century and four generations of Barons de Pichon Longueville succeeded one another at the head of the estate until 1850 when the vineyard was split into two separate estates.
Pichon Baron vs Pichon Lalande
Son Raoul Jacques Albert Paulin de Pichon Longueville renamed the property Château Pichon Longueville au baron de Pichon Longueville (today known as Château Pichon Baron) and his sister created Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Today both estates are separate entities and stand either side of the D2 road in Pauillac and both are classified as second growth Grand Cru estates.
Raoul built the current château in 1851, with its two magnificent and iconic turrets and then in 1855 it was awarded the second growth Crand Cru classification. The estate was sold in 1933 to the Bouteiller family and then in 1987 on to AXA Millésimes.
AXA has made significant investment in the estate, the château and the vineyards over subsequent years, including an impressive underground cellar with gravity system and reception area.
See the historical timeline here of the château.
Château Pichon Baron wine
Château Pichon Baron wines are known for their depth and power. The vineyards stretch over 75 hectares and 60% of the vines, some of which are 60-70 years old, are Cabernet Sauvignon. Much progress has been made over recent years to improve the soils and as such, yields are lower than previously and the wines are much more concentrated. The wines are not certified organic, but the château follows ‘HVE’ organic methods - which demands no insecticides or herbicides.
All grapes are picked by hand and are processed through a mixture of hand and machine sorting and selection.
There are 70 different vats in the winery which are used for vinification and ageing - a mixture of stainless steel, oak and concrete. They are also experimenting with glass and amphoras.
The Grand Cru wine - the Grand Vin Château Pichon Baron 2nd Grand Cru Classé is made from grapes from the very oldest vines grown on the most historic plots of the estate. About 180,000 bottles per year of this very special wine are produced and they are aged for 6 months in oak barrels then blended and returned to the vats for 10 months.
Château Pichon Baron produces about 140,000 bottles of two second wines: Les Griffons de Pichon Baron and Les Tourelles de Pichon Baron.
Visiting Château Pichon Baron - wine tourism:
Incredibly there are some 10-12,000 visits each year to Château Pichon Baron and tours and tastings are available all year round. The maximum number of people per tour is 10-12.
During our visit and tasting we tasted all three wines - the two second wines and the Grand Cru wine, all from the same year, 2019, which was an excellent vintage for fruit and freshness. This offered a great opportunity to really compare and contrast each wine.
First the two ‘second’ wines:
Les Tourelles de Pichon Baron: 68% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot - a lovely, well-rounded wine.
Les Griffons de Pichon Baron: 50% Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon - much more of a typical ‘Pauillac’ wine
Château Pichon Baron 2nd Grand Cru: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot - much more tannins,lots of depth and structure, will keep for years.
We also tasted the Château Pichon Baron 2nd Grand Cru 2014 to experience an older wine - 80/20% Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot - even greater depth, a superb Bordeaux wine.
Visit to Château Lynch Bages
Château Lynch Bages is one of the 12 fifth growth Grand Cru Classés in Pauillac, with a reputation for producing excellent and highly sought-after wines and combining modern ingenuity in their winemaking processes, with tradition.
Château Lynch Bages, which overlooks the Gironde estuary just outside the town of Pauillac, is one of the largest and most modern facilities in the region and in our opinion is well worth visiting, for the wines yes, but also for the incredible ingenuity and scale of the new modern winemaking facilities. The overall impression is simply spectacular.
Who owns Château Lynch Bages?
Château Lynch Bages is family-owned. Formerly owned from 1749 to the 1820s by the Lynch family, of Irish descent, the estate was acquired by the Cazes family in 1939 (Lynch married into the Cazes family). The original owner - Jean-Charles Cazes - was a baker and soon after purchasing the château he purchased a second property in nearby St Estephe called Château Ormes de Pez, still owned by the family today. The current owner is also called Jean-Charles Cazes and is the 4th generation family owner.
The name ‘Bages’ comes from the small hamlet of Bages which surrounds the château. The buildings are all owned today by the family, but administered by the town of Pauillac. The village was renovated in the early 2000s to look like it would have looked back in the 1950s/60s.
Read more about the history of the estate here.
The original Château Lynch Bages - Source: Winekeller
Château Lynch Bages, Pauillac - Source: Winekeller
The new, modern winery and cellars
When you first arrive at Château Lynch Bages the first thing you see is this huge, modern, state-of-the-art structure. The winery was renovated from 2017-20 and again in 2021. The original château still exists but is dwarfed by the new modern construction.
The latest renovation saw the creation of the new winery and cellars featuring lots of glass and natural light. The new construction - designed by Chien Chung, son of the late IM Pei who was responsible for designing the glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris - houses 80 fermentation vats which enables all of the plots from the 112 hectares of vineyards - and the grapes to be vinified separately. The first vintage to be vinified in the new winery was the 2020 vintage.
The winery features three different levels so the wine can be produced using an ingenious gravity process and with as little intervention as possible. There are 11 elevator vats which transport the wine through gravity, between the 2 fermentations. Blending happens after the 2nd fermentation and before the wine goes into the barrels.
The barrels are stored on the lower level - 10 metres underground - and the huge space can accommodate up to 5000 barrels. Château Lynch Bages follows organic processes but is not certified organic.
Discover more about the incredible winemaking facilities and process here.
Viewing this incredible state-of-the-art facility is a key part of a visit to Château Lynch Bages but you can also walk through the old winery and cellars with their huge wooden vats, dating back to the 1820s - now a museum and a piece of history. It is the best preserved winery in the region of its kind and was last used in 1975.
What type of wine is Château Lynch Bages?
Château Lynch Bages’ reputation was established in 1945 after a series of exceptional vintages. Over the years, the wines have gained finesse and complexity and today are defined by their outstandingly consistent quality.
Château Lynch Bages produces 2 core Bordeaux red wines along with a small amount of white wine. In total approximately 450,000 bottles are produced each year.
Just 7 hectares are dedicated to producing white wine, ‘Blanc de Lynch-Bages’ and about 20,000 bottles are produced each year. First produced in 1990 and historically one of the first white wines produced by a Grand Cru Classé in the Médoc it is produced from 3 white grape varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle.
In terms of the red wines, the blend is typically 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, with the rest made up of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
The Château Lynch Bages Grand Cru Classé, known for its structure, finesse and elegance, represents about two thirds of the total wine production. The remaining production is made up of the 2nd red wine ‘Echo de Lynch Bages’.
80% of the wines are exported and 90% of production is sold to wine merchants ‘en primeur’.
Visiting Château Lynch Bages - wine tourism:
You can visit Château Lynch Bages Monday-Saturday and enjoy a tour of the new winery and cellars and of course a tasting of the wines. Note there is no tour of the vineyards.
You can then purchase wines from the shop in the village.
We enjoyed a tour followed by a tasting of the below wines:
‘Ormes de Pez’ 2015 from St Estephe - a fruity, less tannic style of wine with a greater proportion of Merlot (49% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot);
‘Echo’ 2016 (73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot) - more dark fruits, softer on the nose, can keep for 5-10 years, needs food, good tannins;
Grand Cru 2014 (69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot) - lots of black fruits: cherries, plums, prunes, spice and strong tannins. Still very young, could wait another 20 years.
Visiting the town of Pauillac
The small, quiet town of Pauillac lies on the edge of the Gironde estuary. We spent a pleasant couple of hours cycling and walking along the Gironde, enjoying the peaceful views and the nature, followed by lunch at one of the several restaurants along the river front.
We had an excellent lunch at Le Lafayette, however we can also recommend Café Lavinal in the village of Bages, a popular bistro located just opposite the château.
You can opt to stay in the nearby 5-star Château Cordeillan-Bages Hotel, also owned by the Cazes family and part of the Relais & Châteaux group, offering 28 bedrooms and suites.
We suggest visiting La Maison du Tourisme et des Vins on arrival in Pauillac where you can plan your visit not just to Pauillac but to the greater Médoc area. It is the ideal place to pick up a map of the region and ask for information on wine tourism tours organised around Pauillac, as well as walking and cycle routes.
For more information about visiting Paulliac, see here.
Conclusion and personal highlights
If you’re a wine lover, it should be on your list to visit at least one of the top Bordeaux châteaux and we would most certainly rate and recommend these two Pauillac Bordeaux châteaux. They were both excellent wine tours and tastings and they really typify the type of top wine tourism experience you can experience here!
