TERROIR PROFILE
Pauillac
Cabernet royal terroir on deep gravel
Pauillac is Cabernet in its purest form — power, cassis and cedar built to last.
Climate, site & wine
Deep gravel banks over clay and limestone bedrock provide good drainage and store heat, favouring Cabernet Sauvignon, which clearly dominates the plantings. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot complete the blend in varying proportions.
The wines are dark, with cassis, cedar, graphite and cigar box, with firm, dense tannin and high ageing potential. Pauillac is regarded as powerful and structured and austere in youth; the wines often open only after several years.
TERROIR PROFILE · Bordeaux
Pauillac Cabernet royal terroir on deep gravel
Pauillac is Cabernet in its purest form — power, cassis and cedar built to last.
SOILS
Gravel / Sandlight, approachable
Gravel and sand drain heavily — vines struggle for water, wines turn fine, light and elegant.
Loambody-rich, velvety
Loamy soils give wines volume and a soft, velvety mouthfeel.
Limestoneprecise, mineral
Limestone delivers tension, structure and a cooler, more mineral character.
CLIMATE · Maritime
Oceanic climate, tempered by the Gironde and the Landes pine forests to the west. The estuary dampens frost and heat spikes, and long, mild autumns allow late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen fully. Rain at harvest remains the main risk.
TOPOGRAPHY · gentle
Low, gently domed gravel mounds (croupes) immediately west of the Gironde, rising only a few metres to a little over ten metres above the river. What matters is drainage rather than height: the best sites lie on the gravel mounds with deep water run-off.
WHAT IT MEANS IN THE GLASS
Similar terroirs worldwide
Computed from fingerprint similarity
Saint-Julien
Bordeaux
94% similar
- Body (slightly): Pauillac gives more body → fuller, more powerful wines (9 vs. 8).
- Freshness (slightly): Pauillac has less freshness → gentler acidity, earlier drinking (5 vs. 6).
Südliche Weinstraße (Grenze zum Elsass)
Palatinate
93% similar
- Warmth (slightly): Pauillac is cooler → tauter fruit, leaner wines, more acidity (6 vs. 7).
- Sun (slightly): Pauillac gets less sun → paler colour, more herbal spice (6 vs. 7).
Wineries on this terroir
See all 23 →Château Mouton Rothschild
Pauillac
Renown 94/100
Château Lafite Rothschild
Pauillac
Renown 94/100
Château Latour
Pauillac
Renown 94/100
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Pauillac
Renown 88/100
Château Pichon Longueville Baron
Pauillac
Renown 88/100
Château Pontet-Canet
Pauillac
Renown 86/100
Château Lynch-Bages
Pauillac
Renown 85/100
Château Lynch-Moussas
Saint-Sauveur
Renown 79/100
This terroir's soils in the glossary