Famous for being home to three of the five first growths of the 1855 classification, Pauillac is known for the deep gravel outcrops that make it the home of Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon. The appellation takes its name from the town of Pauillac, on the banks of the Gironde Estuary at the centre of the appellation.
Once a thriving port, the town has fallen into disrepair. Midway up the Médoc peninsula on the famous ‘route des châteaux’ (the wine tourism version of a high-end wine list), tourists often drive through on the way from Latour to Mouton Rothschild with barely a glance at the cafés and restaurants along the promenade.
Now, several important investments merit a closer look. Could this be the beginning of a Pauillac renaissance?
A long maritime history.
In 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette set sail from Pauillac to America to become a hero of the American War of Independence. In its 1890s heyday, Pauillac was home to the French Compagnie Générale Transatlantique cruise liner terminal where trains from Bordeaux brought passengers right to the Trompeloup wharf, just 5 kms north of the town. By the 1920s, improvements to the Gironde Estuary allowed bigger ships to navigate all the way to Bordeaux and the strategic importance of Pauillac started to wane.
From Oil to Airbus
The wharfs were destroyed in bombing raids in 1944, a target due to the oil terminal, depot and refinery built here by Les Pétroles Jupiter (later Shell). Jean Michel Cazes from Château Lynch Bages writes about watching these raids as a child in his autobiography. Pauillac was also an American air force base protecting maritime convoys.
Shell built a model village for the families of their employees, an important boost to the town’s population. The closure of the refinery in the 1980s was devasting for the town. Previously employing up to 300 people, today, less than 40 staff manage a storage facility still processing up to 150 tankers a year.
In 2004, the wharf become a staging post for Airbus A38 parts. Arriving on ocean ships from Hamburg, they were transferred to an impressive barge to wait for the right tide to slide under the Pont de Pierre in Bordeaux, sailing on to Langon to finish their transfer via road to the airbus in Toulouse.
History repeating itself
As Airbus activity comes to an end, the wharfs are being rehabilitated to once again welcome Americans, this time as a stopover for ocean going cruise ships too large to moor in Bordeaux. They would previously have moored in Le Verdon at the mouth of the estuary to the north.
Pauillac is perfectly placed for wine tourism. Two cruise ships called in this year, with guests disembarking in the morning to discover the region before embarking to continue their journey in the evening.
Excursions were organised across the Médoc by B Excellence and the tourist office, from vineyards to the seafront at Soulac sur Mer.
New arrivals
There are around five ships planned for 2025 and up to 15 in 2026. Long term, the Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux (GPMB), owner operator, plans to transform the wharf back to its former glory aiming for 20 calls a year within 4-5 years. Pauillac is also looking to refurbish the town centre pier for smaller river cruise ships. The waterfront has already been renovated with gardens and a nature walk with a cycle path planned to link the port to the town centre.
Waterfront destination
Built on roman foundations the town centre has a long history turned toward the water. Since 1872, it is home to one of the oldest sailing clubs in France, with a marina for 150 boats built in the 1970s and the lifeboat ‘Pichon Baron’ on duty as the tidal waters can be treacherous.
Château Loudenne has embraced this dynamism. Owners, Sophie and Christophe Gouache pick their clients up from the waterfront in Pauillac in their 12 seater boat, ‘Loudenne II’, taking them on a cruise to the property. It’s a unique way to discover role water plays in the history and the life of the region, seeing up close the fishermen’s cabins and the islands of the estuary. They taste their wines on board and disembark at the majestic 19th waterfront cellars of the chateau. The building is a witness to the unique history of the property, the Gilbeys, then owners of Château Loudenne, were the first negociants based in the Médoc, rather than in the Port of Bordeaux.
Wine driven
Today 5 000 people live in Pauillac, the wine business and the services that supply it are major employers. Baron Philippe Rothschild, owners of Château Mouton Rothschild, Clerc Milon, Armailhac and Mouton Cadet, have their head office in the town centre with their vineyards just to the north of the town and the Mouton Cadet production facility 10 kms inland.
Agent for change
The most Pauillac of all the Pauillac properties is Château Grand Puy Ducasse with their cellars right on the waterfront. It’s an urban winery, an unusual but historical location, where the property has been making wine here since 1820. The renovation of the chateau and the cellars has brought new life to the waterfront. After three years of renovation, the cellars were christened with the 2023 vintage and opened to visitors in July 2024. The space is designed for wine making but with guests in mind. Before reaching the cellar, an itinerary takes you on a journey through the beautifully renovated salons illustrating the history of the 18th century chateau and its maritime links.
The cellars have a wow factor, the new layout has doubled the number of vats, and they are impressive. Made from shiny stainless steel, suspended from the ceiling for gravity feed, a sculpture of wild swallows flies amongst them. These protected birds had to be re-housed before construction could continue – holding up the opening! A panoramic room above the cellars overlooks the waters of the Gironde Estuary reinforcing the link to the water.
Make a run for it
The waterfront of Pauillac comes to life every year, it is the starting and finishing line for the annual Marathon du Médoc. This September, the 38th edition saw 8500 runners from 70 countries join ‘the longest marathon in the world’ so called thanks to the ‘refreshment’ stops at some of the 44 wine chateaux along the route.
There’s also an annual film festival Les Vendanges du 7ieme Art celebrating francophone films with projections on the waterfront in the presence of the actors.
A taste for hospitality
Until now, visitors stayed outside of town, at the hotel Cordeillan Bages or further north in Saint-Estèphe at the Maison d’Estournel, although the Salamandre restaurant in Pauillac offers great food and a really good value wine list.
In 2023, the run down waterfront Hôtel d’Angleterre was fully redesigned and reopened as the Hôtel des Vignes et des Anges. Opposite the Pauillac marina, the hotel has 44 brand new rooms and suites in the 19th century building and its annexe. There’s an indoor pool and wellness area, a cocktail lounge, restaurant, a co-working space and seminar rooms. Part of Best Western Premier Label, owner Catherine Parinaud already owns the Best Western Hôtel Bayonne in Bordeaux Centre.
Look out for the opening of Château Fonbadet in 2025, owner Pascale Peyronnie is converting her beautiful Chartreuse home into a fabulous guest house.
With the creation of gardens and a walk way along the river, the opening of a new hotel, a stunning new cellar and the arrival of new cruise companies, Pauillac has found a new dynamism. It may once again be the perfect port of call for a visit to the Médoc.
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