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.