Pauillac for Bordeaux
OVERVIEW – On this page you can see information about Pauillac (the port for Bordeaux) and some suggestions of Things to Do. We reflect on our visit including a walk through the town and a visit to a winery.
Video(s) of our visit(s) accompany at the foot of this page.
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ABOUT
Pauillac is a historic wine-producing town on the left bank of the Gironde estuary in the Haut-Médoc region of Bordeaux. The area is world-renowned as the heart of fine red wine.
The area has traces of a Neolithic prescence as well as Celtic and Roman settlements. During Medieval times wine production expanded under English rule following the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to Henry II in the 12th century.
Dutch engineers drained local marshlands, turning gravelly banks into prime agricultural and viticultural land during the 16th Century. However the 17th and 18th Centuries saw wealthy families establish wine estates.
Then in 1855 Emperor Napoleon III commissioned a Bordeaux Classification, thus cementing Pauillac’s prestige.
Approximate population 5,250
Currency is the Euro.
THINGS TO DO
Pauillac is, more than anything the heart of the local wine region. Many of the activities centre around wine, wine tastings and the production of the wines. If the ship you are on is too large to dock in Bordeaux it is more than likely you will dock at this location.
The town is quite rural and traditional with the Saturday market, cafes, bars and a beautiful church.
There is deep pride in its wine production and even a walk along the boardwalk centres around movement of wine.
There is a tourist office which offers information and even a wine tasting!
Going a little further afield you can take a trip out to the vineyards of the region or head into nearby Bordeaux itself.
OUR FAVOURITE THINGS TO DO
We have to admit to being somewhat surprised when we woke on the first of our two days in Pauillac.
Under usual circumstances we would have taken a trip into the city of Bordeaux. However we were hosting our Group Cruise during this particular visit and time constraints kept us from doing this.
Our view from our cabin was not really improved when on the upper decks of the ship.
Surrounding waters had a distinctly `muddy’ feel to them.
It was from here that the coaches ran tours to Bordeaux and other areas together with shuttles into the the town of Pauillac.
We were taking a walking tour in the town but still boarded one of the buses to takes us the short journey there.
Our tour started along the boardwalk beside the estuary. Our guide was local, knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about the town and its importance.
As we walked along she told us all about the movement of wine from Pauillac to its destinations, particularly in England. Wine had been made popular during the middle ages through Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine who ruled both England and France.
There were also information boards regarding the flora and fauna found here.
The boardwalk leads directly to the Pauillac-La-Fayette Marina. On the esplanade, you will find a large commemorative model of La Victoire, the ship that the Marquis de La Fayette sailed when departing from Pauillac to America in 1777.
Saint Martin’s Church
As we walked further into the town our guide explained that this used to be a thriving area and in part still is. However as work was automated and people moved to the larger towns, the area came into decline. It is now more of a lovely sleepy French town.
The main church in Pauillac is the Eglise Saint-Martin (Saint Martin’s Church) built in the 19th Century. It features a detailed model of a warship made and given in 1836 by local pilots and coastal pilots to honour Pope Saint Clement.
Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse
The last part of the tour took us to a winery in the centre of Pauillac.
The Ducasse family first created wines in this area in 1675. It all started from a small house based on the banks of the estuary and was gradually built to the business it is today.
We were taken through the the barrells and vat areas by one of the staff. We then had a brief presentation about the wines they produce followed by a tasting.
There was of course the obligatory stop at the winery shop on the way out.
All in all we really weren’t over impressed with this tour. Nice people but there was little of interest in the town. The wine tasting was disappointing too.
If we went again, we would shuttle or walk into the town from the ship and head to the tourist office to see what was on offer.
Accompanying Video(s)
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