The 70 hectares of vineyard at de Fieuzal make this one of the largest estates in Pessac, on land to the south of the town of Leognan. The vineyards are neatly divided by the Eau Blanche stream into two parts, one gravelly, one on clay-limestone. The stream itself provides much needed moisture in hot vintages. For red, the vineyards are planted to 50% Cabernet Sauvignon/37% Merlot/8% Petit Verdot/5% Cabernet Franc. But this being Pessac, there is also an excellent white wine, with 10 hectares in the coolest spots of the vineyard given over to equal amounts of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.

Duhart-Milon is a stablemate of Lafite. The vineyards are adjacent, with the same fine gravels and black sands over a bedrock of limestone, but Duhart lies on lower ground with a more northerly exposure. Once upon a time, it was made as the second wine of Lafite, and for even longer it remained in Lafite`s shadow. But it has evolved an identity all its own, under its own technical team since 2001, and it has gone from strength to strength over the last two decades. It used to be marked by a certain youthful austerity, but is typically richer these days.

A visit to Feytit-Clinet is so unlike a visit to most Bordeaux chateaux. It’s not a castle or a stately home, nor are you filtered past receptionists or along mirrored halls. In fact, it’s much more like a visit to Burgundy where the owner stomps out from round the back in welly boots, kicking their kids` toys out of the way as they go. Jeremy Chasseuil lives and works here, and has done since the year 2000 when he took over.

Pomerol estate Gazin has a full 19 hectares of vines on the plateau, more than any other winery in the appellation, all in one single block. It also commands the appellation’s highest point, next to Petrus, at just over 40 metres. The vineyard is planted to 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc, though the proportion of Cabernets is set to increase in response to climate change. (NT 12/05/25)

The vineyards of St-Emilion property Grand Mayne lie in one single block around the rather stately manor house of a chateau, on the slopes leading up to the western flank of the town. Jean-Antoine Nony has been full-time director here since 2012, and improving the vineyards has been his mission ever since. One of his first decisions was to begin a slow replanting programme, with the ultimate goal of bringing the proportion of Cabernet Franc in the vineyards back up to the 35% it was in 1934, when his grandfather acquired the property.

Of the two Pauillac properties whose names begin Grand-Puy, it is Grand-Puy-Lacoste that enjoys rather more prestige over Grand-Puy-Ducasse. Turn the clock back to the 1855 classification of the Medoc, though, and they were the same property, Grand Puy. It was awarded fifth-growth status, a distinction both the successor chateaux still hold. But that feels like a sad undervaluing of Grand-Puy-Lacoste, a property that regularly puts many second-growths to shame.

At one of Pauillac’s highest spots, with plots next to Latour (overlooking the Gironde) and to Pichon-Baron (on the Bages plateau), Haut-Bages Liberal has always enjoyed great terroir. But even that is not enough to explain the quality of recent vintages here. Jane Anson calls owner Claire Villars ‘one of the most exciting winemakers in Bordeaux’, and the work that Claire has been doing here is remarkable. She has completely transitioned the estate to biodynamic viticulture.

In 1942, the Batailley estate was divided into two, so that two brothers could each have their own part. One half continued under the name Batailley, and the other (smaller) part was re-christened Haut-Batailley. Like Batailley itself, Haut-Batailley is a fifth growth under the terms of the 1855 classification, as a continuation of an 1855 classified estate. For decades, it was ably managed (but not owned) by Francois-Xavier Borie (who owns Grand-Puy-Lacoste), and in 2006 he began a huge renovation of the wine-making facilities and cellars.

In the 1855 classification of the Medoc, one wine that was not from the Medoc but rather Pessac was also admitted; Haut -Brion. Its Pessac neighbour La Mission Haut-Brion was not granted a similar special admission. Yet if any wine from Pessac also deserves first growth status, it is La Mission Haut-Brion.