Haut-Médoc

oh may-DOK

How to read this

Capitals mark the stressed syllable. The recording is the reference.

The appellation wrapped around the 6 communal names it does not contain: 28 communes from Blanquefort to Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne, 5 growths of 1855 and 53 Crus Bourgeois, under rules rewritten in 2025.

The place

Haut-Médoc is the southern half of the peninsula with the 6 communal appellations cut out of it: 28 communes from the edge of the city at Blanquefort to Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne, north of Saint-Estèphe. The vines stand on sheets of sandy and clayey gravel carried down by the Garonne and the Dordogne over Tertiary clay and limestone, in the rises the Médoc calls croupes. Its 240 growers make an average of 250,000 hectoliters a year.

The rules

Red only. The cahier des charges, the appellation’s official rulebook, homologated on July 31, 2025, keeps the 6 Médoc varieties and admits 4 varieties of interest for adaptation, Arinarnoa, Castets, Marselan and Touriga Nacional, to 5% of an estate’s vines and 10% of a blend. At least 6,500 vines a hectare, 55 hectoliters with a ceiling of 65, 11% of natural alcohol; the wine is raised until March 31 and sold from April 15 of the year after the harvest, earlier than before. The same order requires every estate to be organic or to hold an environmental certification of level 2 or 3. The appellation dates from November 14, 1936.

The names

Cantemerle at Macau, the Fifth Growth added to the list in September 1855: we wrote about that here. Sociando-Mallet at Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne, the estate that stayed out of every classification on purpose: we wrote about that here. Five growths of 1855 sit in the appellation, and the classification of 2025 holds 53 Crus Bourgeois here, against 153 in the list of 1932. Ranking wines is an old Bordeaux habit: the Jurade of Bordeaux made the first classification of the wines of Guyenne in 1647.

Color: Red
Communes: 28, from Blanquefort to Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne
Growers: 240; about 250,000 hectoliters a year
Grapes: The 6 Médoc varieties; Arinarnoa, Castets, Marselan and Touriga Nacional, for adaptation, to 5% of an estate and 10% of a blend
Density: 6,500 vines a hectare at least
Yield: 55 hectoliters a hectare, ceiling 65
Alcohol: 11% natural at least
Release: From April 15 of the year after the harvest
Classified: 5 growths of 1855; 53 Crus Bourgeois in the classification of 2025
AOC since: November 14, 1936; cahier of July 31, 2025

Sources: BO-AGRI, cahier des charges Haut-Médoc, arrêté du 31 juillet 2025 · INAO, Haut-Médoc · INAO and the Fédération des Grands Vins de Bordeaux, cahiers des charges · Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux · Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855

The stack

The same land in Haut-Médoc may also be labeled Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Crémant de Bordeaux and Médoc. A grower chooses which appellation to sell under, and the narrowest is almost always the dearest.

It shares named communes with Pauillac, Moulis-en-Médoc, Saint-Julien, Margaux, Saint-Estèphe and Listrac-Médoc.

The appellations of Bordeaux are stacked, not laid side by side. The map draws the whole stack. Open the map

The pyramid of names shows what each step promises: vines a hectare, bottles, ripeness, day of sale, grapes. Climb from here

Classifications that reach this appellation: The Classification of 1855, The Crus Bourgeois du Médoc and The Crus Artisans du Médoc.

Terroir

The Haut-Médoc begins at a brook (jalle). North of the Jalle de Blanquefort the vineyards are Haut-Médoc, south of it Graves, and the 1977 Bordeaux map sets both on “better-drained, well-exposed stony mounds.” From there the appellation runs north beside the estuary as far as Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne, and the soil keeps changing on the way.

At Blanquefort the starfish limestone (calcaire à astéries) lies flat and comes to the surface over wide stretches, weathering into a very heavy reddish clay. Further north the same rock was quarried until the end of the 19th century, for building and for roads; the old quarries of Saint-Sauveur show it well. Around Vertheuil, the old quarries of a shelly sandstone had practically disappeared by 1973.

Hands worked the low land along the estuary. Seasonal laborers from the Pyrenees and from across the Gironde, the Montagnols and the Saintongeais, plowed deep and dug in manure, fertilizer, Landes sand and heather. In 1977 the market gardens on the marsh soils were known for an artichoke named after an island on the map, the Macau. Rivers and seas laid this soil down, and hands kept reshaping it.

17,515 ha delimited

Slope wash and cover15.3%
River and estuary deposits of today1.2%
Ice age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebbles59.7%
Landes sand and the oldest river deposits4.1%
Starfish limestone and marine marls10.8%
Lake limestones and clays0.7%
Molasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes0.2%
Older sea limestones and marls8.0%

Shares of the delimited area, measured on BRGM’s geological map, in families by the age and rock its legend prints, youngest first.

Half its delimited soil lies above 18 m, and 9 tenths lies between 6 and 33 m. 1.9% of it is steeper than 10%.

Measured section

The line runs 9.4 km, from 30 m to 4 m. Inside the delimited area it lies between 4 and 42 m.

Colors: Slope wash and coverIce age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebblesLandes sand and the oldest river depositsOlder sea limestones and marls

Measured section: one elevation every 10 meters, west to east, along the whole of a 9.4 km line set across the appellation by a fixed rule, not chosen for the view (IGN, RGE ALTI 5 m), with the geology at the surface (BRGM, BD Charm-50). Heights stretched 20 times. The layers below the surface are not drawn.

Tap the marker on the section, or open the borehole below: a core slides out, layer by layer.

1Drill here: Lamarque, borehole 779-1-6, 478 m from the line

Depth	As printed	In English	Age (ICS)
0.0 to 6.2 m	Quaternaire	Quaternary	the last 2.58 million years
6.2 to 136.8 m	Éocène moyen	middle Eocene	middle Eocene; no stage is named
136.8 to 156.4 m	Éocène inférieur	lower Eocene	Ypresian, 56.0 to 48.07 million years ago
156.4 to 177.7 m	Sénonien supérieur	upper Senonian	Late Cretaceous, older than 66.0 million years; Senonian is an old stage name the ICS chart does not use

Log printed in BRGM notice 0779, p. 42, under the heading “Lamarque” (borehole BSS001WVWD in the subsurface register). The log names ages, not rocks. Marked at the point of the line nearest to it. BRGM’s subsurface register gives this borehole a depth of 176.0 m; the printed log runs to 177.7 m.Depths in meters below the surface; thin layers are drawn at a minimum height.BRGM, Notice explicative de la feuille Blaye-et-Ste-Luce à 1/50 000, 1977.

The units, as BRGM prints them

Code	Name and age, as printed	Share
Slope wash and cover		15.3%
CFp	Formations superficielles	15.3%
	and 1 more unit under 1% each, 0.0% in all
River and estuary deposits of today		1.2%
	and 2 more units under 1% each, 1.2% in all
Ice age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebbles		59.7%
Fwb(G)	Moyennes terrasses (RG Garonne) - Terrasses de Léognan, terrasse de Martillac et terrasse de St Selve indifférenciés (type 3 à 5), Esltérien - "Mindel"	5.7%
Fvb(G)	Hautes terrasses (RG Garonne) - Terrasse de Martillac (type 2) indifférenciée et terrasse d'Arsac, Ménapien à Bavélien - "Gunz"	43.3%
Fva(G)	Très hautes terrasses (RG Garonne) - Terrasse de Léognan (type 1) indifférenciée et terrasse de Listrac, Waal - "Donau-Günz"	10.6%
Landes sand and the oldest river deposits		4.1%
Ft(Bn)	Formation de Belin, Tiglien - "Biber-Donau"	3.3%
	and 2 more units under 1% each, 0.7% in all
Starfish limestone and marine marls		10.8%
g1-As	Calcaire à Astéries, Rupélien marin	5.7%
g1-Ar	Calcaire à Archiacina, Rupélien marin	4.4%
	and 2 more units under 1% each, 0.7% in all
Lake limestones and clays		0.7%
	and 2 more units under 1% each, 0.7% in all
Molasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes		0.2%
	and 3 more units under 1% each, 0.2% in all
Older sea limestones and marls		8.0%
e7b-G	Groupe de Plassac - Grès à Anomies, Priabonien moy. marin	1.7%
e7b-C	Groupe de Plassac - Calcarenite, Priabonien moy. marin	2.5%
e7b-Ms	Groupe de Plassac - Marnes à sismondia occitana et ostrea bernonensis (supérieures), Priabonien moy. marin	1.1%
e7a-Ce	Groupe de Plassac - Calcaires de St Estephe, Priabonien inf. marin	1.4%
	and 5 more units under 1% each, 1.4% in all

Informative figures, computed from INAO’s digitized parcel delimitation of October 12, 2026 and BRGM’s harmonized geological map (BD Charm-50); heights from IGN’s RGE ALTI 5 m. The plans held at the town hall are the legal reference. The delimited area is always somewhat larger than what is planted.

Sources: BRGM, Notice explicative de la feuille Bordeaux à 1/50 000, 1977; BRGM, Notice explicative de la feuille Blaye-et-Ste-Luce à 1/50 000, 1977; BRGM, Notice explicative de la feuille Lesparre-Médoc, Forêt-du-Junca à 1/50 000, 1973.

Its soil, layer by layer · See it in 3D · See it on the Map · Compare it with another appellation · All about Terroir

Châteaux on this site

Tastings

March 27, 2026

Château Cantemerle 1996, Haut Médoc

March 26, 2026

Château Cantemerle 2005, Haut Médoc

March 25, 2026

Château Cantemerle 2016, Haut Médoc

March 24, 2026

Château Cantemerle 2019, Haut Médoc

March 23, 2026

Les Allées de Cantemerle 2019, Haut Médoc

December 19, 2025

Château La Tour Carnet 2014 & Clos Payrol 2011

News from Haut-Médoc

Oct 23, 2026

Cycling the Médoc wine route

A 3-day, 29-km bicycle route from Blanquefort’s station leads through Médoc vineyards, six wineries and a cooperage, with tastings and encounters with Haut-Médoc producers.

The route highlights wine tourism as another way for the Médoc to connect its estates and landscape directly with visitors.

Source: France.fr Haut-Médoc Médoc Visiting Bordeaux
Sep 29, 2026

Cruse family sells Médoc château after 130 years

The Cruse family sold Château du Taillan in the Haut-Médoc to French businessman Laurent Marti after 130 years of ownership. Classified as Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, the château has 110 hectares, including 24 hectares of vineyards, and will retain its classification.

Long-held château sales can signal changes in investment, vineyard management and market positioning. The buyer's plans will determine what this ownership change means for the property.

Source: Revista ADEGA Château du Taillan Haut-Médoc Médoc Rules and Classifications Estates and People
Sep 4, 2026

Looking back at the first Odyssey of the Two Banks

Vignobles de l’Estuaire held its first Odyssée des deux rives tasting on Île de Patiras for local wine influencers and trade prescribers. Around forty growers presented red and white wines from Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, Côtes de Bourg, Médoc and Haut-Médoc.

Source: terredevins.com Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux Côtes de Bourg Haut-Médoc Médoc Critics and Scores The New Bordeaux
Aug 20, 2026

Mini-vertical: Château Malescasse

According to Terre de Vins, Château Malescasse, a Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel in Haut-Médoc, has been owned by Philippe Austruy since 2012 and receives consulting support from Stéphane Derenoncourt. The 35-hectare property has shown steady quality progression across vintages.

Source: terredevins.com Château MalescasseChâteau Malescasse According Haut-Médoc Médoc The Vintage Rules and Classifications
Aug 3, 2026

How Château Cantemerle spread its wings once more

On August 3, 2026, decanter.com said Château Cantemerle completed the final part of its renovation in time for the 2025 vintage, marking a new era for the fifth growth in the Haut-Médoc appellation south of Margaux.

Source: decanter.com Château Cantemerle Haut-Médoc Margaux Médoc The Vintage Critics and Scores
May 8, 2026

Château Cantemerle’s Haut-Médoc Charm

Château Cantemerle, a distinguished Cinquième Cru in the Haut-Médoc, has a new cellar and a focus on Cabernet, according to Wine Spectator.

Source: Wine Spectator Château Cantemerle Haut-Médoc Médoc Estates and People