Saint-Julien

Bordeaux · France · Wine Auction Prices

Saint-Julien is Bordeaux's most consistently excellent commune: the smallest of the four Haut-Médoc appellations of note (920 hectares), it contains no First Growth but no classification below Third Growth either — the entire appellation is classified, a distinction no other Médoc commune can claim. The estates sit on a series of gently sloping gravel ridges between Pauillac to the north and Margaux to the south, producing wines that combine Pauillac's structure with Margaux's elegance. The three Léoville estates — Léoville Barton, Léoville Las Cases, and Léoville Poyferré — were once a single property; their division after the Revolution created three distinct and competing interpretations of the same terroir. Léoville Las Cases' Clos du Marquis parcel, fenced like a Burgundian clos, is considered one of the finest expressions of Saint-Julien. Ducru-Beaucaillou and Gruaud Larose form the classical core of the appellation's Second Growths. Talbot, a Fourth Growth, consistently trades above its classification and has become one of the most value-conscious buys in Bordeaux auction.