Bordeaux's Médoc is an area of coastal lagoons, sand dunes and pine forests located on the 45th parallel. It is also a global wine powerhouse, and home to four of the world's most prestigious wine villages: Pauillac, Margaux, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien. The estates located in these villages produce some of the most expensive bottles in the world. The region has also provided all but one of the châteaux included in the official 1855 Bordeaux wine classification (Haut-Brion).
The Médoc vineyards cover about 16,000 hectares, including the various small appellations. Approximately 5500 hectares of vines are classified for the production of AOC/AOP Médoc wines. Wedged between the Atlantic coast and the wide Gironde estuary, the Médoc is in fact a peninsula. It stretches 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the northwest, from the city of Bordeaux to the Pointe de Grave.
