Saint-Julien is the smallest of the named communes in the Haut-Medoc, on the Left Bank of the Gironde river. It is tucked just beneath Pauillac. Soils here are dominated by small pebbles and the vineyards are clustered in close proximity to the river. This makes Saint-Julien perhaps the most homogeneous of the major communes.

While Saint-Julien has no First Growths, its small borders contain a whopping 11 Cru Classes and five of those are Second Growths, including Ducru-Beaucaillou, Gruad-Larose, Leoville-Barton, Leoville-Las Cases, and Leoville-Poyferre. The wealth of Cru Classes illustrates the depth of quality to be found here, in addition to the fact that this has been recognized for some time.

In style, the Cabernet-Sauvignon driven blends fall somewhere in between those of Margaux and Pauillac, with a little firmer structure than Margaux and a little more fruit character than Pauillac. (Wine/Appellations)