The Médoc is a coastal strip about ten kilometers wide on the left bank of the Gironde. Before the 17th century, the region was nothing but marshes and one could hardly travel there other than by boat.
With the arrival of the Dutch people, specialists in drainage, the Bordeaux nobility began to use the gravelly soil plateaus to plant vines. Soon a northern part, the true Médoc designation, and a southern part, the Haut-Médoc, were distinguished, where since the 13th century, numerous châteaux and estates have made their owners rich.
The Haut-Médoc quickly became an exceptional site for wines of great renown.