Château Mouton Rothschild, a first growth since 1973, consists of 188 acres of vines near Pauillac (Médoc), planted in a proportion typical of the region with 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. It benefits from exceptionally good natural conditions, both in the quality of the soil and in the situation of its vines and their exposure to the sun. It receives meticulous attention from the earliest growth of the vine to the maturing of the wine in the bottle, combining a respect for tradition with the latest techniques. Harvesting is done entirely by hand, and the wine is fermented in oak vats (Mouton is one of the last Châteaux in the Médoc to use them) and then matured in new oak casks.

This Château was owned by the Lynch family for three quarters of a century. They descend from John Lynch, a young Irishman from Galway who was chased out of his country in 1691. In the 18th century, Count Jean-Basptiste Lynch, mayor of Bordeaux, inherited the estate and handed over management to his brother Michel Lynch, who was also mayor of Pauillac during the French Revolution. Jean-Charles Cazes, highly respected in the Médoc for his experience in viticulture and winemaking, bought the property in 1934. With his son André, he devoted all his energy to Lynch-Bages for more than 35 years. In 1974, his grand-son Jean-Michel set about restructuring the estate. The Lynch-Bages estate (90 hectares) is located just outside the city of Pauillac, overlooking the Gironde estuary, on one of the most beautiful gravelly outcrops in the appellation. The well-drained soil consists mainly of Garonne gravel. The sub-soil (marl, chalk, and thick clay-sand gravel, or hardpan) forms a solid, but fairly disjointed foundation, enabling the roots of old vines to grow to a depth of 6-8 metres. In 1974, Jean-Michel Cazes set about restructuring the estate. He equipped it with up-to-date technical facilities, but kept the old vat room dating from last century intact. It is now one of the Médoc's most unusual sights.The grapes are hand-picked and the wine is made in a vatroom containing 35 stainless steel vats equipped with temperature control systems. After blending, and a rigorous selection process resulting in a second wine, château Haut-Bages Averous, the wine is traditionally aged in oak barrels for 12 to 15 months before bottling. The estate has for many years also produced a very highly regarded white wine : Blanc de Lynch-Bages. Lynch-Bages made primarily from Cabernet-Sauvignon, is famous for its fine bouquet and rich tannin, which becomes soft and delicious with age. Lynch-Bages is powerful with a long aftertaste. It is typical of the greatest wines of Pauillac.

Chateau d'Yquem is often described as the greatest sweet wine in the world. After centuries of family ownership, Yquem was finally sold in acrimonious circumstances to Louis Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy in 1999. However, its former owner and director Alexandre de Lur-Saluce remains in charge. Yquem is located on the highest hill in Sauternes and enjoys the best growing conditions in the whole appellation. The 110-hectare vineyard is planted with 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. Only fully botrytized fruit is picked by the 150 highly skilled pickers and yields are so low that each vine produces only one glass of wine. Yquem is fermented in oak barrels (100% new) and is left in barriques to mature for up to 36 months. Intensely opulent when young, Yquem develops an extraordinary complexity and exotic richness when fully mature, with the best vintages lasting for over 50 years. Château d'Yquem is classified as a 1er Cru Classé.

Château Guiraud actually lies in the town of Sauternes. The estate encompasses 128 hectares which includes 98.21 hectares under vine: 85 hectares for Sauternes AC and the rest producing dry white Bordeaux named "Le G de Guiraud". The vineyard lies on a mostly sandy/gravel soil with a heterogenous sub-soil of red clay, marl and gravel. As previously mentioned there is a relatively high proportion of Sauvignon Blanc planted: 35% of the vineyard with the remainder devoted to Semillon (the average for Sauternes is 10% Sauvignon Blanc.) Château Guiraud has experienced a myriad of cépages over the century and in the 1920's the vineyard even included a little "Metternach" or "Riesling" (which was eventually outlawed in the 1930's.) Following Rival's ill-advised Sauvignon Blanc replanting in the 1970's, this grape varietal constituted 70% of the vineyard. Although this acreage has halved in recent years, it still leaves the current owners with a surplus of Sauvignon Blanc: hence the dry white Bordeaux that puts the excess to good use. The planting density is 6,660 vines per hectare with an average age of 35 to 40 years using Riparia 33 09 and 101 14 rootstock. Yields are kept low at around 12hl/hc. Between two and six tries are carried out by 120 workers to select the appropriate berries affected by noble rot. Berries must show a minimum of 20° alcohol to achieve the style of wine they demand. Four pneumatic presses are used to crush the grapes, each batch comprising the fruit from one of 74 individual plots within the vineyard. The must is transferred by gravity into underground 25 hectolitre stainless-steel tanks, each one containing a separate "batch" of wine. The must is then transferred by air pressure into barrels where fermentation takes place over a period of one to two months. The wine is then matured in barrel for 18 to 24 months before fining, filtration and bottling. One tenet at Guiraud is the minimal use of sulphur dioxide (SO2), preferring to use inert gases to prevent oxidisation. They also vehemently oppose modern techniques such as cyroextraction or the more prevalent use of chaptalization, both practices regarded as flagrant abuse of the terroir. Giuraud abides by the rules of nature, rather than chemistry and physics. Approximately 2,500 cases of Grand Vin are produced per annum along with a second wine named "Le Dauphin du Château Guiraud."