Stanley Pinto withdrew from the work force at age 50 to dedicate himself to the good life, of which wine is a cornerstone. He was once President of The International Wine & Food Society, Malaysia and on its Asia-Pacific Regional Council. He now lives in Bangalore.

“All well-made wines can give pleasure, but I specially adore the sophisticated, big-bodied Reds from the Pauillac commune in the Medoc. It’s the Aromas that reach out of the glass and stagger my sinuses, Tannins that explode on the palate and a Finish that leaves velvet in the mouth.

Australians have the reputation for the biggest, brashest wines in the world; the Chileans have learned a few decent tricks from Bordeaux; and a good Brunello di Montalcino is well worth driving into Siena for. But there’s a sine qua non about the Pauillacs that, in the end, renders them unbeatable for me.”

Know your wine
For many wine lovers, Pauillac (POY-yack) wines embody the quintessential characteristics of a fine Bordeaux wine. Bordered by the Gironde river and the Atlantic ocean, the Médoc is the largest of the famous regions of Bordeaux. Pauillac and other famous communes or villages are found in Haut-Médoc which is in the south of the region as opposed to Médoc in the north. Three of the Médoc's top First Growths, Lafite, Mouton-Rothschild, and Latour are from Pauillac.

A classic Pauillac wine is rich, dense-coloured, and full-bodied. The Cabernet Sauvignon grape dominates, giving a powerful, long-lived wine that smells and tastes of blackcurrants, cedary oak, and a certain dusty spiciness that immediately suggests Pauillac. Tasters stress the elegance of Pauillac, allied to a structure that allow the best wines to reach their peak over perhaps three decades. This is red wine country with a tiny proportion of white. Mouton-Rothschild alone among the Pauillac chateaux make a white wine.

These wines set standards for the world and are not for bargain hunters. However, there can be wide variation throughout Pauillac, partly due to the differing terrain across the region. Besides the three First growths, there are many other styles amongst Pauillac's Chateaux, ranging from elegant wines which are drinkable younger, such as Pichon Lalande to the more tannic, deep style of Lynch-Bages.