MEDOC is the name given to the district in France adjoining the left bank of the Gironde from Ambès, the point where the Garonne and Dordogne unite, to Lesparre, where the marshes and polders which border on the mouth of the river begin; its length varies from 35 to 40 miles, its breadth from 12 to 5, and the area is about 386 square miles. It is formed by a number of low hills, which separate the Landes from the Gironde, and is traversed only by small streams; the Gironde itself is muddy, and often enveloped in fog, and the region as a whole is very far from being picturesque; but a fifth part of its soil is occupied by vineyards, the products of which form the finest growths of Bordeaux. Of these the most esteemed are Château-Margaux, Château-Laffitte, and Château-Latour. Prior to the ravages of the Phylloxera, the annual product of the Médoc district was 40,000 tuns, of which 9000 were of fine quality.