Bordeaux Wine
Bordeaux wine here runs from Côtes de Bordeaux to classed growths, nearly all of it red blends of merlot and cabernet.
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Bordeaux questions
What grapes are in a Bordeaux blend?
Red Bordeaux is usually a blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, often with cabernet franc, and sometimes petit verdot, malbec or carménère. White Bordeaux blends sauvignon blanc and sémillon, sometimes with muscadelle. Sweet Sauternes is mostly sémillon with sauvignon blanc. Since 2021, a few new climate-adapted grapes are also allowed.
What's the difference between Left Bank and Right Bank?
The Left Bank, west of the Gironde and Garonne rivers, includes the Médoc (Margaux, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Saint-Estèphe) and Graves. Its gravel soils suit cabernet sauvignon, giving structured, long-lived wines. The Right Bank, including Saint-Émilion and Pomerol, has clay and limestone soils that favor merlot, giving rounder, plusher wines.
What is Sauternes?
Sauternes is a sweet white wine from the Sauternes and Barsac areas of Bordeaux, made mostly from sémillon and sauvignon blanc. Autumn mists encourage noble rot (Botrytis cinerea), which shrivels the grapes and concentrates sugar and acidity. The wines taste of honey, apricot and marmalade and can age for decades. Château d'Yquem is the most famous.
What is a classed growth?
A classed growth, or cru classé, is a château ranked in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855, created for the Paris Exposition. It ranked 61 red wine estates of the Médoc (plus Haut-Brion from Graves) into five tiers, from first growth to fifth growth, along with the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac. It has barely changed since.