Bordeaux
Maritime
The world's most celebrated fine-wine region, on the Gironde estuary, known for Cabernet Sauvignon- and Merlot-led red blends and sweet Sauternes.
Overview
About Bordeaux
Bordeaux is built around the port city on the Garonne, where the Garonne and Dordogne meet to form the Gironde estuary. That geography splits the region: the Left Bank (Médoc and Graves) is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, while the Right Bank (Saint-Émilion and Pomerol) favours Merlot with Cabernet Franc. Between them lies Entre-Deux-Mers, and to the south the botrytis-affected sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac.
The 1855 Classification, drawn up for the Paris Exposition Universelle, ranked 61 red châteaux — 60 from the Médoc and one, Haut-Brion, from Graves — along with the sweet wines of Sauternes, and still shapes how the region's top estates are talked about and priced. Most Bordeaux reds are blends, typically of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with smaller amounts of Petit Verdot and Malbec, which lets estates balance the vintage's weather.
Where is a grape grown?
Hover a marker to see what's grown there, and click it to open that place. On a touch screen, tap once to preview and again to open. Bigger markers have more grapes linked to them.
France
Shaded: Gironde. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Maritime
A temperate oceanic climate moderated by the Atlantic and the Gironde estuary, with mild, damp winters and warm summers. The pine forests of the Landes shelter the vineyards from Atlantic winds, and vintage variation — chiefly rain at flowering and harvest — is a permanent feature.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Gravel banks deposited by the Garonne and Dordogne dominate the Left Bank, where they store heat and drain freely. The Right Bank's plateau and slopes are clay over limestone, which suits Merlot. In Sauternes, gravel, sand and clay sit where the cold Ciron river meets the warmer Garonne, producing the autumn mists that encourage noble rot.
Side by side
Left Bank vs Right Bank
Left Bank
Médoc
- Soil
- Deep gravel mounds over clay and sand
- Dominant grapes
- Cabernet Sauvignon, with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot
- Typical style
- Structured and firm, with blackcurrant and cedar; built to age
Right Bank
Saint-Émilion
- Soil
- Limestone plateau and slopes, with clay, and sand and gravel below
- Dominant grapes
- Merlot, with Cabernet Franc
- Typical style
- Rounder and fleshier, with plum and spice; often approachable earlier
Right Bank
Pomerol
- Soil
- Iron-rich clay over gravel, with a 'button' of blue clay at the centre
- Dominant grapes
- Merlot, with a little Cabernet Franc
- Typical style
- Plush, velvety and opulent, with dark plum and truffle
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Bordeaux has two layers that can appear on the same bottle: an appellation that names a place, and a separate ranking that names an estate.
Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur
The regional appellations, covering most of the region's wine.
District and communal appellations
Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Pauillac, Margaux, Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Sauternes and many others, each a smaller, more specific place.
1855 Classification
Ranked the best Médoc reds and the sweet wines of Sauternes into five 'growths' (crus), with Haut-Brion from Graves added. It is by château, and has hardly changed since.
Later rankings
Graves (1953, finalised 1959), Saint-Émilion (1955, revised about every ten years) and the Crus Bourgeois of the Médoc, which now has three tiers.
Within Bordeaux
Places within
Graves
The gravelly Left Bank district south of Bordeaux city, named for its soils and known for both dry white Bordeaux and elegant reds.
Médoc
The gravelly Left Bank peninsula between the Gironde estuary and the Atlantic forests, home of Cabernet Sauvignon-led Pauillac, Margaux, Saint-Julien and Saint-Estèphe.
Pomerol
A tiny, plush, Merlot-dominated appellation with no official classification — and home to Pétrus.
Saint-Émilion
A medieval hilltop town on the Dordogne and the heart of the Right Bank, making plush Merlot- and Cabernet Franc-based reds on limestone.
Sauternes
Bordeaux's legendary sweet-wine appellation, where autumn mists breed noble rot on Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc.
What's grown here
Grapes
Grapes linked to Bordeaux or to a place within it. Each grape's page links back here.
Cabernet Franc
A blending partner with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, prized for aromatic lift and freshness.
Malbec
A minor blending component today, historically more significant before the 1956 frost.
Merlot
Often the dominant grape in the region's most prestigious, age-worthy blends.
Sauvignon Blanc
Blended with Sémillon for both dry whites and botrytized sweet Sauternes.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Grown in Médoc, Margaux, Pauillac and 2 more.
Sémillon
Grown in Graves and Sauternes.