About Bordeaux
Bordeaux is the benchmark against which red wine is measured worldwide. Along the Garonne, the Dordogne and the Gironde estuary stretch some 110,000 hectares of vines in over 60 appellations — from basic Bordeaux AOC to the most valuable wines on earth.
The great organising principle is the river: on the Left Bank (Médoc and Graves) lie deep gravel banks deposited by the Garonne over millennia. Gravel stores heat, drains perfectly and forces vines to root deep — ideal for late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon. Left-bank wines are tannic and structured, marked by cassis, cedar and graphite, needing years to decades.
On the Right Bank (Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Fronsac) clay and limestone dominate. Here earlier-ripening Merlot rules, joined by Cabernet Franc. The wines are rounder, fleshier, more velvety — plum, truffle, warm spice — and usually approachable earlier without being less age-worthy: Pétrus and Cheval Blanc rank among the world's most expensive wines.
Between the rivers lies Entre-Deux-Mers with fresh whites; in the south, in Sauternes and Barsac, Sémillon grapes shrivel under botrytis into golden nectar. The 1855 classification — drawn up for the Paris World Fair — still ranks the Médoc elite in five tiers (Premier to Cinquième Grand Cru Classé); only Mouton Rothschild was ever promoted (1973).
The climate is maritime: the Gulf Stream and the sheltering pine forests of the Landes bring mild winters and long golden autumns. The Atlantic brings humidity — the reason for the blending tradition: different varieties ripen at different times and insure each other against a difficult year.
Nearly every great Bordeaux is an assemblage: Cabernet Sauvignon brings structure and longevity, Merlot fruit and charm, Cabernet Franc spice and perfume, Petit Verdot colour and pepper. This art of blending — and trade via the Place de Bordeaux with its négociants — made the city the centre of the wine trade for centuries.
Soil Type
Left bank: deep Günz gravel banks over sand and clay (heat-storing, free-draining — Cabernet terroir). Right bank: clay and limestone (cool, water-retaining — Merlot terroir), with asteriated limestone on the Saint-Émilion plateau; in Pomerol the famous blue clay lens (crasse de fer).
Climate
Maritime Atlantic: mild winters, warm summers, long autumns; the Gulf Stream and Landes pine forests act as a shield; Atlantic humidity favours noble rot in Sauternes
