The regions · France
Bordeaux: two rivers, two banks and the blended wine
Bordeaux is the region in southwestern France that became a byword for blended wine, the kind made from more than one grape, almost always Merlot and Cabernet. The Gironde, the department where it sits, has more vineyards than any other in France. And it's also home to Sauternes, a sweet white born with the help of a fungus.
Where it is and what the place is like
Bordeaux is in southwestern France, around the city of the same name. Two rivers cross the region, the Garonne and the Dordogne, and they meet at the Bec d'Ambès to form the Gironde estuary, which runs out to the Atlantic. All that water nearby keeps temperatures steady. The climate is oceanic: 700 to 800 millimeters of rain a year, well spread out, and the end of summer varies a lot from one year to the next. That's why the vintage matters so much in a glass of Bordeaux.
The rivers divide the map, and that's where the talk of Left Bank and Right Bank comes from. On the left are the Médoc, a tongue of land between the ocean and the estuary, and Graves, right next to the city, with gravel soil (the graves that give the place its name). It's the kingdom of Cabernet Sauvignon. On the right, along the Dordogne, are Saint-Émilion, Pomerol and Fronsac, with limestone and clay, and there Merlot is in charge. The Saint-Émilion landscape was the first vineyard landscape to be added to UNESCO's World Heritage List, in 1999.
With 100,737 hectares of producing vineyards in 2024, according to official statistics from the French Ministry of Agriculture, the Gironde is the department with the most vineyards in France, and Bordeaux's appellation area is the largest in the country. That size has been shrinking: since 2023, grubbing-up plans have been pulling out vineyards to balance what's produced with what's sold.
The region's grapes
Among the reds, Merlot covers 66% of the red-grape vineyards, according to the CIVB, the council that brings together Bordeaux's producers and merchants. Next come Cabernet Sauvignon, with 21%, and Cabernet Franc, with 8%. Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carménère share the rest. Among the whites, Sauvignon Blanc (45%) and Sémillon (42%) take almost everything, and Muscadelle comes in as seasoning. Merlot is the main grape today, but it only began to spread there from 1830 on.
Almost every Bordeaux is a blend: each grape is vinified separately and the mixing happens at the end. Each one has its job. Merlot brings softness and fruit; Cabernet Sauvignon gives structure, tannin (that grip on your gums) and the stamina to age; Cabernet Franc adds a touch of fresh fruit and spice. The recipe changes from year to year, depending on the vintage. And a detail for Brazilian readers: the AOC Bordeaux rules now accept, in up to 5% of the vineyard, a few grapes chosen to cope with the warmer climate, and Touriga Nacional is on the list.
What wine comes from there
Bordeaux makes a bit of everything: red, dry white, rosé, sparkling wine (Crémant de Bordeaux) and sweet white. Red is the majority: 83% of the volume of the Gironde AOCs in 2024 was red and rosé, according to official statistics. There's simple, fruity red to drink right away, and age-worthy red that needs years in the bottle. And there's a halfway style, clairet, which the law defines as a dark rosé.
And then there's Sauternes. About 40 kilometers southeast of the city, where the Ciron River meets the Garonne, the nights bring humidity and the days come with wind. That alternation brings out a fungus on the ripe grapes, Botrytis cinerea, the so-called noble rot, which concentrates the sugar inside the berry. Picking is by hand, in several passes through the same vineyard, taking only the grapes that are just right. By the rules, the wine comes out with at least 45 grams of sugar per liter, made from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle.
What the label says
The big name on the label is the AOC, the controlled designation of origin: an address with rules for grapes, production and place. Bordeaux is the AOC for the whole region, for red, white and rosé. Bordeaux Supérieur is the same territory with stricter rules: fewer grapes per hectare, riper grapes and, for reds, at least nine months of maturation. Then come the place AOCs: Médoc and Haut-Médoc, the communes of Margaux, Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Saint-Estèphe, Pessac-Léognan (created in 1987), Graves, Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Fronsac and Sauternes.
Saint-Émilion has two AOCs on the same ground: Saint-Émilion and Saint-Émilion Grand Cru. The second requires fewer grapes per hectare (46 hectoliters, versus 53) and at least 10 months of maturation. Grand Cru Classé is something else: it's a classification. Bordeaux has five, according to the CIVB: the 1855 one, the Graves one, the Saint-Émilion one (designed to be revised every ten years), the Crus Bourgeois and the Crus Artisans du Médoc. And the CIVB itself points out that an unclassified wine can be great too.
In the Médoc, the 1855 list has five steps: Premier, Deuxième (or Second), Troisième, Quatrième and Cinquième Cru. In Sauternes and Barsac there are three: Premier Cru Supérieur, Premiers Crus and Seconds Crus. Many estates also make a second wine, usually from younger vines on the same land, fruitier and easy to drink young.
What it pairs with
A Left Bank red, with Cabernet and firm tannin, calls for meat with some fat: picanha, ribs, lamb, rib-eye. The Right Bank one, from Merlot, is softer and goes well with filet mignon in Madeira sauce, lasagna and roast chicken with potatoes. A simple red Bordeaux, served slightly cool, is great with cold cuts and charcuterie, as the CIVB itself suggests. A dry Sauvignon white goes with grilled fish and salad. And Sauternes takes on blue cheese, chicken and even sushi. All suggestions: liked another pairing? Go with that one.
A list made in two weeks
In 1855, Paris hosted a Universal Exhibition, and Bordeaux wanted to show off its wines. On April 5, the city's Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the brokers asking for the list of the department's classified reds, each in one of five categories. By April 18, the list was ready. The brokers already had everything in hand: they laid out a price hierarchy that the Bordeaux trade had been using for decades.
And the list has barely changed. According to the council of the Grands Crus Classés en 1855, there were only two changes in more than 150 years: one estate added among the fifths on September 16, 1855, and one promoted to first in June 1973. The sweet whites of Sauternes and Barsac got a separate list. That's why a Médoc label still carries a title given in the days of Napoleon III.
The grapes in the labels from here
Across the 1,461 Bordeaux labels in the search, the grapes that show up most. The number is how many labels use each one.
Top rated from Bordeaux
Average rating from the people who drank it (X-Wines), from 1 to 5. Tap to see the wine's page.
- Château d'Yquem Sauternesrating ★ 4.8
- Le Pin Pomerolrating ★ 4.8
- Pétrus Pomerolrating ★ 4.8
- Château Cheval Blanc Saint-Émilion Grand Cru (Premier Grand Cru Classé)rating ★ 4.7
- Château Margaux (Premier Grand Cru Classé)rating ★ 4.7
- Château Latour Grand Vin Pauillac (Premier Grand Cru Classé)rating ★ 4.7
- Château Lafite Rothschild Pauillac (Premier Grand Cru Classé)rating ★ 4.7
- Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan (Premier Grand Cru Classé)rating ★ 4.7
See the Bordeaux labels in the search →
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