Bordeaux

The wine region of Bordeaux surrounds the city of Bordeaux in southwestern France. Near the city, two rivers, the Garonne and the Dordogne, meet to form the Gironde, a long estuary that flows into the Atlantic. The waterways divide the area into three sections: the Left Bank, to the west of the Garonne and Gironde; the Right Bank, east and north of the Dordogne and Gironde; and Entre-Deux-Mers, between the Garonne and the Dordogne Rivers.

The primary Bordeaux varieties are well-known around the world, as they are planted widely throughout Europe and in nearly every New World winegrowing region. Eighty-nine percent of the area is planted with red grape varieties. Merlot dominates the vineyards, particularly on the Right Bank and in Entre-Deux-Mers. It is followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, which is especially concentrated on the Left Bank. The third most widely planted red grape is Cabernet Franc. Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Carmenère are also allowed, but these are planted in much smaller quantities. Standard practice is to blend two or more of these varieties together to make red Bordeaux.

The primary white grapes are Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, which are blended for use in both the sweet and dry white wines of the region. A minor third grape is Muscadelle, which is sometimes added for its floral notes. While exceedingly rare, the region does allow for the use of Colombard, Ugni Blanc, and Merlot Blanc in white wines. Almost all of the white grapes are found on the Left Bank south of Bordeaux city and in Entre-Deux-Mers.

One of the well-known elements of the Bordeaux wine scene is its system of “classified growths.” Several rankings of producers and estates have been drawn up over the years, establishing a somewhat stable hierarchy of prestige and bottle price. While it wasn’t the first, the most famous of the rankings is the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. This classification was carried out by brokers in Bordeaux city in preparation for the Universal Exhibition in Paris that year. It was a listing of châteaux by the price their wines brought on the market, which, in this case, proved to be an accurate indicator of quality. The top level, known as premier cru, or “first growth,” comprised four châteaux: Haut-Brion, Lafite-Rothschild, Latour, and Margaux. A fifth, Château Mouton Rothschild, was moved up to the top tier in 1973. To this day, Château Mouton-Rothschild’s remains the only promotion ever made in the rankings.