Bordeaux

Enjoying international renown, Bordeaux is the largest designated vineyard in France and one of the most prestigious thanks to its famous classified growths. This diverse vineyard with varied soils is organized around three river axes: the Garonne, the Dordogne, and their common estuary, the Gironde. It offers all styles of wines, produced from the blending of several grape varieties. In red wines, the dominant varieties are Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon; in white wines, it’s Semillon and Sauvignon. In addition to regional designations, the left bank of the Garonne (the Médoc and the Graves) and the right bank (Libournais, Blayais-Bourgeais, and Entre-deux-Mers) are distinguished, along with the vineyards of sweet wines around the Ciron, a tributary of the Garonne. One of the characteristics of red, white, and rosé wines from Bordeaux is that they are often blends of two to five grape varieties with complementary qualities. In red wines, the main varieties are Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, with Petit Verdot or sometimes Malbec as additional components. For whites, the essential grape variety is Semillon, often complemented by Sauvignon, and occasionally by Muscadelle or Colombard. Within the extensive range of Bordeaux wines, regional designations (Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Crémant) can be distinguished, with wines that can come from almost all wine-producing communities. While they form the base of the appellation pyramid, they still offer a rich source of new experiences for wine enthusiasts. Other designations are generally classified based on the geographical and climatic organization of the terroir, divided into two main ensembles. On the left bank of the Gironde and Garonne, we find the red wines of the Médoc, followed by the red and white wines of the Graves, and further south, the wines of Sauternes. On the right bank of the Gironde and Dordogne, we have the Blayais and Bourgeais regions, as well as the Libournais, while Entre-deux-Mers is located between the two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne.