Bordeaux produces more wine than any other region in France.
Bordeaux is the largest wine region in France, producing more wine than anywhere else in the country—and it’s been doing so for over 2,000 years, since the Romans first planted vines there.
What makes Bordeaux one of the world’s most famous wine regions is its red wines; however, it also produces some quality whites and rosés as well as sparkling Crémant de Bordeaux wines. The region’s red wines are primarily made with cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc grapes, while white wines usually have sauvignon blanc and sémillon as their main grapes, with muscadelle sometimes making an appearance too.
Bordeaux is home to some of the most famous red wines in the world.
- Bordeaux is the most famous wine region of France, and produces more wine than any other in the entire country. Within the region are two distinct areas: The Left Bank and the Right Bank.
- The Left Bank is characterized by its “Bordeaux blend,” made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. The Right Bank is home to Merlot-centred blends with varying proportions of Cabernet Franc and Malbec.
- Bordeaux wines are known for their elegant structure and fine tannins that develop as they age in oak barrels.
The wines have a reputation for being complex and difficult to understand, but there are basic principles that can make them easier to grasp.
Bordeaux wines have a reputation for being complex and difficult to understand, but there are basic principles that can make them easier to grasp. How do you know what to drink, and how much to pay for it? It might be helpful to think of the region’s wines in three broad categories. The first includes the so-called “everyday” bottlings, which are dominated by Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. These are typically lighter in style than what consumers expect from Bordeaux, with generous fruit flavors and moderate tannins. They are often bottled under generic Bordeaux appellations like Bordeaux Rouge or simply “Cabernet Sauvignon” or “Merlot.” Such wines tend not to improve much with age (some wouldn’t even benefit from an hour of decanting). They are best consumed within a year or two after bottling; if you see older vintages on wine shop shelves, don’t assume they’ve been stored properly.
Red wine grapes
The three most famous grapes of Bordeaux are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Sauvignon is the “king” of Bordeaux grape varieties with its powerful tannins, acidity and aromas of blackcurrants, red berries and spices. Merlot is an easy-drinking grape variety that produces richly fruity red wines with soft tannins. Cabernet Franc is a lighter, more perfumed grape variety that adds floral notes to wines and also provides a sharpness on the palate which helps to balance out the richness of other grapes such as Merlot or Malbec.
Other grape varieties used in Bordeaux blends include Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carmenère (little grown these days), along with white wine grapes such as Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle.
White wine grapes
We decided to start with the most iconic white wine grapes of France, and get to know them before we moved on. Sauvignon Blanc is one of the things people talk about when they mention Bordeaux—it’s known as the “king” of white wines in the region. Although it’s technically not a grape (it’s actually a hybridized version of Chenin blanc), it is widely planted on its own and with other types of grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) to produce blended wines that are exported around the world.
The best place (and wine) for anyone who likes Sauvignon Blanc is Sauternes, a town that thrives on this particular variety. Famous for its sweet, fortified wines made primarily from Muscadelle grapes, Sauternes has been producing this sweet wine since 1878. Even more than any other type of white wine you can find in Bordeaux, Sauternes is synonymous with this area and often sells at auction for hundreds or even thousands dollars per bottle because demand is so high.
AOC classification system
- One of the things that makes French wine so special is the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) classification system, which applies to all agricultural products, such as cheese, but has been most famously applied to wine. AOC is a quality control program that ensures that wines made in a specific region meet strict requirements and are of a high quality.
- This system has been around since 1935, but it was not always applied to grapes until 2007 when all grape varieties were required to be classified under the AOC system. The classification system is based on geography, so wines must come from specific regions in order to bear an AOC label. There are 55 appellations in Bordeaux alone!