• Grapes
  • Styles
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Grapes
Allowable Red Varietals and Percentage of the Overall Grapes Grown:  
  • Primary Varieties: Merlot (65%) Cabernet Sauvignon (22.5%) Cabernet Franc (9.5%)
  • Auxiliary Varieties (2% of grapes): Malbec, Carmenere, and Petit Verdot
Styles
  • Merlot-based wine 
  • Those found from producers on the "Right Bank", as merlot has an affinity for Clay Soils.
  • Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine.  
  • Typically found on the Left Bank because Cabernet Sauvignon has an affinity for gravel soil. And in Bordeaux, the soil types differ with the soil of the “Left Bank” being predominantly gravel whereas the “Right Bank” being predominantly clay.  
  • Single varietal wines are acceptable but uncommon.  Blends are used to help reduce vintage variation causes by Bordeaux's weather which is uneven from year to year.   

Bordeaux Regions 

Bordeaux Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
  • This is the broadest category of Bordeaux

  • Production Requirements
    • Blend of any Bordeaux varieties in any proportion
    • No Harvest Yield requirements and no Age Requirements 
    • Minimum alcohol content of 10% ABV after fermentation

Bordeaux Superior
  • Production Requirements
    • Blend of any Bordeaux varieties in any proportion
    • Minimum alcohol content of 10.5% ABV after fermentation
    • Harvest yield cannot exceed 50 hl per hectare
    • Wine must be aged until at least July 1, the year after the harvest

  • Characteristics
    • More concentrated and complex than most AOC Bordeaux
  • "Left Bank"
  • Medoc/ Haut Medoc
  • Graves/Pessac-Leognan
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"Left Bank"
Soils are predominantly gravel soil, which is ideal for growing Cabernet Sauvignon
Medoc
  • Bas-Medoc typically labeled Medoc AOC
    • 5560 Hectares planted
  • Not all Medoc labeled wines come from Bas-Medoc, as wines from Haut-Medoc and its 'comunes' can also be labeled Medoc.


​Haut Medoc (composed of the following ‘communes’)
  • Margaux (1500 hectares planted)
  • Pauillac (1213 hectares planted)
  • Saint-Julien (910 hectares planted) 
  • Saint-Estèphe (1229 hectares planted)

Website:
medoc-bordeaux.com/en/
​Graves
Pessac-Leognan (2528 hectares)
Sauternes and Grave's other regions produce white wines

Website
Graves
  • vinsdegraves.com
Pessac Leognan
  • pessac-leognan.com
  • "Right Bank"
  • Libournais (Pomerol/Saint Emilion)
  • Cotes de Bordeaux
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​Right Bank
(Has predominantly clay soil, which is ideal for growing Merlot)

Libournais
Has the two most notable right bank regions
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Pomerol Saint-Émilion AOC and St-Émilion Grand Cru AOC
  • These two classifications systems cover the same area. 
  • The AOC Grand Cru designation is different from the Grand Cru Classé designation
  • The difference between the two appellations is the quality control regulations. These regulations include restrictions on yield aimed at producing more concentrated wines and compulsory oak barrel ageing. The wines of St-Émilion Grand Cru AOC are typically more expensive and can often age longer than the general St-Émilion AOC.
  • Website: www.vins-saint-emilion.com/en  
​Cotes de Bordeaux
  • Made up of Blaye, Castillon, Cadillac, Francs and Sainte-Foy regions of Bordeaux
  • Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux is a sweet wine appellation, unconnected with the Cotes de Bordeaux group.
  • Wine tends to be Merlot Based.  The percentage of vines planted: 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 10% Malbec.
  • Website: bordeaux-cotes.com
Other Regions

Cote-de-Bourg
  • Produces a similar style of wine as Cotes de Bordeaux
  • Area Under Vine: 
    • 3,950 hectares of red wine varieties (65% merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon) hectares of white wine varieties
  • 85% of production sold in France
  • 1/3 of production sold as Bulk wine, 1/3 bottled by wine merchants, 1/3 bottled at estate

Entre-Deux-Mers AOC
  • Largest Winemaking Region of Bordeaux 
  • Wines labeled with the Entre-Deux-Mers AOC, can only produce white wines.  Red wines from this area must be labelled with Bordeaux AOC or Bordeaux Supérieur AOC.
  • Many red wines labeled with Bordeaux AOC or Bordeaux Supérieur AOC come from this area
  • Classifications
  • The 1855 ​Classification
  • Graves Classification
  • Saint-Émilion Classification
  • Crus Bourgeois du Médoc
  • Crus Artisans
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Classifications
Bordeaux Wine has different Classifications which are based upon the “quality” of the wine. Many of these classifications can be overlapping.  Château Haut-Brion for example is both classified under the Graves Classification and the other in the Grands Crus Classés en 1855.  The easiest way to think about them is: 

There are 5 Larger Classifications:
  • The 1855 classification
  • The Graves classification
  • The Saint-Émilion classification
  • The Crus Bourgeois du Médoc classification
  • The Crus Artisans classification

* Classifications do not necessarily appear on the wine label

Notes: Classifications Usually Make Wine Cost More

The 1855 Classification
This classification included only red wines from the “Right Bank” regions of Medoc, the Sauternes and Barsac sweet white wines, and one Graves Red Cru.  
  • Classifications (from highest to lowest)
    • PREMIERS CRUS (First Growth), 
    • DEUXIÈMES CRUS (Second Growth)
    • TROISIÈMES CRUS (Third Growth)
    • QUATRIÈMES CRUS (Fourth Growth) 
    • CINQUIÈMES CRUS (Fifth Growth)

  • History and Criteria: 
    • At the Exposition Universelles in Paris, Emperor Napoleon III asked each wine region to establish a classification.  The 1855 classification became based upon the reputation of the wines and their transaction price.  
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  • Revisions
    • Has only occurred twice in its history:  In 1856 when Chateau Cantemerlewas added as a fifth growth and in 1973 when Château Mouton Rothschild was elevated from second growth to Premiers Crus. 
The Graves classification
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  • Classifications (from highest to lowest):
    • Only one classification level “Grand Cru Classe”.  There is no hierarchy. 

  • History and Criteria: 
    • In 1953, at the request of the Syndicat de défense de l’appellation des Graves, the Institut national des appellations d’origine (INAO) established this classification.
  • Revisions to Classification
    • The classification is not subject to revision.
  • https://www.crus-classes-de-graves.com/
The Saint-Émilion classification
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  • Classifications (from highest to lowest)
    • Premier Grand Cru Classé A, Premier Grand Cru Classé, Grand Cru Classé

  • History and Criteria: 
    • Starting in 1954, at the request of the Syndicat de défense de l’appellation Saint-Émilion, the Institut national des appellations d’origine (INAO) began the classification of crus of this appellation. The sixth classification, published on September 6, 2012, resulted from a new procedure.

  • Revisions
    • The decree states that the INAO must revise the classification every ten years.

  • https://vins-saint-emilion.com/en/saint-emilion-wine-classification/
The Crus Bourgeois du Médoc Classification

  • Classifications
    • “Crus Bourgeois Exceptionnels”
    • “Crus Bourgeois Supérieurs”
    • “Crus Bourgeois”

  • History and Criteria: 
    • The classification originated in 1932 however, it was never submitted for ministerial approval.  In 2003, a ministerial decree approved a classification, however due to a lack of fairness, it was nullified in 2006.  Finally, in 2010, the Syndicat des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc completed the implementation of its new quality approach and published its first Official Selection in September of that year (starting with the 2008 vintage).  The quality and value of red wines produced in one of the eight Médoc appellations: Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac, Moulis, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, and Saint-Estèphe.

  • Revisions
    • Since 2010, the official selection has been published annually in September.
  • https://www.crus-bourgeois.com
The Crus Artisans Classification
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  • Classifications:
    • One classification: “Crus Artisans”
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  • History and Criteria: 
    • In the Médoc, the term “Crus Artisans” has officially existed for over 150 years: these small wineries often belonged to craftsmen, such as coopers, wheelwrights, and blacksmiths.  This distinction found new life in 1989 with the founding of the Syndicat des Crus artisans du Médoc. They are “autonomous, small- and medium-sized estates at which the manager is actively involved in the operations of his/her vineyard, produces AOC wines, and sells the production that is bottled at the château.”  In 1994, European regulations reintroduced this designation and authorized a “Cru Artisan” mention on the wine’s main label.
    • The quality and value of wines produced on small properties in one of the eight Médoc appellations: Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac, Moulis, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, and Saint-Estèphe.

  • Revisions
    • The list is reviewed every 5 years.

  • Website: http://www.crus-artisans.com/
Other Label Notes
  • “Mis En Bouteille au Château” meaning Bottled at Winery or “Mis En Bouteille a la Propriete” or Bottled at Property.  This would be the equivalent of Estate wine instead of wine purchased from grapes bought from elsewhere.  It should be noted: Not all wines bottled on property have this label.
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Additional Reading