Bordeaux is probably the most well-know wine producing region in France behind Champagne. It is located on the southwest coast of France along the banks of the Gironde river. The river is very important in Bordeaux. You will often hear people refer to a Bordeaux being either “left bank” or “right bank.” This refers to where the grapes were grown for the production of a particular wine. Now, as I mentioned earlier the principal red varietals in Bordeaux wines are Merlot (50%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (26%). Due to sun exposure, terroir and other viticultural influences the left bank of Bordeaux generally produces wine that is heavier on Cabernet whereas the right bank produces wine that is heavier on Merlot. Why do you need to know this? When you find a Bordeaux wine in a store you will rarely see the word “Bordeaux” anywhere on the bottle. You will instead find the name of the appellation or chateau. An appellation is a targeted geographical area within a wine region that further distinguishes wines from one another. There are over 50 appellations in Bordeaux alone. SO – To know which Bordeaux wine you are going to like, you should be able to recognize the major appellations in the region. Here is a little cheat-sheet, when you see the following on a wine lable you are likely buying the following:

 

Mostly Cabernet with some Merlot:
Medoc/Haut Medoc
Sainte Estephe
Paulliac
Saint Julien
Graves
Margaux
Pessac-Leognan

 

Mostly Merlot with some Cabernet:
Pomerol
Saint Emillion
Cadillac

 

Blend of any Bordeaux varietals:
Bordeaux AOC

 

Bordeaux AOC is a general label that distinguishes a wine that is produced from grapes all grown in the Bordeaux region, but of a blend of grapes from various appellations. These wines will be less expensive. Major wine houses will sell off excess grapes to wine makers who will in turn blend the grapes to produce a wine. Because these wine makers do not need to own the land to grow the grapes their production cost is much lower. Also, because the grapes are not from a specific appellation or vineyard they are not considered to be as refined, and thus, they cannot sell the wines for as much money. This is a good starter wine to try if you have never had a Bordeaux and want to try one out!