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Bordeaux

Contents
  1. Bordeaux: France’s Largest Vineyard
  2. The Bordeaux Climate
  3. The Grapes of Bordeaux
  4. The Modern AOP System in Bordeaux
  5. History of Bordeaux
  6. The Birth of Modern Bordeaux
  7. The 1855 Classification
  8. The Place de Bordeaux and En Primeur
  9. Bordeaux Vineyard Ownership: The Brand Model
  10. Viticulture and Winemaking Practices in Bordeaux
  11. Winegrowing Regions of Bordeaux

Bordeaux: France’s Largest Vineyard
With 117,500 hectares under vine in 2011, Bordeaux has more acreage under vine than any other region in France. Bordeaux constitutes 14% of France’s total vineyard area and typically produces five-to-six million hectoliters of wine each year. With an average Bordeaux domaine holding 14.5 hectares, more than 8,000 winegrowers are plying their trade. From its northernmost vineyards around the town of Saint-Vivien-de-Médoc to the southern edge of Graves, the region of Bordeaux spans over 130 km. At its widest point it extends over 75 km. It includes two major rivers, the Garonne and Dordogne, which converge into the Gironde Estuary before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. On paper, most land within the Gironde département, save for a band of coastal forest, falls within the basic Bordeaux appellation. The vast area is divided into the following subregions, each with its own set of appellations:
  • Médoc
  • Graves
  • Entre-Deux-Mers
  • The right bank
  • Blaye and Bourg
On the western banks of the Gironde Estuary and Garonne River, the Médoc and Graves make up the “left bank” of Bordeaux. The “right bank” is a more compact set of wine-producing communes on the opposite bank of the Dordogne River—Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Fronsac, and surrounding appellations. Blaye and Bourg, sometimes considered part of the right bank, are actually on the eastern bank of the Gironde, opposite the Médoc vineyards. Entre-Deux-Mers is the vast stretch of land between the Garonne and the Dordogne.

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The Bordeaux
  • in reply to Bernardo Bastos M Pinto

    Hey Bernardo! We are in the midst of updating all of our guides. Look forward to an updated Bordeaux Expert Guide over the next few months. 

  • It is a bit discomfortable to use and cite an "Expert Guide" that quotes area statistics for 2011 in 2026. The Compendium, on the other hand, seems to have more updated numbers, although it doesn't cite dates nor it's references. Any chance of a review, in particular for such important regions and areas like Bordeaux? 

  • in reply to Keith Mattrick

    Hey Keith! We have reached out to the Chateau. A definitive answer will be here shortly. 

  • in reply to Jonathan Eichholz

    Hmmm, I do not concur with that assessment. The section ‘Informations sur la qualité et les caractéristiques du produit’ in the Cahier des Charges’ indicates to me that these wines are bottled with unfermented (but fermentable) sugars leaving a residual sweetness in the wine ('Les vins blancs avec sucres fermentescibles'). With regards to the must weight minimum, the section on ‘2°- Maturité du raisin’ indicates that to be 195 g/l, of which 17 g/l must be left unfermented. The CIVB also markets whites labeled as Bordeaux Supérieur AOP as ‘sweet whites’ (see here). With regards to the original query, I believe what actually changed was the style of the Ygrec itself–historically it would have been a white wine with sweetness and labeled as Bordeaux Supérieur, but the style evolved toward an intentional wine fermented to dryness and hence the shift in labeling from Bordeaux Supérieur to Bordeaux AOP. Alas, I still see recent vintages of Ygrec listed as Bordeaux Supérieur on some rather prominent wine lists even though that is not how it is labeled on the bottle and it does not taste as one would expect a white labeled Bordeaux Supérieur to taste.

  • in reply to Chris Frayling-Cork

    Hey Chris! Great question. From 1959-2002 Y d'Yquem was labelled as  Bordeaux Supérieur AOP. Since 2004 it has been under the Bordeaux AOP level. That being said, producing a dry wine under the AOP is possible as the requirement for 17 g/l RS is "fermentable" sugar. Therefore it is possible to hit the requirement and then ferment to dry. 

  • Quick question: it states that Y by D’Yquem has been sold under the Bordeaux Supérieur AOP occasionally, however white wines in this AOP are medium/sweet. Has this AOP allowed dry white wines in the past? 

  • in reply to Barbie Jean H. Messa

    Hey Barbie! Thanks for catching this, this guide is updated. 

  • Just wondering about this sentence: "Like Chambolle-Musigny in the Côte de Nuits, the Saint-Julien wine style is typically defined by what it is not: elegant without being Margaux, firm without the power of Pauillac." *Of course this is subjective, but perhaps "Chambolle-Musigny" was meant to be Morey-Saint-Denis, since MSD is not quite as powerful as Gevrey-Chambertin, nor as silky as Chambolle-Musigny, but something in-between? Thanks!

  • Just wondering about this sentence: "Like Chambolle-Musigny in the Côte de Nuits, the Saint-Julien wine style is typically defined by what it is not: elegant without being Margaux, firm without the power of Pauillac." *Of course this is subjective, but perhaps "Chambolle-Musigny" was meant to be Morey-Saint-Denis, since MSD is not quite as powerful as Gevrey-Chamberin nor as silky as Chambolle-Musigny, but something in-between?

  • in reply to Michael Markarian

    Thanks, Michael! This is all updated. 

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