Bordeaux is less a single wine than a conversation between two riverbanks. On the Left Bank, deep gravel beds ripen Cabernet Sauvignon into structured, cedar-scented wines built for decades. Across the Gironde, cool clay favours Merlot and Cabernet Franc, giving the plush, plummy wines of Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. Between them, the Entre-Deux-Mers turns out crisp Sauvignon Blanc, while Sauternes coaxes noble rot into liquid gold.
Sub-regions & terroir
Left Bank
Médoc & Haut-Médoc
- Principal grapes
- Cabernet Sauvignon · Merlot · Cabernet Franc · Petit Verdot
- Soil
- Günzian gravel croupes (quartz, flint pebbles) over clay and marl subsoils.
- Drainage
- Excellent on gravel mounds; heavier clay pockets inland.
- Microclimate
- Maritime; Gironde estuary moderates frost, forests to the west shelter from Atlantic winds.
Classification & origin
Bordeaux: its own classification system
Bordeaux classifies estates through several independent systems, not one regional ladder. The appellation and a château's classification are separate claims.
Saint-Émilion classification
Estates within Saint-Émilion Grand Cru; revised periodically, most recently in 2022.
Hierarchy · highest first
- 01Premier Grand Cru Classé A
- The highest distinction; Château Figeac and Château Pavie in the 2022 classification.
- 02Premier Grand Cru Classé
- The other premier classified estates. Historically described as category B, but the 2022 list does not formally label this group B.
- 03Grand Cru Classé
- Classified estates below the premier group.
On the label: Saint-Émilion Grand Cru alone is an appellation with stricter production rules, not a classified estate. Ausone, Cheval Blanc and Angélus are not in the 2022 list; older bottles may carry their former classifications.
1855 Médoc classification
Red-wine estates of the Médoc, plus Château Haut-Brion in what is now Pessac-Léognan.
Hierarchy · highest first
- 01Premier Cru Classé · First Growth
- Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, Haut-Brion and Mouton Rothschild (promoted in 1973).
- 02Deuxième Cru Classé · Second Growth
- The second group of classified estates.
- 03Troisième Cru Classé · Third Growth
- The third group of classified estates.
- 04Quatrième Cru Classé · Fourth Growth
- The fourth group of classified estates.
- 05Cinquième Cru Classé · Fifth Growth
- The fifth group of classified estates; the rank is not a guarantee of today's quality.
On the label: Sauternes and Barsac have a separate 1855 sweet-wine classification: Premier Cru Supérieur (Yquem), Premiers Crus and Deuxièmes Crus. Pomerol has no official estate classification.
1855 Sauternes & Barsac classification
A separate estate classification for the sweet white wines of Sauternes and Barsac; not the Médoc red-wine list.
Hierarchy · highest first
- 01Premier Cru Supérieur
- Château d'Yquem alone occupies the highest category.
- 02Premier Cru
- First classified growths, including Château La Tour Blanche, Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Château Climens and Château Coutet.
- 03Deuxième Cru
- Second classified growths, including Château Doisy-Daëne, Château Doisy-Védrines and Château de Myrat.
On the label: Barsac estates may use Barsac or Sauternes on eligible wines. A château's classification is separate from the appellation and does not classify every wine it makes.
Cru Bourgeois du Médoc
Independent, periodically reviewed recognition for eligible Médoc estates outside the 1855 classified-growth list. The 2025 classification contains 170 estates.
Hierarchy · highest first
- 01Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel
- The highest distinction in this system: 14 estates in the 2025 list.
- 02Cru Bourgeois Supérieur
- The intermediate distinction: 36 estates in the 2025 list.
- 03Cru Bourgeois
- The base classification distinction: 120 estates in the 2025 list.
On the label: This is not a sixth 1855 growth. Check the applicable classification and vintage rather than assuming an estate has always held the same status.
Cru Artisan & unclassified Bordeaux origins
Other Bordeaux labels identify estate recognition or geographic origin without joining the classified-growth hierarchies.
Distinct designations · not a ranking
- Cru Artisan du Médoc
- A separate, periodically reviewed estate designation recognising artisan estates; not a rank within Cru Bourgeois or the 1855 list.
- Pomerol
- An appellation with no official estate classification. Reputation and price do not create an official cru rank.
- Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur & named AOCs
- Bordeaux Supérieur has stricter production specifications than Bordeaux; these are appellation claims, not château growth rankings. Fronsac, Lalande-de-Pomerol, Côtes de Bordeaux and other origins have their own rules.
Graves / Pessac-Léognan
The Graves classification of 1953, completed in 1959; all classified estates now lie in Pessac-Léognan.
Distinct designations · not a ranking
- Cru Classé de Graves
- A single unranked distinction for 16 estates, classified for red wine, white wine or both. Haut-Brion also belongs to the 1855 classification.
On the label: Pessac-Léognan is an appellation, not an extra classification tier. Cru Bourgeois du Médoc is another independent system, not a sixth 1855 growth.
Appellations to know
For each one: the bottle that defines it, and the bottle that over-delivers. Indicative retail prices, not an offer to sell.
Pauillac
Cassis, graphite and cigar box; the classic long-haul claret
Best wine
€700+
Château Latour
Pauillac's most consistent first growth; brooding cassis and graphite that needs 20 years.
Best value
€180
Les Forts de Latour
Latour's second wine from the same gravel croupes, drinkable a decade sooner.
Margaux
The most perfumed of the Médoc, silk over structure
Best wine
€600+
Château Margaux
The most perfumed of the first growths: violets, cedar, weightless power.
Best value
€25
Château Labégorce
Classic Margaux perfume from a well-run cru bourgeois neighbour.
Saint-Émilion
Merlot-led, limestone plateau, generous and velvety
Best wine
€700+
Château Cheval Blanc
Cabernet Franc on gravel — the most singular wine of the Right Bank.
Best value
€30
Château Fonroque
Biodynamic limestone-plateau Merlot with real Saint-Émilion depth.
Pomerol
Iron-rich clay, tiny production, truffle and dark plum
Best wine
€3,000+
Pétrus
Pure Merlot on the blue-clay buttonhole; truffle, iron and infinite length.
Best value
€45
Château Bourgneuf
Neighbouring clay, same plush plum profile, a fraction of the price.
Sauternes
Botrytised Sémillon: honey, saffron, apricot, endless finish
Best wine
€400 / half
Château d'Yquem
Saffron, apricot and marmalade; the sweet wine every other is measured against.
Best value
€30
Château Doisy-Daëne
Barsac precision and lift; the value benchmark for botrytis.
The most expensive areas
Typical retail
Where land, scarcity and reputation push prices highest in Bordeaux. Indicative bottle prices for benchmark producers, not an offer to sell.
- 01
Pomerol
€300–3,500 / bottle
Barely 800 ha of iron-rich clay; Pétrus and Le Pin are among the world's dearest wines.
- 02
Pauillac
€150–900
Home to three of the five first growths — Lafite, Latour and Mouton.
- 03
Saint-Émilion prestige estates
€150–800
Figeac and Pavie hold the 2022 Premier Grand Cru Classé A distinction. Ausone, Cheval Blanc and Angélus remain prestigious but are outside that classification.
- 04
Margaux
€90–700
Château Margaux anchors the most perfumed and expensive Médoc commune.
- 05
Sauternes (Yquem)
€300–600 / half
Château d'Yquem's yields of one glass per vine set the price.
What's produced
At the table
- Rib of beef
- Roast lamb with thyme
- Aged Comté
- Roquefort with Sauternes