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.
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 Grand Cru Classé A
€150–800
The limestone plateau estates: Ausone, Cheval Blanc, Angélus.
- 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