Left Bank Bordeaux

Decanter describes Bordeaux as split in two by the Gironde Estuary, which divides into the Dordogne and Garonne rivers, with the areas below and to the left of the Gironde forming the Left Bank. The Médoc, which JancisRobinson.com describes as a flat spur of land on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, lies north of the city of Bordeaux between the Atlantic Ocean and the estuary, while the Graves vineyards stretch south of the city on the left bank of the Garonne (CIVB). The gravel was carried by the Garonne: the CIVB describes the river depositing aggregates and sediments that formed clay-limestone layers and so-called 'Pyrenean' gravel hillocks, giving the vines well-drained soils. The CIVB credits the waters of the Gironde Estuary and the Atlantic Ocean with the Médoc's mild climate.

• Decanter describes the Left Bank as mostly flat, with soils largely of alluvial gravels over limestone, though composition varies from one vineyard to the next and some appellations have large clay deposits
• In Saint-Julien, the CIVB says large Garonne gravel acts as natural radiators, capturing heat by day and releasing it at night so Cabernet Sauvignon ripens slowly
• The CIVB says the Gironde Estuary gives Saint-Julien fewer summer heatwaves and no winter frosts, and helps moderate high summer temperatures along the Haut-Médoc's 60 kilometres of vineyards (consulted 2026)
• Saint-Estèphe's soils are primarily gravel mixed with sandy-clay soils in varying proportions over a marine limestone subsoil, and Listrac-Médoc, at 43 metres, is the highest point in the Médoc (CIVB, consulted 2026)

The Left Bank divides into the Médoc north of Bordeaux and the Graves-Sauternes vineyards to the south. The CIVB counts eight Médoc appellations: the Médoc, and the Haut-Médoc, which it says encompasses six communal appellations, Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Listrac-Médoc, Moulis and Margaux. Decanter names Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Margaux, from north to south, as the four best-known. South of Bordeaux, Decanter places Pessac-Léognan and Graves on the Left Bank, along with the largely sweet-wine appellations of Sauternes and Barsac.

• Pauillac covers 1,220 hectares, 7.5% of all vines in the Médoc, with 18 classified growths from 1855 including three first growths (CIVB, consulted 2026)
• Saint-Julien covers 910 hectares, 6% of the Médoc vineyards, and 11 classified growths from 1855 carry out 90% of its production (CIVB, consulted 2026)
• Margaux covers 1,500 hectares across four communes, Arsac, Labarde, Margaux-Cantenac and Soussans, and holds 21 of the 61 classified growths of 1855, which the CIVB calls the highest number in the classification (consulted 2026)
• Pessac-Léognan covers 1,880 hectares across 10 communes, 86% of it red, per the CIVB (consulted 2026); INAO's specification recorded 1,640 hectares in 2010, more than 80% of it red

Decanter writes that Left Bank wines are usually blends in which Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant force, with Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc in supporting roles, and that the wines typically have more tannin and a bigger overall structure than their Right Bank counterparts. The CIVB describes Cabernet Sauvignon as contributing structure and tension, the backbone of the wine, while Merlot brings roundness, depth and aromatic richness. The pattern is not uniform: Decanter notes many parts of the Médoc where Merlot is a dominant, if not the dominant, component in blends, and the CIVB names Merlot the main variety in Listrac-Médoc and the predominant one in Moulis.

• Firm tannins and high acidity give Left Bank wines their cellaring potential: Decanter describes Right Bank wines as having less tannin and acid than wines from the Left Bank, and the CIVB credits Cabernet Sauvignon with power and ageing potential and calls Saint-Julien wines tailored for cellaring
• The CIVB gives Cabernet Sauvignon over 60% of the Saint-Julien vineyards, saying nowhere else in Bordeaux grows it in such proportions, and 50% of Saint-Estèphe's area under vine against 40% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot (consulted 2026)
• For Graves reds, the CIVB gives Merlot 59% and Cabernet Sauvignon 33% (consulted 2026), while INAO's Pessac-Léognan specification says its reds come mainly from Cabernet Sauvignon, often with Merlot and Cabernet Franc
• For the whole Bordeaux red vineyard, the CIVB's figures are 66% Merlot, 22.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9.5% Cabernet Franc (consulted 2026)

The CIVB says Napoleon III, seizing the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1855 as an advertising opportunity, asked Bordeaux's brokers to classify their finest wines, judged on each estate's reputation and the market prices of its most recent vintages. The red-wine list has five levels and, per the CIVB, 60 estates in the Médoc and one in the Graves, Château Haut-Brion in Pessac. JancisRobinson.com says there has been no significant change to the classification since 1855 apart from the promotion of Château Mouton Rothschild from second to first growth in 1973.

• The five first growths are Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion and Château Mouton Rothschild (Decanter)
• Château Haut-Brion is the only Bordeaux wine classified twice, in the 1855 classification and in the Graves classification (INAO)
• The Graves classification's first list was published in 1953 with 16 classified growths and changed once, in 1959; after 2014 mergers it counts 14 châteaux, all in Pessac-Léognan, on a single level with no internal ranking (CIVB, consulted 2026)
• Decanter reports that epithets such as 'Super Second' and 'Flying Fifth' have been applied to classified châteaux deemed to be outperforming their rank

Decanter reports that in early 2021 INAO, France's national appellation body, approved six new grape varieties for Bordeaux as part of efforts to combat climate change, but notes that not all appellations can use them and that they will most likely be used in AOC Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Entre-deux-Mers and the Côtes de Bordeaux. On the Left Bank, the CIVB says the Margaux appellation has a seventh variety, Castets, under trial alongside its six traditional grapes to meet the challenges of climate change, with a first experimental harvest in 2025.

• Decanter reports that in the 2021 and 2023 vintages, low volumes or poor-quality Merlot crops led to some wines being made with record high proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon
• The CIVB says over 75% of Bordeaux's vineyard area is certified under an environmental scheme, against 35% in 2014 (consulted 2026)
• All of Pessac-Léognan's vines hold High Environmental Value (HEV) certification, according to the CIVB (consulted 2026)
• The Médoc's landscape became France's 54th Regional Natural Park in 2019 (CIVB)

Beyond 1855, the Médoc has its own Crus Bourgeois classification, which the CIVB says has been revised every five years since 2020 and listed 170 estates across seven Médoc appellations in its 2025 edition, at three levels: Cru Bourgeois, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur and Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel. The CIVB says those estates account for over 40% of all wine produced in the Médoc. At the châteaux, the CIVB describes first wines as flagship cuvées often from the oldest vines, and second and third wines as typically from younger vines on the same terroirs, blended to be approachable young and gentler in price.

• The CIVB says 90% of Pauillac's output by volume has Grand Cru Classé status (consulted 2026)
• The CIVB's 1855 list places Château Léoville Las Cases, Château Léoville-Poyferré, Château Léoville Barton and Château Ducru-Beaucaillou in Saint-Julien
• The first Médoc Crus Bourgeois classification dates from 1932, and the first official one, in 2003, selected 247 châteaux from 490 candidates (CIVB)
• Decanter writes that some second growths are producing wines that rival the firsts

Primary sources (INAO and the CIVB): https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/pessac-leognan-rouge-20054, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/medoc/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/medoc/medoc/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/medoc/haut-medoc/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/medoc/pauillac/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/medoc/saint-julien/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/medoc/margaux/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/medoc/saint-estephe/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/medoc/listrac-medoc/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/graves-sauternes/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/graves-sauternes/pessac-leognan/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/graves-sauternes/graves/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/classifications/classifications-1855/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/classifications/graves/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/classifications/crus-bourgeois-du-medoc/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/grape-varieties/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/know-how/blending/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/legal-terms/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/engagements/preserver-environnement/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/medoc/moulis/, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDC---Pessac-L%C3%A9ognan---PNO-2024.pdf. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/learn/left-right-bank-bordeaux-difference-436548/, https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/wine-regions/france/bordeaux/medoc. Last verified 2026-09-24