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Bordeaux
Verified pathEvery step checked against primary sources, last September 2026
Left Bank and Right Bank, the 1855 and Saint-Émilion classifications, Sauternes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and one verified producer.
All levels 138 min 16 steps About Bordeaux
Part of France
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Start with the region on the Gironde estuary: about 110,000 hectares, 65 appellations, and a split between Left Bank Cabernet Sauvignon and Right Bank Merlot.
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Next, the 1855 Classification, which ranked Left Bank red châteaux into five growths on selling prices from 1815 to 1855.
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Begin on the Left Bank, the western side of the Gironde, where deep gravel soils carry Cabernet Sauvignon-led blends.
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Then the Médoc, the gravel peninsula north of Bordeaux city that holds 60 of the 61 classified red châteaux.
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In Pauillac, three of the five First Growths share about 1,200 hectares of deep gravel along the estuary.
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Margaux, the southernmost communal appellation of the Haut-Médoc, holds 21 classified growths across four communes.
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Immediately south of Bordeaux city, Pessac-Léognan makes red and dry white wine and holds Château Haut-Brion, the only 1855 estate outside the Médoc.
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In the southern Graves, Sauternes makes only sweet whites, from grapes concentrated by noble rot.
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Now the Right Bank, the Libournais appellations built mainly on Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
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Left Bank vs Right Bank Bordeaux
Left Bank Bordeaux vs Right Bank Bordeaux
Set the two banks side by side: soils, grapes, style, classification systems and aging potential.
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Saint-Émilion, the principal Right Bank appellation, covers about 5,400 hectares across nine communes east of Libourne.
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Its classification, first set in 1955 and revised about every decade, ranks estates in A, B and Grand Cru Classé tiers, unlike the static 1855 list.
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Pomerol, about 800 hectares near Libourne, has no official classification and grows Merlot on clay, gravel and iron-rich crasse de fer.
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Meet Cabernet Sauvignon, thick-skinned and high in tannin, a Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc cross that arose in 17th-century Bordeaux.
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Then Merlot, thin-skinned and plush, the grape anchoring Right Bank Bordeaux and another Cabernet Franc offspring.
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Now a producer: a Pauillac First Growth making three Cabernet Sauvignon-based reds from 96.5 hectares.
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