Right Bank Bordeaux

Decanter describes the Right Bank as the part of Bordeaux to the north and right of the Gironde, more specifically the area north of the Dordogne. Its most famous appellations are Pomerol and St-Émilion; Decanter also counts four St-Émilion satellites (Montagne-, Lussac-, Puisseguin- and St-Georges St-Émilion) along with the Côtes de Blaye, Côtes de Bourg, Fronsac, Canon-Fronsac, Lalande-de-Pomerol, Francs Côtes de Bordeaux and Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux. The INAO's Pomerol cahier des charges speaks of the appellations of the Libournais, and Decanter places Pomerol on the outskirts of the riverside entrepôt of Libourne. The CIVB describes the Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Fronsac area as a patchwork of limestone plateaus, molasses and clay soils, with landscapes overlooking the Dordogne, while Decanter characterises the Left Bank by gravelly soils.

• Pomerol's plateau shelves down towards the River Isle and is bounded by the Barbanne stream to the north, Saint-Émilion to the east and Libourne to the southwest (CIVB)
• The INAO describes Pomerol's high Günz terrace, between 30 and 40 metres of altitude, as sands, gravels and reddened pebbles resting on Tertiary clay formations rich in smectites; the CIVB says the subsoil is rich in iron oxide, known locally as crasse de fer
• Saint-Émilion's village sits on a plateau of asteriated limestone, which gives way to a terrace of silt-clay gravel stretching towards Libourne, clay-limestone hills and valleys, and the sandy-gravel plain of the Dordogne Valley (CIVB)
• The INAO notes a sandy sheet of Quaternary alluvium in the northwest of the Saint-Émilion zone and, near Pomerol on the Figeac terrace, a series of gravelly rises; Decanter says Pomerol has no limestone, its soils being closer to the Left Bank's alluvial gravels and sand but with much more clay mixed in

The INAO describes Pomerol's climate as temperate oceanic, like the rest of the Gironde, with moderate temperature ranges; the confluence of the Isle and the Dordogne helps regulate temperatures, and the zone's position in the north-east of the Gironde brings continental nuances, with higher temperatures in summer and autumn that favour ripening. For Saint-Émilion, the INAO describes the temperate oceanic climate of the Bordelais made more continental by its position in the east of the department, with rainy autumn depressions in some years and hot, very sunny late seasons in others.

• Decanter notes that critics sometimes speak of a Right Bank or Left Bank vintage, depending on whether conditions favoured later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, which tends to ripen earlier, while cautioning that the situation is often more complex
• The INAO credits Pomerol's Tertiary clay substrate, a cool horizon, with slow ripening of the grapes and a closely regulated water supply to the vine
• In Saint-Émilion, the INAO says Merlot favours the cool, damp character of clay-textured soils, where it ripens well; Cabernet Franc is preferred on limestone or warmer sand and gravel; and Cabernet Sauvignon, a late variety, suits warm, dry soils
• The INAO cites the holm oaks on the Saint-Émilion corniche, which peaks at 100 metres, as evidence of higher temperatures with Mediterranean nuances

The CIVB counts 813 hectares and 138 winegrowers in Pomerol (consulted 2026) and calls it one of the smallest appellations in Bordeaux, at 0.7% of the total. The INAO's cahier des charges records 140 holdings averaging six hectares on 800 hectares in 2009, with average production of 35,000 hectolitres a year, and Decanter (updated June 2024) puts the average Pomerol holding at five hectares. The zone covers the commune of Pomerol and the northern part of Libourne. A Gironde court judgment of 29 December 1928 fixed the limits for use of the Pomerol name, and the INAO says that area was taken up when the appellation was recognised by decree in 1936. After the phylloxera crisis, replanting made Merlot predominant, the INAO notes, because grafting regularised its production and it proved particularly suited to Pomerol's soils. Production remains mostly family-scale, alongside a few larger estates.

• Pomerol has never attempted an official classification; the CIVB says its hierarchy can be inferred from the reputation and price of the appellation's leading wines
• The CIVB gives Pomerol's plantings as 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon (consulted 2026); the INAO permits Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cot (Malbec), Merlot and Petit Verdot
• JancisRobinson.com says Petrus, the most famous Pomerol, comprises hardly 12 hectares of a very special clay, and that the extremely limited size of properties such as Ch Lafleur and Le Pin helps to bolster their prices
• JancisRobinson.com lists La Conseillante, L'Église Clinet, L'Évangile, Lafleur, Petrus, Le Pin and Vieux Château Certan among its favourite Pomerol producers

The CIVB counts 700 winegrowers on a 5,400-hectare terroir across 9 communes, shared by the Saint-Émilion and Saint-Émilion Grand Cru appellations (consulted 2026); the INAO's cahier des charges records 5,500 hectares worked by about 650 growers in 2010, producing an average of 230,000 hectolitres of red wine. The INAO says vines probably arrived during the Roman occupation, and that the AOC defined by decree in 1936 rests on the historic limits of the Jurade de Saint-Émilion. The INAO records the landscape's inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list as a cultural landscape in 1999. Unlike the 1855 classifications, Decanter says, the Saint-Émilion classification, first introduced in 1955, is reviewed every 10 years. The 2022 edition followed a decade of disputes: Decanter reports that Angélus, Ausone and Cheval Blanc withdrew, leaving only Pavie of the 2012 A-ranked estates in the top tier, and that Château La Gaffelière also left.

• The CIVB lists the editions as 1955 (75 châteaux: 63 Grands Crus Classés and 12 Premiers Grands Crus Classés), 1969 (84), 1986 (74), 1996 (68), 2006 (72), 2012 (82) and 2022 (85)
• The 2022 edition, the 7th, names 71 Grands Crus Classés, 12 Premiers Grands Crus Classés and 2 Premiers Grands Crus Classés A (CIVB); Decanter reports that Château Figeac joined Château Pavie at the A rank
• Saint-Émilion Grand Cru is a separate appellation with stricter rules: the CIVB cites lower yields (46 against 53 hl/ha), at least 10 months of ageing and compulsory inspection of every batch
• The INAO's cahier des charges calls Merlot the very large majority variety in Saint-Émilion, alongside Cabernet Franc (locally called bouchet) and Cabernet Sauvignon; Carmenère and Cot (Malbec) may be added, and Petit Verdot is an accessory variety capped at 10%

Decanter describes Right Bank wines as tending to be rich in fruit and softer in mouthfeel, with less tannin and acid than wines from the Left Bank, while warning that generalisations rarely hold. The INAO credits Merlot in Saint-Émilion with intense red colour, alcoholic richness, red and black fruit aromas, suppleness, roundness and silky tannins, while Cabernet Franc adds slightly spicy aromatic finesse, freshness and a more marked tannic structure.

• The INAO describes Pomerol as intensely coloured, with black-fruit aromas and sometimes violet and truffle, ample and long without hardness, and able to withstand long ageing in bottle
• The CIVB describes a Pomerol bouquet blending truffle, violet petals and red berries, and says 12 to 18 months of ageing in oak barrels accentuates its aromatic complexity
• For Saint-Émilion, the CIVB lists wild strawberry, redcurrant, sweet spices and vanilla, with the occasional leathery or smoky note, and a round texture backed by freshness
• JancisRobinson.com calls Pomerols velvety, rich, Merlot-based wines which can smell almost meaty

JancisRobinson.com notes that vintages much more successful for Merlot than Cabernet, citing 2006, 2001, 1998, 1994 and 1993, often leave Pomerol relatively underpriced, because the Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated left bank tends to make the reputation of each Bordeaux vintage. Decanter adds that the very best estates are increasingly able to transcend especially hot or wet vintage conditions, and that critics now advise treating each château individually.

• JancisRobinson.com sums up Pomerol as very small production, very high prices
• Decanter reported in September 2022, citing Liv-ex data, that Cheval Blanc, Angélus, Pavie and Ausone had been the most traded Saint-Émilion wines on Liv-ex so far that year, with Figeac and Canon next
• The same Decanter report said Château Figeac's average market price had risen by 47% over the previous three years, according to Liv-ex

Primary sources (INAO and the CIVB): https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/4-CDC-Pomerol-PNO.pdf, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDCSaint-Emilion-PNO2023.pdf, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/saint-emilion-pomerol-fronsac/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/saint-emilion-pomerol-fronsac/pomerol/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/designations/saint-emilion-pomerol-fronsac/saint-emilion/, https://www.bordeaux.com/en/classifications/saint-emilion/. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/learn/left-right-bank-bordeaux-difference-436548/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/st-emilion-2022-classification-promotes-chateau-figeac-to-premier-grand-cru-classe-a-487144/, https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/wine-regions/france/bordeaux/pomerol. Last verified 2026-09-24