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Bordeaux

All wineries in Wine region Bordeaux

Top wines in Wine region Bordeaux

	Barsac AOC		Blayais (Blaye) AOC		Bordeaux AOC
	Bordeaux Clairet AOC		Bordeaux Côtes de Francs AOC		Bordeaux Rosé AOC
	Bordeaux Sec AOC		Bordeaux Superieur AOC		Bourg AOC
	Cadillac AOC		Canon-Fronsac AOC		Cerons AOC
	Cote de Blaye AOC		Cote de Bordeaux Saint-Macaire AOC		Cotes de Bourg AOC
	Cotes de Castillon AOC		Cremant de Bordeaux AOC		Entre-deux-mers AOC
	Entre-deux-Mers Haut-Benauge AOC		Fronsac AOC		Graves AOC
	Graves de Vayres AOC		Graves Superieures AOC		Haut-Medoc AOC
	Lalande-de-Pomerol AOC		Listrac-Médoc AOC		Loupiac AOC
	Lussac-Saint-Emilion AOC		Margaux AOC		Medoc AOC
	Montagne-Saint-Emilion AOC		Moulis-en-Medoc AOC		Paulliac AOC
	Pessac-Leognan AOC		Pomerol AOC		Premieres Cotes de Blaye AOC
	Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux AOC		Puissegiun-Saint-Emilion AOC		Saint-Croix-de-Mont AOC
	Saint-Émilion Grand cru AOC		Saint-Emillion AOC		Saint-Estephe AOC
	Saint-Foy-Bordeaux AOC		Saint-Georges-Saint-Emilion AOC		Saint-Julien AOC
	Sauternes AOC

The Bordeaux region vies with Burgundy for the pole position of the best quality wines of all French wine-growing regions. The city of the same name is the capital of the Gironde department in southwestern FranceFrance, and has been described as one of the most beautiful wine cities in the world. The Greek historian Strabo (63 BC - 28 AD) writes that he did not find any signs of viticulture when he visited „Burdigala“ in approx. 20 AD. On the other hand, his colleague, the Elder Pliny (23 – 79 AD) confirms only a few decades later that there was viticulture in the region. This means the Romans established viticulture here around 50 AD. The area now known as Bordeaux was owned for 300 years by England (1154-1453) and viticulture experienced major expansion during this time, fuelled by exports to England and Flanders. A large-scale vine-planting programme was initiated in Bordeaux, more specifically in Médoc, from the end of the 17th century on. This phase of both intensive and extensive expansions of vineyard area led to the coining of the phrase „fureur de planter“ (planting frenzy). This provided the basis for the vineyard area as we know it today. Among the biggest vineyard owners at the time was Marquis Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur (1697-1755), who owned vineyards in both the Médoc and in Graves. In 1925, the professor of agriculture and delegate of the Gironde département, Joseph Capus (1867-1947), was one of the decisive initiators of the system of controlled origin, or Appellation Contrôlée in France, which later led to the establishment of the oenological institute INAO (Institut National des Appellations d´Origine).

The equation „Bordeaux is French red wine“ appear appropriate, as no other wine, apart from Burgundy, is so strongly associated with the concept of French wine. In most cases, these are blended wines made from several grape varieties (see under Bordeaux blend). Each château (wine estate) has its own recipe with regard to the composition of the blend, and the vinification method, which is carefully maintained as a secret. The use of small 22-litre barrels has been widespread in Bordeaux for centuries, and it is here that barrique maturation has been developed to perfection. The world exhibition in 1855 provided the occasion to comprehensively classify the wines of the Bordeaux region into various classes of quality. This famous Bordeaux classification endures to this day, with practically no changes. In general usage, Bordeaux is is also the synonym fort he entire wine-growing region at the centre of which lies the city of Bordeaux, although the region should correctly be referred to as the Bordelais. It stretches over two thirds of the département of Gironde (only in the south and on the coast are no vines planted), with an extent of 105 by 130 kilometres, and a total vineyard area of 113.000 hectares. The climate is characterised by the Atlantic Ocean close by, with the Gulf Stream, as well as by amny rivers I nthe region, providing extremely favourable conditions for viticulture. The summer is neither too dry nor too hot, the winter is mild and wet. The soils are mostly poor and stony, forcing the roots of the vines must dig down into the soil for up to ten metres in order to find water. This ensures that the vine can endure both rainy periods and drought without any major problems. The stony soils provide good drainage, and also help to store the heat.

This is a large area, with the two rivers Garonne and Dordogne flowing through it, coming from the south. The area to the north of the Dordogne is also referred to as the rive droite (right bank). The two rivers combine just south of the city of Bordeaux, to form the huge delta-shaped Gironde, which divides the region in the north into two sections, these are also the most famous regions. These include on the right, i.e. the eastern side of the Gironde the appellations Blaye, Bourg, Fronsac, Pomerol and Saint-Émilion (also referred to as rive droit) and on the left or western side the appellations Médoc, Graves (also referred to as rive gauche) and Sauternes. The southern section of the Médoc (Haut-Médoc) in particular is referred to as the jewel of Bordeaux. There are also significant differences in the grape varieties planted. On the left bank, plantings are dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by Merlot and smaller amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The right bank is the domain of Merlot, followed by the white varieties Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. The two Cabernet variants provide the tannin structure, while the Merlot makes for softer wines. The three main red varietals account for 90% of the red plantings. Sémillon is the most important white variety, with a share of more than 50% of plantings, followed by Sauvignon Blanc, Colombard, Muscadelle and Ugni Blanc (the local name for Trebbiano Toscano).

The importance of viticulture in Bordeaux is reflected impressively in the fact that more than 500 of the total of 524 communes in the region produce wine. As a matter of principle, every estate, no matter what size, what the quality is, or what type of building is to be found there, is referred to as a château (palace or castle) – and of course, palatial buildings are to be found on a humber of the estates. The largest property owner in the area is the wide-spread empire of the Lurton family. 98% of all the wines produced in the region are of AC level, total production in 1999 was in excess of seven million hectolitres. More than a quarter of all AC wines produced in France comes from Bordeaux. Bordeaux is thus the largest area in the world for quality wines. A large part is marketed under the comprehensive regional AC designations. This applies to all quality wines from the defined growing areas in the département Gironde. They may contain a blend of permitted grapes from all over the entire region. They are Bordeaux (Rouge, Blanc), Bordeaux sec (white wine with a residual sugar level of less than 4 g/l), Bordeaux Rosé, Bordeaux Clairet (light red wine) and Crémant de Bordeaux (sparkling wine). The most successful branded wines under the AC Bordeaux designation include the „Dourthe No. 1“ by Dourthe, the „Sirius“ by Sichel, the „Michel Lynch“ from Château Lynch-Bages, the „Maître d´Estournel“ from Château Cos d´Estournel, as well as the world-wide export hit and in terms of volume absolute leader, Mouton Cadet from the house of Mouton-Rothschild. There are more than 30 local communal appellations. Only these wines can generally be relied on to provide outstanding quality. The AC´s are:

* Blaye (Blayais, Côtes de Blaye, Premières Côtes de Blaye)
* Bordeaux Clairet
* Bordeaux Côtes de Francs
* Bourg (Bourgeais, Côtes de Bourg)
* Cadillac
* Cérons
* Côtes de Bordeaux Saint-Macaire
* Côtes de Castillon
* Crémant de Bordeaux
* Entre-Deux-Mers (Entre-Deux-Mers Haut-Benauge)
* Fronsac (Canon-Fronsac, Côtes Canon-Fronsac)
* Graves (Graves Supérieures)
* Graves de Vayres
* Haut-Médoc (Listrac-Médoc, Margaux, Moulis, Pauillac, St-EstèpheSaint-Julien)
* Lalande de Pomerol
* Loupiac
* Médoc
* Pessac-Léognan (previously Haut-Graves)
* Pomerol
* Premiéres Côtes de Bordeaux
* Sainte-Croix-du-Mont
* Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux
* Saint-Émilion (Montagne, Lussac, Puisseguin, St-Georges#Saint-Georges)
* Sauternes (Barsac, Sauternes-Barsac)

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