The Left Bank is also home to the Cru Bourgeois classification, which was recently relaunched as a three-tier system. A classification for dry red and white Graves wines was devised in 1953 and finalised in 1959.
Producers were split into first and second growths – or Premiers and Deuxièmes crus classés – but Château d’Yquem was given special dispensation as a ‘Premier Cru Supérieur’. There are then second, third, fourth and fifth growth estates.įurther south, Sauternes producers also got a classification system in 1855, devised alongside the one in Médoc as part of celebrations around the Exposition Universelle de Paris that year. Mouton was promoted to the top tier in 1973. Haut-Brion was included in the original 1855 list, drawn up for Emperor Napoleon III, even though it sits in Graves. It’s a five-tier hierarchy, led by the five ‘first growths’ of Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion and Château Mouton Rothschild. But, alongside the appellation map, the Left Bank is home to the official 1855 Classificationof the Médoc. We can’t do justice to the whole system here. With close to 125,000 hectares of vineyards and as many as 60 separate appellations, Bordeaux is one of the most highly classified wine regions in the region. There are several classification systems at play.
1855 Classification vs St-Emilion Classification Plus, weather does not always neatly divide itself between the two banks. However, the situation is often more complex, and can depend upon many variables, from soil types to cellar management. You may sometimes hear critics speak of a ‘Right Bank’ or ‘Left Bank’ vintage, depending upon whether conditions have favoured later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, which tends to ripen earlier. Top Left and Right Bank Bordeaux châteaux can produce extremely long-lived wines, particularly in the right vintage conditions. However, not all appellations are able to use them, and they will most likely be used in AOC Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur, Entre-deux-Mers and the Côtes de Bordeaux wines. In early 2021, France’s national appellation body, INAO approved the use of six new grape varieties in Bordeaux, as part of efforts to combat climate change. While some top wines can be aged for many years, there are plenty of wines that are also enjoyable when young. The wines tend to be rich in fruit, softer in mouthfeel with less tannin and acid. Estates manage an average holding of five hectares in size, while some Left Bank estates are more than 100ha.
It’s mostly flat with smaller vineyard plots than on the Left Bank, most notably in Pomerol. The terroir is comprised of a limestone surface with less gravel and more clay. Some estates have sought to increase their use of Cabernet Franc in recent years, for its ability to deliver freshness in the glass. Right Bank wines are predominantly Merlot-based, with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot used as blending components. Pauillac, in particular, has a reputation for producing powerful, muscular wines. Wines typically have more tannin and a bigger overall structure than their Right Bank counterparts. The terroir is mostly flat with gravel topsoil and limestone underneath, although the composition can vary substantially from one vineyard to the next.
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