Bordeaux

Bordeaux is France's largest fine wine region, on the Atlantic coast around the Gironde estuary. It is best known for blended reds based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot: medium to full-bodied, firmly tannic, tasting of blackcurrant, plum, cedar and graphite.

Left Bank and Right Bank

The single most useful division in Bordeaux is which side of the water the wine comes from, because it determines the grape and therefore the taste.

The Left Bank — Médoc, Haut-Médoc and the communes of Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Margaux, plus Pessac-Léognan to the south. Gravel soils drain well and hold heat, which suits late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon. These blends are Cabernet-dominant: firmer, more tannic, more structured, with blackcurrant and cedar, and they need time.

The Right Bank — Saint-Émilion and Pomerol, principally. Cooler clay and limestone soils suit Merlot, which ripens earlier. These wines are plusher, rounder and softer, with plum and black cherry fruit, and are approachable younger.

Entre-Deux-Mers, between the two rivers, produces mostly crisp dry white.

The grapes

• Cabernet Sauvignon — thick-skinned and late-ripening. High tannin, high acidity, blackcurrant, green bell pepper when underripe, cedar and pencil-shaving notes from oak.
• Merlot — earlier-ripening, softer, fleshier. Plum and black cherry, medium tannin, more immediate charm.
• Cabernet Franc — a smaller but important component, adding perfume, raspberry and a leafy, graphite edge.
• Petit Verdot and Malbec appear in small proportions, the former for colour and firm tannin.

Blending is the point. A wet summer that ruins Cabernet may suit Merlot, and the ability to change the proportions each year is Bordeaux's insurance against a marginal maritime climate.

For whites, Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc make both dry wines and, in Sauternes, some of the world's great sweet wines, concentrated by noble rot.

The 1855 Classification and what it does not tell you

The famous ranking of Left Bank châteaux into five crus classés dates from 1855 and has barely changed since. It remains a reasonable guide to prestige and price, but it is a historical document, not a current quality assessment, and it ignores the Right Bank entirely.

More useful in practice:

• Cru Bourgeois — a separate Médoc classification covering many good-value estates.
• Saint-Émilion has its own classification, revised periodically.
• Second wines — most major châteaux make a junior bottling from younger vines. These offer a genuine taste of the house style for a fraction of the price.

What it tastes like

A classic Left Bank red is medium to full-bodied with high tannin and high acidity: blackcurrant and dark plum, cedar, tobacco leaf, graphite and pencil shavings, with earthy, leathery notes emerging over a decade or more.

Right Bank wines are rounder and softer, leading with plum, black cherry and chocolate.

Vintage matters here more than in most French regions because the Atlantic climate is genuinely unreliable. In poor years the wines can be lean and green; in good years they age for decades.

Food pairings

• Steak and roast beef — high tannin against protein and fat is the textbook match.
• Rack of lamb — the regional classic.
• Duck confit — especially with softer Right Bank wines.
• Hard aged cheeses.
• Sauternes with blue cheese or foie gras — sweet against salt, one of the great pairings.

What to buy

The classed growths are investment goods now. The value lies in the satellite appellations and the second wines: Haut-Médoc, Listrac, Moulis, Fronsac, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux and Lalande-de-Pomerol all deliver recognisable Bordeaux character at everyday prices.

If you dislike firm tannin, start on the Right Bank. If you want the archetype, buy Left Bank and give it ten years — or decant it for a couple of hours.

Serve at 16 to 18°C.