Bordeaux has been the largest and most popular wine region in the world for more than two thousand years. Divided by the river Gironde, Bordeaux is classified in two parts, the Left Bank, on the Atlantic Ocean side, which is famous for wines dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and the Right Bank, which produces wines that have a larger percentage of Merlot.

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Left Bank Bordeaux

The Left Bank, is where you find all the famous First Growth wines from the now legendary Classification of 1855. All the Left Bank wines are blends dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.

The primary characteristics of Left Bank wines comes from the combination of the grapes in the blend, and the soils, which are mostly gravel, with some clay. The best wines combine elegance with tannic structure, giving the wines firm mouth feel, coupled with flavors of currants, spice, earth and tobacco when young. With age they become softer and more refined, taking on additional nuances (very slight flavor hints) of cigar box, cedar, leather, smoke, herbs, truffle and tobacco.

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Right Bank Bordeaux

The Right Bank is the home to the famous Petrus and Cheval Blanc, the best wines in the world made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc. There are also small plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec but Merlot is the undisputed king in the vineyards. The two most famous appellations in the Right Bank are St. Emilion and Pomerol.

The soils in this region are mostly clay and limestone, with some gravel and sand. Right Bank wines offer lush, sensuous textures, soft tannins and noses of juicy, black cherries, licorice, black and red plums, chocolate, flowers and truffle when young, while with age more tobacco, truffle, dark chocolate and earthy characteristics.