Bordeaux

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The area covers 494 of the 535 communes of the Gironde département, excluding the south-western part of the département, which has no viticultural vocation and is given over to forestry.
• The proximity of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gironde estuary, and the valleys of the Garonne and the Dordogne plays an important thermoregulatory role in the viticultural climate.
• Rainfall is well distributed throughout the year, averaging between 700 and 800 millimetres per year, with late-summer Atlantic disturbances that vary from one year to the next.
• The viticultural Gironde is drained by the catchment basins of the Dordogne to the north and the Garonne to the south, which meet at the Bec d'Ambès to form the Gironde estuary.
• The geological formations belong exclusively to the Tertiary and Quaternary periods, comprising marls, molasse, and limestones of the Eocene and Oligocene, together with gravelly and sandy Plio-Quaternary alluvial formations.
• On the Tertiary formations, clay-limestone brown soils predominate, with superficial deposits that are sometimes several metres thick, such as gravelly clays or wind-blown silts locally known as boulbènes.
• Along the rivers, gravelly deposits form well-drained, warm terraces, while recent alluvial deposits with a predominantly clay character make up the palus soils.

• The Bordeaux vineyard first appears in the first century, when the Bituriges Vivisques planted Vitis Biturica, the ancestral variety of the cabernet grape varieties, which was more resistant to cold.
• Merlot, today the principal grape variety, only truly began to spread from 1830 onwards, notably thanks to the introduction of grafting, which reduced its tendency towards coulure and millerandage.
• The long-established trade practice of classifying viticultural parishes and identifying individual crus led to the codification of these lists in 1855 through the Classement des Vins de Gironde, at the initiative of Napoleon III for the Exposition Universelle.
• A département-wide delimitation of the Bordeaux appellation was established by the decree of 18 February 1911, then recognised as an appellation d'origine contrôlée by the decree of 14 November 1936.
• The severe frosts of the winter of 1956 led to a thorough restructuring and modernisation of the vineyard, while the decline in demand for sweet white wines prompted a conversion to red grape varieties and a refocusing on Sauvignon blanc for more aromatic dry white wines.

• Dry white wines made from Sauvignon blanc are highly aromatic, fresh, and fruity, with floral and citrus notes, while Sémillon contributes body and richness, and Muscadelle adds floral aromas.
• White wines with residual fermentable sugars are structured around Sémillon, yielding round, ample wines of golden colour with aromas of candied fruit, sometimes blended with Sauvignon blanc for freshness.
• Clairets display an intense, vibrant colour with raspberry-hued reflections, aromas of ripe, fleshy fruit, and a palate that is more vinous than other rosés, with a longer finish.
• Clarets are red wines with a light tannic structure and a low-intensity ruby-to-purple colour, approachable and fruit-forward, with aromas of ripe red fruits, and are best suited to drinking young and slightly chilled.
• In the red wines, where Merlot is often the dominant variety, blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and, to a lesser extent, Cabernet Franc brings aromatic complexity and tannic power, allowing the wines to age and develop their bouquet.

• On clay-limestone soils and marly limestone soils, which are widespread on hillside slopes, Merlot expresses itself very well.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Dénominations géographiques complémentaires

• Bordeaux Haut-Benauge AOC (PDO)

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF) — approved 26 novembre 2025
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — CIVB