Bordeaux

Bordeaux is the most famous wine region in the world. The fact is that some of the best and most expensive wine comes from this very area on the Garonne river.

It is precisely the Garonne river that divides Bordeaux into right and left banks. On the right are wines from Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, which primarily produce wine based on the Merlot grape. The Cabernet Sauvignon grape is the dominant one on the left bank, which is dominated by communes such as Saint-Estephe, Margaux, Saint-Julien and Pauillac. It is also on the left that the white Pessac-Léognan and the sweet dessert wines Sauterne and Barsac are produced.

And why is it exactly Bordeaux that has run with all the success. To a large extent, it is based on the introduction of the classification system in 1855 in connection with the World Exhibition in Paris. This system has made it easy for the consumer to see the top of Bordeaux wines and no other wine region has managed to create a similar system.

The system is based on a division of the best châteaux from 1st to 5th Cru, where price and reputation played a decisive role when it was introduced. The system has stood the test of time for more than 150 years, with very few changes. There are currently 61 classified castles. Read more here .

Note that it is the châteaux that are classified in Bordeaux, in contrast to Burgundy where it is the fields (terroir) that are classified.