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The \u201cLeft Bank\u201d<\/h1>\n
The Gironde estuary flows south from the Atlantic Ocean through Bordeaux, splitting into two rivers – the Garonne continues to the south and the Dordogne to the southeast. The western side of the Gironde is the M\u00e9doc, or \u201cLeft Bank\u201d, and this is where four famous communes are located. From north to south, they are Saint-Est\u00e9phe<\/strong>, Pauillac<\/strong>, Saint-Julien<\/strong>, and Margaux<\/strong>. Wines from these communes are based on Cabernet Sauvignon, whose firm tannins are softened by blending in Merlot. A small amount of Petit Verdot is often added for deeper color and aromatic complexity, and some Ch\u00e2teaux may include Cabernet Franc and\/or Malbec, depending on the year. Some of the best wines command premium prices and are known for their balance, structure, and longevity. However, many fine examples are also quite affordable if you\u2019re willing to seek them out.<\/p>\n To the south, Graves <\/strong>is an extension of the Left Bank and named after the gravel stones which are a local geographical feature. Red wines from here, like their northern peers, usually utilize Cabernet Sauvignon as the primary grape. Within Graves, the appellation of Pessac-L\u00e9ognan<\/strong> is home to many excellent producers, some known to rival the finest wines of the M\u00e9doc.<\/p>\n As the Dordogne river veers off from the Gironde, eventually we come to the area known as Bordeaux\u2019s \u201cRight Bank.\u201d While Cabernet Sauvignon is the principal grape of the Left Bank, Merlot assumes that role in wines from here. The communes of Saint-\u00c9milion<\/strong> and Pomerol <\/strong>contain a wealth of excellent wine estates, and bottles from the latter appellation can fetch the highest prices of any from Bordeaux. Cabernet Franc is often included in blends from the Right Bank, though producers may decide to include other grapes as well. Like some wines of the Left Bank, the greatest Right Bank wines have the balance and structure to last for many years. There are also outstanding values to be found, especially from better vintages.<\/p>\n In 1855, an official Bordeaux Classification was created that ranked some of the Left Bank estates into five tiers, or \u201cgrowths.\u201d The First Growths were originally Ch\u00e2teau Lafite-Rothschild and Ch\u00e2teau Latour of Pauillac, Ch\u00e2teau Margaux of Margaux, and Ch\u00e2teau Haut-Brion of Graves. In 1973, after much protest, Ch\u00e2teau Mouton-Rothschild was elevated from Second Growth to First Growth. Due to a variety of factors influencing wine quality among these select Ch\u00e2teaux, this classification system is not without controversy since some wines may outperform or underperform against their peers. In 1955, Saint-\u00c9milion formed its own classification system, which has since undergone various revisions. Ch\u00e2teau Cheval-Blanc and Ch\u00e2teau Ausone produce two of the most well known Premier Grand Cru Class\u00e9 (A) wines – the highest echelon of Saint-\u00c9milion.<\/p>\n Now that you have a foundation of Bordeaux knowledge, there\u2019s no better time to explore the wines of this amazing region!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While trends change over the course of time, appreciating the fine wines of Bordeaux will never be unfashionable. Bordeaux is the home of noble grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, as well as the place from which many New World producers have continually drawn their inspiration. Let\u2019s explore this essential wine region together. Five Important […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[339,337],"tags":[201,223,207,26,27,212,222,232,124],"class_list":["post-530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wine-101","category-wine-geography","tag-bordeaux","tag-cabernet-franc","tag-cabernet-sauvignon","tag-france","tag-french-wine","tag-malbec","tag-merlot","tag-petit-verdot","tag-red-wine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1887,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530\/revisions\/1887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Graves and Pessac-L\u00e9ognan<\/h1>\n
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<\/p>\nThe \u201cRight Bank\u201d<\/h1>\n
Classified Growths<\/h1>\n
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\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"