Varietals
Red Varietals
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Franc
Merlot
Petit Verdot
Malbec
White Varietals
Sauvignon Blanc
Semillon
Muscadelle
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Geology
Medoc
Glacial gravel outcroppings with sand and shale from the river, and clay in subsoil. Very flat and low (max heights about 100ft above sea-level).
Best soils for Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot as gravel holds and reflects heat, allowing these hard-to-ripen varietals to mature fully.
Graves
Very similar to Medoc, but further from the ocean with less clay subsoil, and higher elevations with some gently rolling hills.
Sauternes
Gravel gives way to more sandy soils and rolling hills.
St. Emilion
Limestone bluffs along north side of the sandy Dordogne valley floor.
Vast area of generic wine produced from sandy, poorly drained sandy lowland, with best wines coming from bluffs.
Lower slopes have sandy topsoil, giving way to clay on upper slopes and terrace. Small area of glacial gravel around Chateau Figeac on border of Pomerol.
Cold soils not good for ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, therefore main varietals are Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Pomerol
On the plateau of this tiny appellation where most of the top growths are found, almost 100% very dense clay. As the land slopes gently away from the plateau, topsoil gives way to less favorable sand.
Many wines are 100% Merlot, some with small amounts of Cabernet Franc; very little Sauvignon. |
Classification
Medoc & Graves
The famous 5-tier classification of 1855, from 1st to 5th Growth:
5 First Growths of Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, Haut-Brion (in Graves) and Mouton Rothschild (upgraded from 2nd Growth in 1973).
System has never been revised, and many of the lesser growths do not conform to their given ranking.
Crus Bourgeois and Artisanal come below the "Classified" Growths, and many of these are equal or better than certain Classifieds.
Sauternes and Barsac also included in 1855 Classification, later re-classified on their own system. Chateau d'Yquem is the sole Premier Grand Crus Exceptionnel, above all other wines of the region.
St. Emilion
Classified in 1955, and revised every 5 years.
Premier Grand Crus Classe presently 11, of which 9 are "B" and 2 "A" rated.
Roughly 63 Grand Crus Classe, then Grand Crus, then generic St. Emilion. Although the system is designed to be revised each 10 years, there are still discrepancies and disputes, and several of the highest-priced wines of the appellation are not even in the official classification.
Pomerol
Has no classification system, but the wine from these tiny properties (as small as a couple of acres) sells for some of the highest prices of any Bordeaux.
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