Bordeaux Left Bank

Overview and History

The Left Bank can be divided into the part north of Bordeaux City and the part south of Bordeaux City.  The Left Bank north of Bordeaux City stretches from the City and all the way up to the Gironde River’s confluence with the Atlantic Ocean. Here we find the areas Medoc (farthest north), Haut-Medoc (directly south of Medoc) and within Haut-Medoc the four important red wines communes of Pauillac, Saint-Estephe, St-Julien, and Margaux.

The Left Bank south of Bordeaux City encompasses the areas Graves, and Pessac-Leognan – which are famous for production of top red- and white wines – and further south we find Sauternes – famous for production of arguably, some of the world’s finest sweet wines.  

Key Grape Varieties

The grape variety Cabernet Sauvignon is king on the Left Bank, where it – blended with varying proportions of mainly Merlot and Cabernet Franc – produces wines that are intensely deep in colour and with a rigid and almost austere tannic structure, especially in youth, and very good acidity. Cabernet Sauvignon is thought easily recognisable by many due to its characteristic aromas of black currants, liquorice, mint, and – when aged in new oak barrels, which is common for the top estates in the region – also aromas of cedar, cigar box, baking spices and tobacco. Merlot’s role in the blend is to soften Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure and add fleshy texture and fruit, whereas Cabernet Franc adds a certain aromatic freshness to the blend.

Food Pairing

Considering the firm structure of Left Bank Bordeaux reds, these are wines that go well with meat such as roast or grilled beef, veal, and venison, but particularly well with lamb with herbs like thyme and rosemary. Pigeon with foie gras and duck with orange confit are also great choices, as is meaty and or flavourful fish, such as monkfish and red mullet. Left Bank Bordeaux also goes well with hard cow’s and sheep’s milk cheeses. Whereas younger vintages of red Bordeaux tend to go well with richer, more flavourfully accessorized and sauce rich foods, older vintages are best enjoyed with a leaner and simpler accompaniment such as for example beef filet with truffle and salsify.

While Left Bank Bordeaux is famous for its superb dry reds, the regional also produces excellent dry whites mostly in the sub region of Pessac-Leognon Graves and mainly from a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. In addition, Left Bank Bordeaux is home to some of the world’s greatest sweet wines from the same grapes in Sauternes and Barsac. Food matches for the white wines from these sub regions are discussed in those sections.   

Classification

Medoc, in the northern part of Bordeaux’ Left Bank, is home to arguably the most famous classification of wines, in the world.  Introduced in 1855, for the world exhibition in Paris at the time, when Emperor Napoleon III demanded a  classification system for Bordeaux’ finest wines, Medoc’s classification devides the wines into five levels of which the 1er Cru Classes are the finest. 60 chateaux are included in the classification.

While the Graves, including Pessac-Leognan, further south on the Left Bank, was excluded from the 1855 Classification, one vineyard – Chateau Haut Brion – made the cut because of its long history of producing very fine wine. The Graves wines – both reds and whites – were  classified in 1955, and are known as Cru Classe de Graves.    

Key Sub Regions

Within Bordeaux Left Bank, there is a further division into sub regions and appellations and for us the key sub-regions of Bordeaux Left Bank are:

• Barsac
• Margaux
• Pauillac
• Pessac-Leognan Graves
• Saint-Estephe
• Saint-Julien
• Sauternes