Friends often around me told the editor: "At the party, I can always hear some wine lovers talking about the left and right banks of Bordeaux, but I really can't figure out my head." ”
In fact, it is no wonder that some wine whites do not know why, as a well-known wine region, Bordeaux's fame sometimes makes people neglect to delve into its small branches. The same Bordeaux production area, why should it be divided into left and right? What is the difference between the Left Bank and the Right Bank? Today we will walk into the left and right banks of Bordeaux, clear the clouds and fog, and find out.
Bordeaux Vineyards (Image: www.bordeaux.com)
1. The three rivers are divided into "the world"
Where there is a river, there must be a river, and the left and right banks of Bordeaux are divided by three rivers that run through Bordeaux.
As can be seen from the map below, the appellations west and south of the Gironde and Garonne rivers are divided into "Bordeaux left banks", such as Medoc, Graves and Sauternes;
East of the Gironte River and north of the Dordogne River is the "right bank of Bordeaux", including the world-famous legal appellations such as Pomerol and Saint-Emilion.
2. There are differences in terroir, and the varieties on both sides of the strait are very different
The topsoil on the left bank of Bordeaux is dominated by gravel. Gravel soils help the vines form well-developed root systems, allowing plants to absorb nutrients, while excellent drainage properties add heat to grape growth, so Cabernet Sauvignon prefers the Left Bank.
Gravel soils in the vineyards of Château Des Château Des Haute Medoc (Image: www.cantemerle.com)
The red grape varieties on the left bank of Bordeaux are represented by Cabernet Sauvignon, coupled with other legal varieties such as Merlot, which are grown in small quantities, and the red wines produced have high acidity and tannins, with strong aromas of blackcurrant and blackberry, and most wines have the smell of roasted oak barrels, which can be aged for more than 10 years, and can develop the aromas of humidors and cedars.
Barton Castle red wine
In addition, the Grave appellation on the Left Bank is home to excellent white vineyards such as Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. Speaking of which, it is necessary to mention the two world-famous sweet white wine regions of Sujew and Barsac. Its wines are mainly made with Semillon and a small amount of Sauvignon Blanc. Sudhat Gui Rot Sweet White Wine is known for its extremely balanced sweetness and acidity, and its flavors are extremely complex, including stone fruits, vanilla, jam and saffron, which are very pleasing.
Asahi Goldburg Winery Guifu Sweet White Wine (Image: www.suduiraut.com)
The soil composition on the right bank of Bordeaux is more complex, but it has significantly more clay surface layer than on the left bank. The red grape varieties on the right bank are dominated by Merlo, followed by Cabernet Franc, with a small number of other legal varieties grown.
Because the main variety is Merlot, the red wine on the right bank has moderate and high tannin content, the structure is not as strong as the left bank, the taste is soft, the flavor is rich, the alcohol content is high, and it has complex aromas of cranberries and plums.
While most of the estates on the right bank are mainly made by Merlo, there are still a few wineries that grow Cabernet Francs in a proportion close to Merlo, such as Chateau Ausone, Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau Angelus in Saint-Emilion's Four PremierS Crus Classes A.
3. The grading system has its own holes
The most well-known grading system on the Left Bank is the Bordeaux 1855 classification.
Image source: www.bordeaux.com
This classification consists of two parts, the Médoc classification and the Sudean & Bassak classification, which grade the red wines of the Medoc region and the sweet and white wines of the Sudori and Bassak regions respectively.
The Médoc classification now contains 61 wineries, which are divided into five levels, of which 5 are first-class, 14 are second-class, 14 are third-class, 10 are fourth-level and 18 are fifth-class. The well-known hall-level Bordeaux estates are derived from this classification, such as the well-known five first-class estates: Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Latour, Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau Mouton Rothschild.
Red wine of The Manor of Houber
After talking about the left bank, let's take a look at how the wineries on the right bank are graded. The Saint-Emilion Wine Chamber on the Right Bank decided in the 1950s to draft a classification system for tiered wineries, the Saint-Emilion Classification System, which divided the estates into Premier Grand Cru Classe and Grand Cru Classe, which in turn divided Premier Grand Cru Classe A and Premier Grand Cru Classe B. Unlike the Bordeaux grading system of 1855, the results of the Saint-Emilion were not static.
I believe that this article has let you know enough about the difference between the left and right banks of Bordeaux, if you want to further explore the beauty of Bordeaux wine, quickly pay attention to the world of wine and discover more wine knowledge