Classics of Northern Bordeaux

Appears in
Ten Vineyard Lunches
Ten Vineyard Lunches

By Richard Olney

Published 1988

  • About

The Médoc, Saint-Emilion and Pomerol appellations are all red wines (a few whites are made in Médoc that carry the generic Bordeaux appellation contrôlée). As with the Graves reds, the three principal grape varieties are Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet franc and Merlot but, whereas in Médoc and Graves, Cabernet-Sauvignon dominates, the ratio is inverted in Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, with Merlot dominating and Cabernet franc assuming greater importance, often to the exclusion of Cabernet-Sauvignon.

Médoc is broken down into eight appellations: Médoc (the northern part of the peninsula, geographically known as Bas-Médoc), Haut-Médoc (within which lie all of the village appellations and all of the classified growths) and the village appellations of Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Margaux, Moulis and Listrac.