Bordeaux

In Bordeaux a chateau is usually a wine estate. Here is how the region works and what is worth knowing before you visit.

Bordeaux is a wine region in south-west France around the city of Bordeaux. Its estates are traditionally called chateaux. Wikipedia describes the Left Bank (Médoc and Graves) as mainly Cabernet Sauvignon-based reds, the Right Bank (Libournais, Bourg and Blaye) as mainly Merlot-based reds, Sauternes and Barsac as sweet botrytised whites, and Entre-Deux-Mers as dry white.

The 1855 classification was drawn up for the Exposition Universelle de Paris at the request of Napoleon III, with the wines ranked by wine-trade brokers. It covers the red wines of the Médoc plus Château Haut-Brion, the only classified red from Graves, and a separate list for the sweet whites of Sauternes and Barsac.

Highlights

What to see

Saint-Émilion

Wikipedia says UNESCO inscribed the jurisdiction of Saint-Émilion in 1999, with a core area of 7,847 ha. The commune covers about 27 sq km, and vineyards are more than 67% of its land. It has its own classification, introduced in 1955, and was excluded from the 1855 one.

Château de Roquetaillade

At Mazères in Gironde. The 'new castle' was built in 1306 by Gaillard de Lamothe, with Renaissance windows added in 1599 and modernisation by Viollet-le-Duc from 1865. Wikipedia says the same family has held it for over 1,000 years, that it has been open to the public since 1956, and that it also produces white Graves wine.

Food and wine

Wikipedia says Pauillac holds three of the five 1855 First Growths, and that Château Mouton Rothschild was later moved from second to first growth.

When to go

The Bordeaux Tourist Office calls autumn the ideal season to discover wineries during the grape harvest, and mentions mild temperatures and porcini and truffles in bistros. It does not rank autumn best overall. Our when to go page has monthly weather for Bordeaux.

Good to know

A few facts

The 1855 classification ranks reds in five growths, and whites as a Superior First Growth (Yquem), First Growths and Second Growths.
Haut-Brion is the only classified red from Graves in 1855.
Saint-Émilion's UNESCO figures come from Wikipedia, because UNESCO's page would not load.

Keep planning

Other regions

Questions

Quick answers

What is the 1855 classification?

A ranking of Bordeaux wines made for the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris at the request of Napoleon III, by wine-trade brokers. It covers Médoc reds, Haut-Brion and the sweet whites of Sauternes and Barsac.

When is the best time for the Bordeaux wineries?

The Bordeaux Tourist Office says autumn is the ideal season to discover wineries during the grape harvest.

Is Saint-Émilion a UNESCO site?

Wikipedia says UNESCO inscribed the jurisdiction of Saint-Émilion in 1999.

Sources

Facts on this site come from gov.uk, Atout France, regional tourism boards, UNESCO and the operators named, each listed at the foot of the page. Check dates, prices and entry rules with the provider before you book.