Reinforced by its imposing châteaux, the aristocratic Bordeaux holds court at the centre of France’s vinous universe. It is the largest AOC area in France. When combined with the peerless pedigree of the world famous reds, the quality whites of Graves and the seductive Sauternes, the 112,000ha of vineyard plantings and around 60 million cases produced annually make this region hard to ignore.
Bordeaux is divided into two general groupings of appellations: those on the left bank of the Gironde River and those on the right with the Dordogne running through them. Generally, the left bank is home to Cabernet-driven wines and the right bank to Merlot-dominant expressions. At the centre of trade is the négociant system; the châteaux sell their wines to négociants, who in turn offer them to their partners around the world, in what is for the most part an open trading market.
