Bordeaux AOC is the generic appellation for the entire Bordeaux region.

Communes (501): The Bordeaux AOC covers vineyards in the long list of communes listed here, all of which are in the Gironde department.

Bordeaux AOC wines

Bordeaux Blanc Sec AOC: A dry white wine usually based mainly on Sauvignon Blanc, plus Sémillon and Muscadelle with an optional 0-30% combined from Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Merlot Blanc, Mauzac or Ondenc.

Bordeaux Blanc AOC: A dry white wine from the same varieties allowed in Bordeaux Blanc Sec immediately above.

Bordeaux Blanc Supérieur AOC: This denotes a wine with a ‘superior’–meaning higher level of ripeness as defined by alcohol–content and from lower grape yields. For Bordeaux Blanc it means an extra two degrees of alcohol.

Bordeaux Rosé AOC: A pink wine made from the same potential blend as Bordeaux Rouge, below.

Bordeaux Clairet AOC: ‘Clairet’, the Middle Age precursor of ‘claret’ or red Bordeaux, is a dark pink wine style said to have originated in Quinsac in what is now Cadillac-Côtes-de-Bordeaux. It was made by fermenting both dark and fair-skinned grapes together to leave a clairet or ‘thin’–meaning pale–red. Rules for today’s Bordeaux Clairet AOC allow only dark-skinned grapes to be used, to the same potential blend as Bordeaux Rouge. Winemakers may leave some berries uncrushed to allow a more gentle assimilation of colour and tannin to the juice which is then run off between the early to middle stages of a red wine fermentation. The juice then ferments as a white wine would. 

Bordeaux Rouge AOC: Red Bordeaux made from Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Carmenère. Bordeaux Rouge, or any red wine from Bordeaux, may sometimes still be referred to as a ‘claret’. See immediately above.

Bordeaux Rouge Supérieur AOC: This denotes a wine with a ‘superior’–meaning higher level of ripeness as defined by alcohol–content. For Bordeaux Rouge an extra half a degree of alcohol

Crémant de Bordeaux AOC: This denotes Bordeaux’s traditional method sparkling wines. See here.

Wineries

Certified Biodynamic: Château Damanieu. | Château Fourton La Garenne. | Château Lavergne-Dulong. | L’Escart.

Certified organic: Château Auguste. | Château Beau-Rivage.**  Château du Champ du Moulin.** 

Other: Château Loudenne (St Yzans). | Château de Sours. | Château de Seuil. | Château Méaume (Maransin). | Domaine de l’Ile Margaux (Margaux).