Bordeaux is a region in south west France, that country’s biggest producer of quality (meaning AOC) wine. But in his book ‘The Future of Wine has Changed‘ (2019) Robert Joseph points out how Bordeaux had 20,000 châteaux in the 1980s, but only 6,700 at the time of writing.

Organics & Biodynamics in Bordeaux: See Bordeaux region, Organic & Biodynamic wine production data.

Terroir: All the Bordeaux vineyards are located in the Gironde (33), France’s largest department. Bordeaux, the Gironde’s capital city, gives the region its name and is also one of France’s key ports.

The Bordeaux region’s physical geography is dictated by water. The Atlantic ocean lies to the west and is fed by one estuary (the Gironde) and its two tributaries the Garonne and the Dordogne. These shape the Bordeaux landscape into two halves, the left bank (west of the Garonne and Gironde) and the right (east) bank.

The Bordeaux Appellation: Generic Bordeaux wines can be bottled under the Bordeaux AOC and Crémant de Bordeaux AOC for still and sparkling wines respectively.

Bordeaux AOC regions

Left bank of the Gironde, North of Bordeaux: Haut-Médoc AOC. | Listrac AOC. | Margaux AOC. | Médoc AOC. | Moulis AOC. | Pauillac AOC. | St-Estèphe AOC. | St-Julien AOC.

Left bank of the Garonne, South of Bordeaux: Barsac AOC. | Cérons AOC. | Graves AOC. | Pessac-Léognan AOC. | Sauternes AOC. |

Right bank of the Gironde: Blaye-Côtes de Bordeaux AOC. | Côtes de Bourg AOC.

Right bank, centre, north bank of the Dordogne: Canon-Fronsac. | Castillon-Côtes de Bordeaux AOC. | Fronsac AOC. | Lalande-de-Pomerol AOC. | Pomerol AOC. | St-Émilion AOC.

Right bank South, between the Garonne & Dordogne: Bordeaux-Haut-Benauge DOC. | Cadillac AOC. | Cadillac-Côtes de Bordeaux AOC. | Entre-Deux-Mers AOC. | Entre-Deux-Mers-Haut-Benauge AOC. | Francs-Côtes-de-Bordeaux AOC. | Graves de Vayres AOC. | Sainte-Croix-du-Mont AOC. | Sainte-Foy Côtes de Bordeaux AOC. 

Bordeaux vintages: 1991. | 1992. | 1993. | 1994. | 1995. | 1996. | 1997. | 1998. | 1999. | 2000. | 2001. | 2002. | 2003. | 2004. | 2005. | 2006. | 2007. | 2008. | 2009. | 2010. | 2011. | 2012. | 2013. | 2014. | 2015. | 2016. | 2017. | 2018. | 2019. | 2020. | 2021.

Promotional bodies: The Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux.