The Appellation

Saint-Estèphe is the northernmost of the Médoc appellations, bordering Pauillac to the south. It is noticeably cooler, and the soil contains slow-draining clay, which makes it perform particularly well in more extreme vintages, such as the hotter, drier vintages of 2003 and 2009. Saint-Estèphe also benefits most from an Indian summer, like in 2014, since this cooler appellation needs longer for the grapes to reach full ripeness. Merlot remains more important in Saint-Estèphe than Pauillac and Saint-Julien, whilst Cabernet Franc is becoming increasingly popular as it is suited to the clay soils and retains better acidity in warmer vintages.  

The three finest wines in the appellation come from Châteaux Cos d’Estournel, Montrose and Calon-Ségur.

Saint-Estèphe’s Flavour Profile 

The addition of clay in the soils, mixed with gravel, gives the wines of Saint-Estèphe a bigger, more robust tannic structure compared to its southern neighbours, bringing intensity and power to the wines. These big tannic wines perform best in warm or late harvested vintages where Saint-Estèphe has the potential to produce the finest wines on the Left Bank. The wines can be austere in their youth, though age impeccably well.  

The Appellation

Arguably the most important appellation in the Médoc, Pauillac is home to three of the five First Growth properties: Châteaux Latour, Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild, along with some of the most famous wines of Bordeaux. Châteaux Pichon Baron, Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pontet-Canet, Lynch-Bages, Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Batailley are all situated within this famous Bordeaux appellation. 

Pauillac’s Flavour Profile 

Gravel soils predominate in Pauillac, the tell-tale characteristics of which are cassis, lead pencil and cigar box on the nose, and a silky sweet cassis note in the mouth. Cabernet Sauvignon is king in Pauillac often making up very high proportions of the final blends. Pauillac is often seen as quintessential Left Bank Bordeaux allowing Cabernet Sauvignon to show its full potential both with its beguiling aromas and close-knit integrated tannins.

The Appellation

Bordering Pauillac to the north, Saint-Julien is the most classic and consistent of the Left Bank appellations. Whilst Saint-Julien has no First Growths, it is home to Châteaux Ducru-Beaucaillou and Léoville Las Cases, two of Bordeaux’s finest wines, along with legendary properties including Léoville Barton, Léoville Poyferré, Branaire-Ducru and Beychevelle. 

Saint-Julien’s Flavour Profile 

There is a noticeable difference as one moves north through the appellation: Château Léoville Las Cases, for instance, borders Latour at the southern tip of Pauillac and there is a noticeable Pauillac-style poise to this great wine. Châteaux Beychevelle and Branaire-Ducru, to the south of the Saint-Julien appellation, are distinctly juicier and loose-knit. All of the Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blends from the appellation show great linearality, freshness and precision and offer a lovely balance between the elegance of Margaux and the intensity of Pauillac. 

The Appellation

Margaux is home to one of the greatest wines of Bordeaux, Château Margaux. While the appellation is a large, and occasionally inconsistent one, the very best wines of Margaux are peerless in their finesse and elegance whilst having the most perfumed character of the wines on the Left Bank.

The appellation is also home to top estates including Châteaux Palmer, Brane-Cantenac and Rauzan-Ségla as well as Châteaux Giscours and du Tertre.  

Margaux’s Flavour Profile

The soils here are fine and sandy. This is what gives Margaux wines their distinctly alluring, elegant character and beguiling aromas. These wines tend to be more medium bodied than their northern counterparts, only adding to their charm. They are the most Burgundian of Bordeaux and at their very best they are peerless.

The Appellation

Graves is historically Bordeaux’s most important region and the one upon which its reputation was founded. Even today, ask any old-fashioned Bordeaux connoisseur their favourite appellation and the answer will invariably be Graves. Pessac-Léognan sits within Graves and has the best soils of the area. 

The finest wines of Graves undoubtedly come from the First Growth of Château Haut-Brion and its sister property La Mission Haut-Brion. The appellation has arguably the most variable styles of wine coming from the Left Bank as it is spread out over a wide area. Top châteaux include Les Carmes Haut-Brion,  Smith Haut Lafitte, Haut-Bailly, Domaine de Chevalier and Pape-Clement.  

Pessac-Léognan & Grave’s Flavour Profile 

Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon tend to be closer to 50:50 in the blends from Graves. At its best, the region shows how these two grapes can compliment each other perfectly. The Merlot brings lovely mid-palate weight and silky Pomerol-esque textures, whilst the Cabernet brings structure, freshness and aromatic complexity. The wines often have an additional smoky, peaty, scorched earth aromatic complexity. 

The Appellation

Saint-Émilion is home to the great Bordeaux estates of Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus and Pavie. The styles of wine throughout Saint-Émilion are very diverse, with winemaking methods and approaches as important as terroir when it comes to understanding the difference. In the past, the wines have suffered from over-extraction and over-ripeness, but in recent years the appellation has become one of Bordeaux’s most exciting.

Château Ausone is Saint-Émilion’s most expensive wine, alongside Cheval Blanc. Both of these properties make some of the finest wines anywhere in the world and are some of the most consistent, year after year. Chateaux Angélus and Pavie favour a more modern style, which is to say more fruit driven and with considerable use of oak. Other notable properties include Canon, Figeac , Le Dôme and the idiosyncratic Tertre Rôteboeuf. 

Saint-Émilion’s Flavour Profile 

The limestone plateau provides a distinct minerality and freshness to the very best wines of Saint-Émilion. The wines can have a broad fruit spectrum depending on the vignerons' picking choices and can be some of the most precise and detailed in Bordeaux.   

The Appellation

Pomerol is home to Châteaux Pétrus, Lafleur and Le Pin , three of the world’s most sought-after wines, along with the great winemaking estates of Vieux Château Certan, L'Eglise-Clinet, and La Conseillante. Whilst Pomerol is one of the world’s most prestigious wine regions, there is no official classification system. Other châteaux producing great Pomerol wines include Clinet, Feytit-Clinet, L’Evangile, Lafleur-Pétrus and Trotanoy.

The best Pomerol soils are clay, and the wine is predominantly Merlot, with some estates (notably Château Lafleur and Vieux Château Certan) including a high proportion of Cabernet Franc. Lower production levels make the wines some of the most consistent in Bordeaux vintage to vintage. 

Pomerol’s Flavour Profile 

Pomerol produces the most opulent, silky and rich wines in Bordeaux. At their best the textural complexity and mid-palate weight is unmatched. The wines have incredible ageing potential but also open up earlier than their Left Bank counterparts.