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 organicChâteau 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).