Shaan Stevens-Bordeaux Wine Classifications: Grapes vs. Place,Bordeaux Wine Classifications: Grapes vs. Place,Shaan Stevens-Bordeaux Wine Classifications: Grapes vs. Place,he wines of Bordeaux are not labeled and sold by varietal, but by terroir. To the Bordelais knowing where the grapes were grown is more important than knowing what grapes were grown. Case in point, the terms "left bank" and "right bank" are used liberally to refer to which side of the river, Gironde, and its tributaries the Garonne and Dordogne, the grapes are grown.

With Merlot being the most widely planted red grape in Bordeaux, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and rounded out with Cabernet Franc, grape-growing villages located on the right bank have historically made wines dominated with Merlot. These right bank wines enjoy plenty of support from Cab Franc, with some Cabernet Sauvignon also making its way into certain blends. The story on the left bank plays the opposite tune. The Bordeaux wines sourced from the left bank tend to star Cabernet Sauvignon in the starting lineup with Merlot and Cab Franc rounding out the second string.

While it would be nice and easy to box up the right bank as "Merlot" and left bank as "Cab," Bordeaux is always a blend and delicious exceptions abound on both banks. To add to the intimidation factor, Bordeaux's wines are subject to a cumbersome classification system. Originally intended to delineate the best Bordeaux for the 1855 International Exposition in Paris, Napoleon III asked brokers to pick the top Medoc wines to showcase at the fair. These wines were categorized by quality and price from 61 chateaus (60 from the Medoc, and Chateau Haut-Brion from Graves) and today the classification still stands, but in the company of several other regionally-driven classification systems.