Bordeaux Wine - Climate and Geography

Climate and Geography

The major reason for the success of winemaking in the Bordeaux region is the excellent environment for growing vines. The geological foundation of the region is limestone, leading to a soil structure that is heavy in calcium. The Gironde estuary dominates the regions along with its tributaries, the Garonne and the Dordogne rivers, and together irrigate the land and provide an Atlantic Climate, also known as an oceanic climate, for the region.

These rivers define the main geographical subdivisions of the region:

• "The right bank", situated on the right bank of Dordogne, in the northern parts of the region, around the city of Libourne.
• Entre-deux-mers, French for "between two seas", the area between the rivers Dordogne and Garonne, in the centre of the region.
• "The left bank", situated on the left bank of Garonne, in the west and south of the region, around the city of Bordeaux itself. The left bank is further subdivided into:
  • Graves, the area upstream of the city Bordeaux.
  • Médoc, the area downstream of the city Bordeaux, situated on a peninsula between Gironde and the Atlantic.

In Bordeaux the concept of terroir plays a pivotal role in wine production with the top estates aiming to make terroir driven wines that reflect the place they are from, often from grapes collected from a single vineyard. The soil of Bordeaux is composed of gravel, sandy stone, and clay. The region's best vineyards are located on the well drained gravel soils that are frequently found near the Gironde river. An old adage in Bordeaux is the best estates can "see the river" from their vineyard and majority of land that face riverside are occupied by classified estates.