Bordeaux is split by the Gironde estuary into two very different wine-growing traditions. The Left Bank — Médoc and Graves — has gravel soils that suit Cabernet Sauvignon, producing structured, long-ageing reds built around blackcurrant and cedar. The Right Bank — Saint-Émilion and Pomerol — has clay and limestone that favour Merlot, giving softer, plummier wines that mature sooner. Bordeaux also makes serious dry whites from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, and the world's benchmark sweet wine, Sauternes, made from botrytis-affected grapes in a warm, humid pocket near the Garonne and Ciron rivers.

Key grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon