Appellation
Bordeaux
Identity card
RegionalAOPRedRoséWhiteSweet
Bordeaux · Recognised on 14 November 1936
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Reds: at most 60 hl/ha and at least 10.5% natural alcohol.
- The area covers 494 of the Gironde's 535 communes.
- Haut-Benauge: whites from the four principal grapes only.
Grape varieties
Red
Allowed varieties
MerlotCabernet SauvignonCabernet FrancCotPetit Verdot
A sixth variety on the list, on an equal footing: Carmenère
Clairet (deep rosé) follows the red list
Rosé
MerlotCabernet SauvignonCabernet FrancCotPetit Verdot
Accessory varieties: Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc (20% at most of the holding's vines)
Also principal: Carmenère; also accessory: Sauvignon Gris
Sauvignons: 10% at most; only grapes or musts may be blended
WhiteSweet
SémillonSauvignon BlancMuscadelle
Accessory varieties: Ugni Blanc
Also principal: Sauvignon Gris; also accessory: Colombard, Merlot Blanc
Accessory varieties: 30% at most of the vines and of the blend
Production rules
60
hl/ha
Maximum yield
10.5
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
Minimum ageing: Reds other than claret: at least until 31 December of the harvest year
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 129 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 14 % ABV across 79 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Water: Ocean, estuary, Garonne and Dordogne temper the climate
- Soils: Clay-limestone slopes, gravel terraces, silty boulbènes
- Climate: Oceanic, 700 to 800 mm of rain; marked vintage variation
Wine style
- Red
- supple
- fruity
- low acidity
- Cabernets: tannin, ageing
- White
- fresh and fruity
- flowers and citrus
- for drinking young
- Rosé
- fruity or floral
- round yet lively
- clairet: deep colour
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
13 May 2026
Arrêté du 13 mai 2026 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'AOC « Bordeaux » (NOR AGRT2611014A, JORF n°0116 du 19 mai 2026, texte n°7), qui abroge l'arrêté du 26 novembre 2025. Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 14 novembre 1936.
Labelling terms
- "Claret": a light red, the mention shown on the label
- "Clairet": a deep rosé
- "Haut-Benauge": a designation for whites from a few communes
- Whites with over 5 and under 60 g/l of sugar: sweetness on the label
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Bordeaux »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
The base regional appellation of the Bordeaux vineyard, Bordeaux has a geographical area spanning 494 of the Gironde's 535 communes — the whole département except its forested south-west. It makes still red, rosé and white wines, plus two mentions: "claret", the name the English gave Bordeaux wines for their light colour, here reserved for light-coloured reds, and "clairet" for deep rosés. Its reds, often Merlot-led, are supple and fruity; its dry whites, from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, are best drunk young.
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Bordeaux
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