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Bordeaux Wine Mastery: A Complete WSET Level 2 Exam Guide
with free downloadable map
Delve into the wines of Bordeaux with our comprehensive guide and free downloadable map outlining all crucial aspects of the WSET Level 2 in Wines exam. This guide provides all of the essential knowledge for your exam, including Bordeaux’s significant Appellations d’Origine Contrôlées (AOCs) and their quality levels. So we’ve taken all the information about Bordeaux from Chapters 9, 11, 14, and 15 and put it all together. Let’s go!
Table of Contents
Understanding WSET's Language
Here’s a quick breakdown of the important WSET topics so we can master Bordeaux for the Level 2 in Wines exam with examples. We’ll get into more detail later on…
- Environmental Influences – Bordeaux’s climate is moderate with high levels of rainfall. As such, vintage matters and winemakers here have mastered the art of blending different grape varieties to compensate for vintage, site, and the structural characteristics of each grape variety.
- Location Factors – For example, the Left Bank of Bordeaux has gravel soils. As a result, the rocks absorb the heat from the sun during the day and reflect it back to the vines at night. Thereby helping Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to ripen.
- Grape Growing Options – Bordelais winemakers plant Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot for black grapes and Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc for white grapes to suit the moderate climate and the specific sites within
- Winemaking options – Not only have the Bordelais mastered the art of blending grapes to ultimate advantage, but many use small new oak barrels to give yummy flavours of vanilla, smoke, and clove to their wines.
Now, let’s get into some some juicy details!
French Wine Law
Bordeaux wines are specifically made at the pinnacle of quality wine for France. That is they are all AOC or Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée. Or in the English or EU wine quality scale the PDO or Protected Denomination of Origin wine law scheme.
Notably, Bordeaux does not produce any wines labelled as PGI (Protected Geographical Indication).
Knowing this will aid your comprehension of Bordeaux wines...
Bordeaux is known as THE wine region for BLENDING wines. In fact, 99% of the wines from Bordeaux are blends. (In stark contrast to the wines of Burgundy!)
Blending makes ‘the sum greater than its parts’. For example, Cabernet Sauvignon has high acidity and tannin. Therefore, blending with the softer, plusher Merlot makes the wine easier to approach when young. Conversely, if you want to make an wine meant to cellar for a decade, you will add more Cabernet Sauvignon.
In France, appellations work like this… Larger, regional appellations such as Bordeaux AOC cover a much bigger area and generally produce basic wines that cannot command much in terms of price. But within those large appellations are better-situated smaller sites (that have more gravel in them to ripen Cabernet Sauvignon, for example.)
The smallest appellations are the best sites and are named after nearby villages or communes. These include Margaux AOC, Graves AOC, Pessac-Léognan AOC, St Émilion AOC, St Émilion Grand Cru, Pomerol AOC and the like.
Due to their better locations, the resultant wines have are fuller-bodied with higher fruit concentration, higher alcohol, and can be aged longer. They therefore command higher prices.
And if you are a Level 2 WSET Wine Student perhaps you'd also like to check out these posts....
[Tips to remember the grapes and regions of Italy for your WSET Level 2 exam with another free downlaodable map!]
[The Intriguing Wines of Burgundy for WSET Level 2 here.
Ok, Now That We've Got That Covered...
Here's What You Need to Know about Bordeaux Wine for Your
WSET Level 2 in Wines Exam
The Red Wines of Bordeaux
Location Factors: Regional Appellations of Bordeaux
In Bordeaux, the Dordogne River and the Garonne River join and make the much larger Gironde Estuary that empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
Now, picture these basic, regional appellations which cover all sides of the rivers: Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieure, and Haut-Médoc. These are peach-coloured in the map below. Take a good look before reading on… (Médoc is also as a regional appellation, but we’ll save that for Level 3!)
Bordeaux AOC (for both red and white wines)
- this is the lowest tier in terms of wine quality and pretty much covers the entire region of Bordeaux (both the Left Bank and the Right Bank) and they can be either dry, red or white wines but we’ll discuss whites later
- these are basic wines at inexpensive prices and therefore are generally unoaked and ready to drink upon release.
- red wines are dry and are Merlot-dominated with some Cabernet Sauvignon. (Hence, Bordeaux AOC is only mentioned in Chapter 14 on Merlot). These wines are light – medium bodied with red-fruit flavours of strawberries and red plums and often have herbaceous notes (green bell pepper, capsicum). The limited fruit ripeness (red fruits) and herbaceous, green notes are all due to the site, which can ripen these wines, but just ripen them – which in Bordeaux, means the soil has less gravel
Bordeaux Supérieur AOC (for both dry red and dry white wines too)
- covers the exact same area as Bordeaux AOC, but the Bordeaux Supérieur AOC are for wines that are slightly better with more fruit concentration and can fetch slightly higher prices.
- Why? The grapes are picked during warmer vintages at slightly lower yields and must achieve higher minimum alcohol levels (and therefore have more sugar ripeness in the grapes). Since these wines are a bit more concentrated, they are aged slightly longer before release – look for the term ‘Supérieur’ on wine labels
- Bordeaux Supérieur is only mentioned in Chapter 14 on Merlot, but it applies to dry white wines too!
Grape Growing Options:
Because Bordeaux AOC, Bordeaux Supérieur AOC are meant for early drinking, the red wines are mostly dominated by the easier to ripen, plush Merlot grapes which ripen more reliably in this moderate climate. They may be blended with a little Cabernet Sauvignon to provide a boost of tannin + acidity
In fact, Merlot is the most widely planted grape variety in Bordeaux! (Often seen exam question!)
Merlot is the most widely planted grape variety in Bordeaux!
Did you know?
The distinction between the Left Bank and Right Bank in Bordeaux is fundamental to understanding the region’s wines. These terms refer to the two sides of the Gironde River, which divides Bordeaux into 2 distinct viticultural zones.
The wines of the Left Bank are made primarily with Cabernet Sauvignon whereas, the wines of the Right Bank are made mostly of Merlot grapes.
Location Factors: Left-Bank Appellations of Bordeaux
As mentioned already, Bordeaux has trouble ripening Cabernet Sauvignon except in certain esteemed Left Bank appellations due to their gravel soils.
Truly, you cannot even call this soil.
As such, the top vineyards are 100% rocks!! Importantly, gravel soils provide excellent drainage in this rainy climate so vine roots don’t get cold and damp. In fact, the Left Bank appellations are closer to the Atlantic Ocean and receive much more rainfall than the Right Bank appellations. Moreover, the gravel absorbs heat during the day and reflects it back in the evening – aiding the ripening process.
The following Left Bank appellations are mostly for dry red wines. But… there are some exceptions.
Left-Bank appellations from easy-drinking inexpensive wines up to the highest quality, pricey stuff...
Médoc AOC
- inexpensive, Merlot-dominant wines meant for early consumption
- However, Médoc is within the larger Bordeaux appellation. So, in general, a wine labelled Médoc is better than a wine labelled Bordeaux AOC or Bordeaux Supèrieure AOC.
Haut-Médoc AOC
- within the larger Médoc appellation making slightly more concentrated wines. Some of these wines have some (albeit limited) ageing potential – which for the Left-Bank means there is some gravel in these soils to aid grape ripening.
- mostly Merlot-dominant blends.
Heading south we arrive at the high quality Commune or Village appellation. Here are where most expensive ageable Cabernet-dominant wines come from. Key to Cab’s success are the gravel soils.
Important Commune or Village Appellations of the Left-Bank
These villages are really famous!
Margaux AOC
makes dry red wines
Pauillac AOC
makes dry red wines and is really the hub for the MOST famous of the top-tier Bordeaux wines as it includes Château Mouton-Rothschild, Château Lafite Rothschild, and Château Latour
Graves AOC
makes both dry red wines and dry whites. The name ‘Graves’ actually means ‘gravel’!
Pessac-Léognan AOC
makes both dry red wines and dry white wines
The Style and Quality of the Wines:
Margaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan, and Pauillac make outstanding wines and the best can age for decades.
Dry, full-bodied red wines made from predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon so high tannin and high acid in equal amounts so they will need some bottle ageing before being ready to drink. (Or you can eat them with a fatty steak to smooth out those tannins!)
Pronounced aromas and flavours of black fruits (blackberry, blackcurrant), oak flavours of smoke, vanilla and cloves, and can develop tertiary characteristics of dried fruits, earth and forest floor.
Location Factors: Right Bank Appellations of Bordeaux
The right bank is north of the Dordogne River and east of the Gironde Estuary.
Grape Growing and Winemaking Options:
These wines are blends with mostly Merlot with a little Cabernet Sauvignon added in the blend. On the right bank, Merlot is THE star grape. So here, more Merlot DOES NOT NECESSARILY mean ‘early drinking’ like it does on the Left Bank. And this all has to do with the limestone soils on the right bank (that’s the key location factor here although you don’t need to know that until Level 3!)
As a matter of fact, the most age-worthy wines of the right bank are predominantly Merlot! Limestone soils are cool and they take longer to heat up, thereby restricting or slowing down the sugar ripeness of Merlot to optimum quality effect! It’s less rainy on the Right Bank and the clay soils retain just enough water throughout the season for the vines to thrive. And remember, the art of blending is a Bordelais specialty so these wines will be backed by some Cabernet Sauvignon and then aged in small new, oak barrels for extended periods. The oak exposes the wine to oxygen slowly for softening and smoothing and adds flavours such as vanilla, smoke and cloves.
Location Factors: Regional Appellations of the Right Bank
The regional appellations of the Right Bank are Bordeaux AOC and Bordeaux Supérieur AOC – just like on the Left Bank! Remember, these are regional appellations that cover large areas and are sites that produce simple wines meant for early consumption. Note this difference… Médoc and Haut-Médoc, the other regional appellations of Bordeaux are only on the Left Bank!
Location Factors: Commune or Village Appellations of the Right Bank
These villages are also REALLY famous!!
Saint-Émilion AOC
Saint-Émilion Grand Cru AOC
Pomerol AOC
None of these bottles will be filled with white wine; they will always be red! So, if a producer wants to make a white wine, they have to label it with a lower-tier AOC such as Bordeaux.
The best Merlot grapes come from a limestone plateau that provide cool soils. This is where the Grand Cru’s and most esteemed estates are (as is Château Ausone pictured below) to slow down the ripening of Merlot grapes giving it time to develop complex characteristics not seen in Merlot-wines of the Left Bank.
The Style and Quality of the Wines:
Outstanding quality wines that are dry, red wines made from mostly Merlot grapes. They are full-bodied with pronounced aromas of black fruits and flavours of smoke, vanilla and cloves from oak maturation. They can age well in the bottle developing complex aromas of dried fruit and tobacco.
YUM!
Looking at soil maps of Bordeaux is useful. See how the vineyards surround the village of St Émilion?
Grand Cru wines can only come from grapes grown on that limestone plateau. The area in purple is also for St. Émilion wines, but they won’t be labelled Grand Cru.
Can you spot Château Ausone? The very best sites are there along an escarpment.
Tips for Reading a Bordeaux Wine Label
SommWine Tip
- if a Bordeaux wine label says Grand Cru Classé, Cru Classé, Cru Bourgeois or Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnelle, the wine inside will be some of the best from that region. Sometimes it will be written in small letters so look closely at the label…
Grand Cru Classé/ Cru Classé
The best wines from the Left-Bank were ranked a long, long time ago (in 1855). To show you this, ‘Grand Cru Classé or ‘Cru Classe’ will be on the front labels. That’s how you’ll know the best wines from Haut-Médoc, Margaux, Pauillac, Péssac-Léognan, Graves and Sauternes!
Moreover, there are 5 tiers with the Grand Cru Classé/ Cru Classé wines of the Left Bank – First Growth, or Premier Cru, Second Growth... all the way to Fifth Growth, or Cinquième Cru. Premier Cru or 1er Cru wines are the very best in the world. Sometimes, you’ll find that on the label, but for many of these ‘cru’ you’ll just have to look up the producer to know their rating!
At the very, very top, there are just 5 Premier Cru estates. You may have heard of these Châteaux before; Château Margaux, Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rotshchild, Latour and Haut-Brion …. and it’s likely why we get so excited when we see the word ‘Château’ on a bottle.
Confusingly however, not all Bordelais subregions have the same classification system! To this point, St Émilion Grand Cru have their own classification system which is reviewed every 10 years. So you will see changes from time to time as properties move up and down. Still, St. Émilion Grand Cru wines are a step up in quality, price and ageability than wines labelled with the basic St Émilion AOC.
And then there’s tiny, little Pomerol! It’s the other high-ranking village appellation you need to know from the Right Bank for your WSET Level 2 exam (see map). Pomerol has no official classification system at all! Yet, this area is soo small and the wines are in such high demand they always fetch really high prices!
Cru Bourgeois
Alas, many estates didn’t exist in 1855 or were run poorly when the Cru Classé wines were ranked. Therefore, many high-quality estates are not listed as Grand Cru Classé because well, it never really changed!
Therefore, the label Cru Bourgeois was created to signal that the wine inside is a step above the rest of the appellation – although not as amazing as Grand Cru Classé/ Cru Classé wines.
Finally, wines rated Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnelle (not in your WSET Level 2 textbook) are even better than the Cru Bourgeois wines. It tells you that these wines have more fruit concentration, and are likely able to be cellared for a few years time. Indeed, some of these wines are very good to outstanding in quality and have long ageing potential.
Château
Seeing ‘Château’ on a Bordelais wine bottle means that all of the grapes that went into the wine are from the producer’s own vineyards and they do not purchase grapes from elsewhere. So, it’s not an indication of quality per se, nor are all the estates that say ‘Château’ as grand looking as the one below. In fact, many of them are pretty crummy in appearance.
The White Wines of Bordeaux
Grape Growing and Winemaking Options:
In the white wines of Bordeaux, Sauvignon Blanc adds acidity to blends and is the primary blending
partner in Bordeaux AOC (and Bordeaux Supérieur AOC but WSET Level 2 only needs you to know Bordeaux AOC for white wines). It’s the grape, Sémillon that adds body and ageability to wines in a blend. Just like their dry, red counterparts, white wines from the generic regional appellation such as Bordeaux AOC will generally be unoaked.
However, when we move up the quality AOC ladder to the smaller zones within Médoc, there are the villages of Graves and Pessac-Léognan that produce both white and red wines. The best whites will be aged in small, new oak barrels adding toasty vanilla notes that aid maturation to create tertiary flavours of honey and nuts in the bottle.
Location Factors: Regional Appellations:
Bordeaux AOC + Bordeaux Supérieur AOC (both for dry white and dry red wines)
As we already mentioned, Bordeaux AOC wines are simple inexpensive wines meant for early consumption. When it’s a white wine, the wines are made with Sauvignon Blanc but are often blended with a little Sémillon. (That’s why you’ll find Bordeaux AOC mentioned in Chapter 11 on Sauvignon Blanc but NOT in Chapter 9 about Sémillon – as it is only a minor blending partner).
Make sense?!
Wines labelled Bordeaux Supérieur AOC are slightly better than wines labelled with just Bordeaux AOC.
Village/ Commune Appellations for Dry, White Bordeaux Wines:
Pessac-Léognan AOC
Graves AOC
The Style and Quality of the Wines:
Outstanding wines. The wines are made primarily with Sauvignon Blanc and are often blended with some Sémillon. The wines are white, dry and have herbaceous aromas with green fruits (apple and gooseberry) + aromas from oak (vanilla, smoke) and once aged will also have notes of honey and nuts.
The Sweet White Wines of Bordeaux
Location Factors: Sauternes AOC
Sauternes is located on the edge of the Garonne River at a bend. This creates the perfect conditions where noble rot can survive; misty mornings. Importantly, the sun comes out in the afternoon while the mists dissipate preventing the grapes from rotting entirely.
Grape Growing and Winemaking Options:
Just like the rest of Bordeaux, Sauternes wines are blends. But the most important variety that makes up most of the wines is Sémillon – a grape with thin skins which makes it highly susceptible to botrytis (noble rot).
That’s why producers plant more Sémillon here. Even though your book doesn’t say it, Sémillon can be backed up with a touch of Sauvignon Blanc to add acidity. (WSET decided to remove Sauvignon Blanc from the Sauternes section in Level 2 in Wines but you might as well understand this now since it is so consistent with the Bordelais philosophy of blending wines)
And what happens?
Well, botrytis is a fungus that pokes tiny little holes into the thin-skinned Sémillon. The grapes then shrivel as the water evaporates through the holes. By the end of the season, the grapes are super concentrated in sugar and look like raisons with mold!
After crushing and immediately pressing the juice AWAY from those ugly skins, the grape must is fermented. Yet, there’s soo much sugar in the must, the yeast can’t eat it all and die off around 13.5-14.5% abv. So, fermentation stops and you have a sweet, dessert wine left of at least 120 g/l rs or much higher!
But it doesn’t stop there! Because even the sweet white wines of Bordeaux are put into little new oak barrels that add flavours of smoke and vanilla…and help the wines to age!
The Style and Quality of Sauternes AOC Wines:
Sauternes wines are very good to outstanding sweet white wines made from Sémillon grapes that go through an extra-ripening process known as noble rot. The wines have medium to high alcohol, full-bodied, showing pronounced flavours of dried apricots, dried mangos, and oaky notes of smoke and vanilla. Due to the acidity from Sauvignon Blanc, oak maturation and sweetness levels, these wines can mature for many years (even decades) in the bottle developing complex tertiary characteristics of dried fruit, honey, and caramel.
Thirsty anyone?!
Free Downloadable Wine Map of Bordeaux
Based on WSET Level 2 in Wines
Congratulations on your progress using the guide above. Now, let’s visualize these exceptional sites on our Bordeaux Wine Map. If you are a student who likes to scribble notes for memory, click on the red button to download a pdf of the map! We’re happy to share in your journey to pass the WSET Level 2 in Wines exam!
Summary
Join us for an exciting journey toward earning a WSET Level 2 in Wines certification. We hope you enjoyed exploring the rich heritage of Bordeaux’s esteemed regions with our free, downloadable Bordeaux wine map.
All the best for WSET Level 2 exam success.
And if you’re eager to embark on your own wine journey and deepen your understanding, we invite you to explore our online WSET wine classes. Our online courses start about every two weeks and offer a comprehensive learning experience that will enrich your wine expertise. Don’t miss this opportunity—sign up now and uncork the world of wines with SommWine!
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