Talk to any wine collector or connoisseur about Bordeaux and the subject of Left Bank vs. Right Bank inevitably arises. Even more interesting is that very few oenophiles are neutral about their preference for one side or the other but are in fact very vocal about reasons why one ‘Bank’ is better than the other. At the end of the day though it’s strictly about individual palates and a preference for either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.

Years ago, the Left Bank is what lit my fire about Bordeaux and still does to this day. In fact the Classification of 1855 is exclusively Left Bank, with the Right Bank classifying its wines from the Saint-Émilion appellation in 1955.  Unarguably some of the Right Bank’s finest comes from the commune (defined as a French city) of Pomerol, with Château Petrus and Château Le Pin being amongst the most rare and expensive wines in the world. Pomerol never saw a need to classify its wines, probably due the very small output of only a handful of châteaux within its three square miles of vineyards. Most Pomerol wine has no problem finding a home in someone’s cellar.

Geographically, this Left Bank/Right Bank division is created by the Gironde River that flows inland from the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of France. Within the Bordeaux region are a number of appellations, defined, ruled, and sanctioned by government (specifically the Institut National des Appellations d’Origine) on both banks of this important estuary. Thus the Left Bank with the Médoc and its smaller, very important sub-appellations, and the not less important Right Bank appellations of Saint-Émilion and Pomerol are the sources of oftentimes-passionate debate.

With thousands of years of winemaking history, Bordeaux set the world standard many years ago when it comes to blending different grape varieties. Some people have told me that they feel like blending is ‘not real winemaking’ or somehow ‘cheating’, compared to bottling single varietal wines. But imagine this: you have a vineyard with three to five different grapes, each with their own characteristics, and each of them perform differently to at least some extent from year to year due to whatever Mother Nature doles out. What an amazing tool to have as a winemaker! An artist using only one color on her brush may still be able to show dimension because of, say, changing light conditions. But an artist with more colors has a vastly different and potentially infinite possibility to show us. This is what blending wine can do in the hands of an experienced artist, although there’s certainly some pretty heavy science involved too.

The Left Bank is more likely to use more varieties in the blend than the Right Bank. In Bordeaux, the red grapes permitted to be grown and used in anything labeled as Bordeaux are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Malbec, and Carmenère.

Today there is little Malbec and Carmenère grown in Bordeaux because Malbec got all but wiped out during the phylloxera disease that hit almost all of Europe in the mid to late 1800s and few vignerons ever replanted it. Petit Verdot, although it can be troublesome because it ripens so late in the growing season, has largely replaced Carmenère as the blending grape of choice, but there are really very few occasions where one would see Carmenère in a bottle of Bordeaux these days. Petite Verdot is used very sparingly, if at all, in Bordeaux blends mostly for color enhancement and structure. Think of this variety as being a secret spice a famous chef would use in his signature dish, yes?

Blending on the Left Bank is typically 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petite Verdot. Blending on the Right Bank is might consist of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc (often less) and maybe 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (fairly often, none). These blending ratios can vary significantly depending on the weather in a given growing season and ultimately, based on the quality of the vintage, the winemaker decides the final ratio after each wine has been made from the Château’s various varieties and sources. How well these blends translate to your glass depend on a lot of factors including the quality of grapes, the age of the wine when it’s consumed, and your personal palate and preferences.

The best of the Left Bank wines tend to reward long cellaring time. A great wine that ages to perfection unfolds layer, after layer, after layer, of complexity on the palate and the bouquet. These wines are fascinating because fine, mature Left Bank Bordeaux with Classified pedigree will really show off in your glass and even seemingly stay on your palate for hours or longer after you finish it. If you are dialed into the wine, everything will change during the time you spend enjoying it, such as aromas that suddenly emerge or flavors that evolve. Like close-up magic, you experience it but don’t know how it could be possible.

The best of the Right Banks will also do something similar. The finish can stay with you for a long time but because they have a higher content of Merlot, in many instances they do not age as well as wine with Cabernet Sauvignon roots but are softer and rounder at an earlier age. Thus the lack of aging often makes for a simpler, somewhat less dimensional wine for me. Still, there are a number of remarkable Right Bank wines that I would love to enjoy more often including the exemplary and seminal Château Cheval Blanc and of course the legendary Petrus.

The only way to determine if you are a Right Bank or Left Bank lover is to try most of the classified wines from each of Bordeaux appellations and sub-appellations. The cost of doing this is not inexpensive but will truly impart a wine education you will never forget and will take with you for the rest of your wine journey. Just make sure that whatever you drink is within the window of time it should be enjoyed or you may be very disappointed, relative to the amount of money you spend. Ask anyone about his or her first great Bordeaux experience in life, whether it was 50 years ago or five minutes ago, and you will hear a story filled with great detail, gushing locution of epic proportion, and how it was life altering. Everyone I have ever spoken with on the subject fondly recalls every last drop.

Is it worth it to discover a great Château Lafite-Rothschild or Château Latour or Château Le Pin? Well, it truly is life altering in the sense that everything else you drink afterwards will be compared to that first great Bordeaux, and very little if anything will ever be comparable. The experience will also likely put you on a quest, a mission, to find something to replace it at a fraction of the cost. This of course is chasing windmills but also a worthy pursuit because if you’re paying attention at all, the more wine you experience, the more knowledgeable you become.

You will gain immeasurable appreciation and knowledge of great wine, regardless of which Bank you land on, once you experience great Bordeaux. Are you Left Bank or Right Bank? Either way you win big. 

David Boyer

Photo: map of Bordeaux – you probably got that didn’t you?