Bordeaux wine can "see the river" from their vineyards. The majority of land facing riverward is occupied by classified estates. Red Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère. Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As a very broad generalisation, Cabernet Sauvignon (Bordeaux's second-most planted grape variety) dominates the blend in red wines produced in the Médoc and the rest of the left bank of the Gironde estuary. Typical top-quality
Regional Bordeaux AOCs Bordeaux Blancs. All rosé and clairet wines are produced under regional appellations. The vineyard area devoted to the production of Bordeaux AOC wines is approximately , of which are used for red wine and for white wine. Average yearly production is 3,300,000 hectolitres, corresponding to approximately 431 million 75 cl bottles, with 2,300,100 hectolitres of red wine and 304,000 hectolitres of white wine. The maximal authorized yield for Bordeaux AOC is 55 hectoliter per hectare, and the alcohol level of the wine must be between 10 and 13 volume percent. Dry white Bordeaux may not have more than 4 grams