What is the English name for the red wines of Bordeaux, especially from vineyards in the Medoc district of the Gironde?
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
Barsac, Gironde Barsac, Gironde Barsac is a commune on the left bank of the Garonne river in the Gironde department in southwestern France. Barsac is located 37 km upstream the Garonne river of Bordeaux. The town gives its name to a wine making appellation, Barsac AOC, that produces sweet white wines. The town and its vineyards are separated from the area of Sauternes to the south by the Ciron river, whose cooling effect is of key importance in encouraging the annual action of the "Botrytis" fungus on the Sémillon grapes. The area is marginally flatter than its neighbour and its wines are