The Bordeaux Left Bank. Gravel, Cabernet and the 1855 Classification.

Gravel, rain and Cabernet Sauvignon

Bordeaux lies in southwest France. The Left Bank follows the Garonne and the Gironde estuary and sits closer to the Atlantic than the Right Bank, so it gets more rain. Its famous soils are deep beds of gravel, which drain well and hold warmth. That is why Cabernet Sauvignon dominates here, while Merlot rules the clay soils of the Right Bank.

Most Left Bank reds are blends, led by Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and smaller amounts of Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carménère. The British connection runs deep: from 1152, when Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry Plantagenet, until 1453, Bordeaux was under English rule, and light red clairet became the English 'claret'.

The 1855 Classification and beyond

For the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1855, Napoleon III asked for a ranking of the best wines. The Bordeaux trade did not hold a tasting; it ranked châteaux by reputation and price at the time. The result was 61 châteaux in five tiers, from First to Fifth Growths, and it still shapes prices today.

Peter Richards MW and Fredrik Lindfors, Best Sommelier of the Nordics 2017, also explain the Cru Bourgeois classification, first drawn up in 1932 for Médoc châteaux left out in 1855, and the en primeur system, in which wine is sold as futures while still in barrel. Their advice: producer and vintage are often a better guide than any classification.

The communes of the Haut-Médoc

The Left Bank splits into the Médoc in the north and Graves in the south. The Médoc is divided into Bas-Médoc and Haut-Médoc, and the most prestigious communes lie in the Haut-Médoc. Saint-Estèphe, furthest north, has more clay and more Merlot, giving firm, muscular wines. Pauillac has deep gravel and powerful, long-lived Cabernet. Saint-Julien sits in between, balanced and harmonious, while Margaux, the most southerly, is known for perfume and is often called an iron fist in a velvet glove.

The hosts open a Château Phélan Ségur from Saint-Estèphe and show how its firm tannins soften alongside rack of lamb and gratin dauphinois.

White Bordeaux

The Left Bank also makes great whites. In Pessac-Léognan, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon thrive on sandier soils and can age for many years. Fredrik brings Domaine de Chevalier, a complex, smoky and citrusy example. For value, look to Graves and to Entre-Deux-Mers, between the two banks, for crisp, fruity Sauvignon-based wines. The sweet wines of Sauternes, made from the same two grapes, get their own episode.

Fredrik also recalls the time, as a student, when he and friends pooled their money for a bottle of 1945 Château Léoville Las Cases and lived on noodles for the rest of the year. Was it worth it? Watch to find out what he thought.

The experiment: how Bordeaux ages

How can you tell if a wine will age, and what happens when it does? The hosts line up four vintages from one Saint-Julien estate, aged two, five, ten and 18 years, to watch color move from purple to brick and aromas shift from fresh fruit to cedar, forest floor and leather. You also learn the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary aromas, why sediment forms, and how to decant by candlelight. A homemade balance board shows why fruit, acidity and tannin must be in harmony for a wine to last.

There are two blind tastings to test the hosts' knowledge of the communes, a famous story of fake 'Jefferson bottles', and a truffle and chanterelle croissant you will want to copy. The episode helps you prepare for WSET Level 3 by explaining terroir, grapes, classifications and aging.