What you need to know

Bordeaux is a beautiful town on the river Garonde in the west of France.

Like so many French wines the Bordeaux appellations is split into lots of sub regions each having its own unique characteristics.

Most Bordeaux is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, the quantities depend on the winemaker and the area and weather conditions. Traditionally Médoc wines have more Cabernet Sauvignon which makes them more structured and St Emilion has more Merlot making them a bit softer and easy drinking.

Bordeaux wines tend to be full bodied with lots of tannins and structure but they also have lots of intense fruit flavours.

Bordeaux Supérieur is a step up from basic Bordeaux (if you can call it that) and often offers really good value.

Bordeaux has a heritage of ‘chateaux’ and some of these carry a price tag to rival fashion houses.

En primeur is a specific way of buying wine as an investment, like futures and if you want to get some great deals are great value. You do need to know what you are looking for though.

Top tip – decant it to soften the harsher tannins.