Rive gauche

left bank (GB)

French term (left bank) for the area to the left of the Garonne river and the Gironde estuary in the Bordeaux region. It includes the AOC areas Graves, Pessac-Léognan and Sauternes (with Barsac), as well as Médoc (Bas-Médoc and Haut-Médoc). The area is equally famous for red wines, white wines and sweet wines.

Bordeaux - Karte

Here, sandy and stony soils predominate, which are advantageous for certain grape varieties and bring out their potential characteristics particularly concisely and positively. The typical mixture of varieties is called Bordeaux blend (of the left bank). The red wines are usually dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, supplemented with smaller proportions of Cabernet Franc, Cot (here Malbec), Merlot and Petit Verdot. It is often said that there are more powerful and long-lasting wines on the left and more subtle and elegant wines on the right. Sauvignon Blanc dominates among the white wines. The right bank along the river Dordogne and the Gironde is called Rive droite.

Rive gauche - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Cot (Malbec), Merlot, Petit Verdot

Map: By Domenico-de-ga from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Modifications from the original by Norbert Tischelmayer 2017
Cot (Malbec): By Ian L - originally posted to Flickr as Vines, CC BY 2.0, link.
Other grape varieties: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)

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Rive gauche

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