Bordeaux Wine Label Information

The Bordeaux region in France is unique in its wine laws, which have evolved for centuries – making it the most classified wine region of the world. The most famous classification is the one which came into being in 1855 and was subsequently known as the 'Classed Growths', taking in Médoc, one wine from Graves and the sweet wines of Sauternes-Barsac. According to this, the châteaux or estates were classified into five tiers based on the relative quality of their wines as expressed by the prices at that time.

Some other notable classifications within the region are those of the 1955 Official Classification of Saint-Émilion, the 1959 Official Classification of Graves and the Cru Bourgeois classification, which has been the subject of many amendments.

Although a broad knowledge of the classification system is helpful in understanding a typical Bordeaux wine label, the following information will always be included. Please see the image below for an example.

• Name of the estate (Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste in the example below)
• Estate's classification (the label may or may not display the actual level of the classification)
• Appellation (in Bordeaux's case, the appellation will often indicate the type of the wine and the grapes used)
• Bottling information (whether or not the wine is bottled at the chateau)
• Vintage
• Alcohol content
• Volume.

Please see the illustration below for a quality wine label from Bordeaux. You may find it helpful to compare the label information to that listed above.

You can also take a look at the wine label information for the European Union, France, Burgundy, Alsace, Champagne, Germany, Italy, USA and Australia, or our general information regarding wine labels.