Bordeaux, by bank and by rank.

The Bordeaux 1855 classification is often read as a ranking of Bordeaux. In fact it is a list of red wines from the Médoc, plus one from Graves, ranked into five growths by the prices they had fetched up to 1855. It has changed only twice since. It says nothing about Saint-Émilion or Pomerol, which make some of the region's most sought-after wines. Nor does it tell you how a particular château is performing now.

So read Bordeaux in layers. First the map: two banks, two kinds of soil, two families of grapes. Then the rankings, of which 1855 is the oldest and most famous but not the only one. Then the things that matter most in the glass: the producer and the vintage.

Two banks, two families of grapes

Two rivers shape Bordeaux. The Garonne and the Dordogne join to form the Gironde estuary and the wines on either side differ in soil, grape and style.

The Left Bank has warm gravel soils and Cabernet Sauvignon-led blends. Its famous names are the Médoc communes of Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Margaux, with Pessac-Léognan in Graves further south. Cabernet Sauvignon ripens later than Merlot and the warm, free-draining gravel helps it get there. Expect blackcurrant, cedar and firm tannin in youth, then a long life.

The Right Bank has mainly clay and limestone soils. Here Merlot leads, supported by Cabernet Franc. The great names are Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. Merlot ripens earlier and gives rounder, plummier wines that are often approachable sooner. One detail surprises many buyers: across Bordeaux as a whole, the most planted red grape is Merlot.

Bordeaux labels rarely name the grapes, so the appellation is your best clue to the blend. A Pauillac or a Margaux points to Cabernet Sauvignon, a Pomerol to Merlot, with exceptions on both sides.

The contrast between the banks is the clearest lesson in how terroir shapes a wine that Bordeaux offers. It also makes one of the best evenings you can pour: a Left Bank against Right Bank blind tasting teaches it faster than any map.

The Bordeaux 1855 classification

The classification was drawn up by Bordeaux's wine brokers for the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1855. Their method was commercial rather than sensory: estates were ranked by the prices their wines had fetched over time. Cru, usually translated as growth, here means a classified estate. The result today is 61 red wines in five growths, all from the Médoc except Château Haut-Brion, in Graves (today's Pessac-Léognan).

There are 5 first growths, 14 seconds, 14 thirds, 10 fourths and 18 fifths. The first growths are Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, Haut-Brion and Mouton Rothschild. In more than 170 years the list has changed only twice. Cantemerle was added to the fifth growths in 1856. Mouton Rothschild was promoted from second to first growth in 1973, the only promotion in the classification's history.

The sweet white wines of Sauternes and Barsac were classified at the same time: 27 châteaux today, in three tiers. Château d'Yquem stands alone at the top as Premier Cru Supérieur, above the first growths.

The list ranks estates rather than plots of land, so a château keeps its rank even when its vineyards change. Burgundy's hierarchy works the opposite way: there the vineyard itself is classified and many producers may share it.

The other classifications

Three more lists and one notable absence complete the picture.

• Graves. Its own classification, first published in 1953, has a single tier: it lists estates for their red wines, their dry whites or both. Since 1987 all of them fall within the Pessac-Léognan appellation.
• Saint-Émilion. Classified since 1955 and revised about every ten years, so estates can move up or down. The 2022 edition lists 14 premiers grands crus classés (two of them ranked A) and 71 grands crus classés. Several of the appellation's most famous estates withdrew from that edition, so the list no longer includes every top name.
• Pomerol. No classification at all. Some of Bordeaux's most sought-after wines come from here and their reputations rest entirely on the producer.
• Cru Bourgeois. A separate ranking for the Médoc, reassessed every five years, with three tiers: Cru Bourgeois, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur and Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel. It is a useful hunting ground for bottles to drink while classed growths age.

One label detail is worth memorising. Saint-Émilion Grand Cru is an appellation, open to any estate that meets its rules. Only the words Grand Cru Classé or Premier Grand Cru Classé mark a classified estate.

Second wines

Many classed growths also make a second wine and some make a third. These usually come from younger vines or from lots not chosen for the main wine, made by the same team in the same cellar. They are generally ready sooner and cost considerably less than the grand vin.

Treat them as wines in their own right rather than as the famous wine at a discount. Some are excellent; others are little more than the estate's name on a much lighter wine. A second wine is also a sensible way to taste an estate's style in a given vintage before you commit to the grand vin. Taste before you buy in quantity.

What the 1855 classification means for a buyer today

Read the rank as a snapshot of 1855 prices. Owners, investment and winemaking have changed at most estates since and some fifth growths now outperform their rank. The classification still shapes reputation and price, which is part of what you pay for in a bottle of fine wine.

For the bottle in front of you, two things matter more than the rank: the producer's recent record and the vintage. Bordeaux is one of the places where the year makes a real difference and a good estate in a strong year can beat a grander name in a weak one. Reading vintage reports without being misled helps here. Most classed growths are first offered en primeur, roughly two years before the bottles arrive. Whether that is worth it depends on the wine and the campaign.

Rank also tells you something about patience. Classed growths are built to age and are rarely at their most rewarding before about eight years, longer in powerful vintages. Opening them young is the most common way to be disappointed by a famous name.

The 1855 rank tells you what a wine sold for in 1855, not what is in the bottle today.

Using the rankings well

Use the map to choose a style: Left Bank for Cabernet structure, Right Bank for Merlot's generosity. Use the classifications to draw up a shortlist, adding Cru Bourgeois and second wines for bottles to open while the grander ones age. Then decide on producer and vintage. Buy several bottles of what you like so you can follow it over the years. If you are building a Bordeaux section in your cellar, we can source it and keep it in balance across banks, levels and vintages.