Bordeaux's wine country is three areas around one city, and each ranks its wine its own way. Before you compare Bordeaux France guided tours, decide which bank you want to spend the day on. This page sets out the banks, their appellations and the classifications you will hear about in every cellar.
The rivers split the region. The Garonne and the Dordogne meet north of the city and become the Gironde estuary. West of them lies the left bank: the Médoc to the north and the Graves to the south. East of the Dordogne lies the right bank, with Saint-Émilion and Pomerol.
| Area | Where | Appellations here | Main grape | What you taste |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right bank | East of the Dordogne, around Libourne | Saint-Émilion, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, Pomerol | Merlot | Reds; Saint-Émilion's own classification |
| Left bank: the Médoc | North of the city, along the Gironde estuary | Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe | Cabernet Sauvignon | Reds; the 1855 growths |
| South: Pessac-Léognan | From the city's edge southward | Pessac-Léognan, within the Graves | Reds and dry whites | The Graves classification |
| South: Sauternes | Between the Garonne and the Landes forest | Sauternes, Barsac | Sémillon | Sweet whites; 27 growths of 1855 |
A day trip reaches one bank comfortably, or two with an early start. Most of the tours you will find here head to the right bank, because Saint-Émilion gives you châteaux and a medieval village in one day.
Saint-Émilion and Saint-Émilion Grand Cru share 5,400 hectares across nine communes, worked by about 700 growers. The wine council says the town has been a wine centre for at least thirteen centuries. Merlot leads the blend here, often with Cabernet Franc.
The two appellations differ in the rules. Grand Cru means lower yields, 46 hectolitres a hectare against 53, and at least ten months' ageing. So when you see "Grand Cru" on a label here, it names the appellation, not a rank.
UNESCO inscribed the Jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion in 1999, the first wine landscape it listed. The site covers 7,847 hectares over eight communes. UNESCO notes that the Romans brought the vines, and that the churches and hospices go back to the 11th century, on the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela. The "châteaux" you visit are younger: mid-18th to early 19th century.
Saint-Émilion ranks its own reds, and unlike the Médoc it redraws the list every ten years. A panel from outside the Bordeaux trade tastes the wines, and the château's reputation, terroir and visitor welcome count too.
When a tour promises a "Grand Cru Classé" visit, it means one of those 85 estates. The private Grand Cru days and the half day from the Monument aux Girondins both name one.
Pomerol sits on a plateau beside Saint-Émilion, bounded by the Barbanne stream to the north and Libourne to the south-west. It is one of Bordeaux's smallest appellations: 813 hectares, 138 growers, about 0.7% of the region. Merlot covers 80% of the vines, with Cabernet Franc at 15%.
Pomerol has never ranked its wines. The wine council says its order comes from each estate's name and price. The iron-rich subsoil, "crasse de fer", is the local explanation for its style. You reach it on the same days that go to Saint-Émilion, and a private Grand Cru day names both in its title.
The Médoc runs north from the city along the left bank of the estuary. Its ranking is the oldest and the one that never moves. For the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1855, Napoleon III asked for a list, and Bordeaux's wine brokers drew it up.
So a Médoc day is a day among ranked names. The estates are spread along one road, which is why most visitors take a driver rather than drive after tasting.
Margaux: 1,500 hectares and 62 estates across four communes. It holds 21 of the 1855 reds, more than any other appellation. It is also the only Médoc appellation with every rank, from Château Margaux, a First Growth, down to Fifth. Every wine here is red.
Saint-Julien: 910 hectares, 6% of the Médoc's vines, in the commune of Saint-Julien-Beychevelle. Eleven growths of 1855 make 90% of the wine. Cabernet Sauvignon covers more than 60% of the vines, more than anywhere else in Bordeaux. The DS convertible day drives past Château Beychevelle here.
Pauillac: 1,220 hectares and 47 growers, 7.5% of the Médoc. It has 18 growths of 1855, three of them First Growths: Lafite Rothschild, Latour and Mouton Rothschild. The cruise-port Médoc day stops here for lunch.
Past Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe ends the road. The full DS day adds Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe to Margaux and Saint-Julien. If you want the whole road in one day, that is the length of trip you are booking.
Médoc days run from $286 to $661 per person, and nearly all collect you from your hotel in Bordeaux.
South of the city lie the Graves, named for their gravel soils. All of the Graves' classified growths are in Pessac-Léognan, an appellation created in the 1980s. Its list was first published in 1953 and confirmed in 1959. It now holds 14 family estates: five ranked for reds, two for whites and seven for both.
Château Haut-Brion is the only estate in Bordeaux classified twice, in 1855 and in the Graves. Several of these estates stand inside the city limits, so you can reach them by tram and bus. A private Pessac-Léognan day spends its whole visit here, with WSET-trained guides.
Sauternes makes only sweet white wines, on 1,200 hectares with 140 growers. Its five communes are Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, Preignac and Sauternes. The fog off the Ciron river and the afternoon sun bring noble rot, the fungus that concentrates the grapes. Pickers go through the rows in several passes, one bunch at a time.
It holds 27 growths of 1855, with Château d'Yquem alone as Premier Cru Supérieur. None of the tours listed here goes there. If you want it, ask a private operator to build the day, or book a château direct.
Every wine day leaves from Bordeaux. Here is where each kind goes, with its fare as the listings print it.
Saint-Émilion and Pomerol: shared half days of about four hours at $86 to $109, shared full days at $178 to $292, e-bike days at $286 to $350, and private days at $336 to $878 per person. The premium sedan and the luxury van are priced per vehicle: $673 for up to three and $878 for up to six.
The Médoc: private only, at $286 to $661 per person. That includes the 1973 DS convertible and the 2CV, and a day that starts at the cruise terminal.
Both banks in a day: a shared day adds Margaux to Saint-Émilion, and a private day pairs Margaux with Saint-Émilion. Fares run $206 to $573 per person.
Pessac-Léognan: a private day with WSET-trained guides, at $878 per person.
Compare them side by side on Bordeaux wine tours, or see the private days on private tours from Bordeaux.
Shared and private days to both banks leave Bordeaux every week of the year; pick yours by the bank you chose.
Areas, growers and ranks come from the Bordeaux wine council's appellation and classification pages, and the Saint-Émilion listing from UNESCO. Tour fares come from each tour's own listing.
A private Grand Cru day in Saint-Émilion and Pomerol with a WSET-trained guide, about ten to twelve wines for the adults and soft drinks for children, hotel pickup included and lunch extra.
From $878 per person
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About nine private hours in the Médoc with hotel pickup and the tastings in the fare. Lunch is extra, usually about EUR 25 in a local brasserie; two people minimum.
From $643 per person
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A private day south of the city in Pessac-Léognan, the home of the Graves classification, with a WSET-trained guide, hotel pickup and the château visits and tastings in the fare. Lunch is extra.
From $878 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: see how to reach the villages on the visitor guide, find each meeting point on the wine tours map, or compare every tour on Bordeaux France Tours.