White Bordeaux Wine

Also called Bordeaux Blanc, white Bordeaux wine is a white wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Typically, it is a blend of white grapes Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle, though Colombard, Sauvignon Gris, Ugni Blanc, Merlot Blanc and Mauzac are also allowed. It can be made in a dry or sweet style, is generally light to medium in body, and is usually quite delicious.

Though dry versions are usually the most readily available, white Bordeaux wine can be dry or sweet. The most common (and well known) sweet Bordeaux Blanc is Sauternes, produced in a region of the same name from grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cinerea (a fungus otherwise known as noble rot). Other notable sweet wine appellations in Bordeaux include Cérons, Ste-Croix-du-Mont, Loupiac and Cadillac.

Typically, dry white Bordeaux wine is light and crisp, or lush, medium-bodied and rounded. You can expect fruit flavors of citrus, gooseberry and apple, as well as floral flavors and minerality. Sweet versions of white Bordeaux are rich and mouthfilling, with honeyed flavors of apricot and ginger, butterscotch and light caramel.

Balanced, aromatic and complex, white Bordeaux is special because of its intense regionality, generally high quality and limited quantities, and the long-standing histories and regulations that surround it.