An area north of the city of Bordeaux on the left bank of the Gironde, divided into the Haut-Médoc and Bas-Médoc. The finest reds are from Médoc (which includes Margaux, Pauillac, St-Estephe and St-Julien), Graves, Saint-Emilion and Pomerol. The latter two areas grow more Merlot grapes, creating soft, supple wines. In general 75% of red grapes grown are mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, with Cabernet Franc and Merlot and some Malbec and Petit Verdot. With the exception of Château Haut-Brion from Graves, all of the red wines in the 1855 Classification are from the Médoc. Many of the Médoc wines that are not in this classification are classified the (defunct as of 2007) Cru Bourgeois system.
