If Bordeaux is a system, the Médoc (may-DOK) is its most recognizable output.
This is the stretch of land north of the city of Bordeaux, running along the left bank of the Gironde estuary. It’s flat, forested in parts, and not obviously dramatic. But beneath that surface is one of the most consequential soil formations in wine: deep gravel beds layered over clay and limestone.
That gravel is everything.
The Structure of the Médoc
The Médoc divides into two broad zones:
