French Wines

France has built itself into the global winemaking capital over the past thousand years, crafting perfect wines, housing generational talent, and adapting to never-ending trends. From boutique, family-owned estates in Burgundy, elite First Growths in Bordeaux, and stylish Champagne houses just outside of Paris, French wines are as diverse and complex as they are sumptuous. With increased competition from Italy, Spain, and Napa Valley, France's next generations of vintners are working to ensure the country remains the world's powerhouse wine hub.

French Wine History

The earliest evidence of French wine dates back to 425 B.C.E. in Southern France, where the farmers in the region first began producing wines after the Roman takeover. For the first few centuries of production, wines were rather unspectacular as many early winemakers had yet to discover techniques like fermentation, maceration, and other modern innovations.

Leading into the Middle Ages, Bordeaux became a hotspot for wine thanks to its prime location near trading ports. The English were heavy importers of Bordeaux wine before being overtaken by the Dutch in the late 13th century. During this time, many vineyards were controlled by the Catholic Church and various monasteries, imprinting a large religious influence on various estates. For instance, Chateau Angelus' label includes a church bell, and Chateau Pape-Clement was named after Pope Clement V. Once the French Revolution occurred in the late 18th century, estate ownership became secularized, and the wine trade flourished across the country.

For the next 200 years, France went unchallenged as the world's powerhouse wine producer, with estates from Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy gaining international notoriety, being served at global events like the Cannes Film Festival and making their way into important trade discussions with some of the world's most powerful political leaders. In today's world, France is still used as a fine wine's reference point, not without challenge from New World Napa Valley producers and European estates from Italy and Spain.

What Are the Top French Wines?

Classification Systems: How Wine Regions in France Denote Quality

French wine classification systems were established in 1935 when the INAO (Institut Natinoal de l'Origine et de la Qualite) created the AOC - Appellation d'Origine Controlee. After mass fraud from scammers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many unsuspecting customers purchased fake bottles made from raisins and grape pressings. Due to the phylloxera outbreak, nearly half of the country's vines were wiped out, leaving many dupes on the market. Eager to regain their reputation and prestige, numerous French producers gathered to create a classification system that would protect their business and ensure a high quality of wine was produced and released. 

As such, the AOC created classifications based on the geographical origin, quality, and style of wine. Ultimately, 363 AOCs today govern wines and spirits created in France, the first of which was Chateauneuf-du-Pape, created in 1935. Two years later, there were AOCs for Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, and other notable regions. 'Grand Cru' is the highest classification, referring to wines grown from a specific plot (as used in Burgundy) or to a specific producer (as used in Champagne). Underneath this title is 'Premier Cru,' which also refers to wines grown from a specific vineyard but also used to denote the peak Grand Cru producer or vineyard (example: Premier 'Grand Cru').

After switching to a classification system in the mid-20th century, nearly every other European country followed suit and began to implement classification systems, and, by 2008, the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) was created. 

The 1855 Classification of Bordeaux

Predating the creation of the AOCs is the 1855 Classification of Bordeaux, prompted by Napoleon III's decision to hold a world fair and present the countries' best wines. After a select group of estates turned in their wines to the royals, a list of 58 wines was separated into 5 groups, from First Growths to Fifth Growths. Since then, three more estates have been inducted into the system, though many changes have been made since then. A number of estates were upset about their rankings, though only Mouton-Rothschild was granted a change in their status, being bumped up to First Growth status in 1973.

Interestingly, all of the estates classified at this time were from the Médoc, as Graves was considered the premier winemaking region at the time. Chateau Haut-Brion was the only estate outside of Graves granted a classification, designated a First Growth title. In addition to Bordeaux estates, Sauternes and Barsac estates were also classified, with only Chateau d'Yquem cutting a First Growth in this system.

While the 1855 Classification still holds today, numerous Second Growths and below have "outplayed" their ranking, being placed into an informal classification of "Super Seconds." This informality represents estates that strongly challenge the status and prestige of First Growths, though they do not quite produce wines of greater quality. In addition to the Super Seconds, estates like Petrus and Cheval Blanc have risen to global prominence despite not being eligible for classification in 1855.

Wine Regions in France

Bordeaux Wines

Possibly France's largest and most renowned wine region is Bordeaux, home to legendary estates like Petrus, Mouton, Margaux, and more. The region is roughly divided into five major areas, which are as follows: 

• Left Bank Medoc
• Right Bank Libournais
• Graves & Pessac-Leognan
• Sauternes
• Bourg & Blaye

The Left Bank is the most prestigious area of all, containing the five First Growths as well as every estate classified in the 1855 Classification. Here, red blends are the dominant wines, consisting of cabernet varieties and merlot. The high concentration of gravel, well-drained soils, and extra warmth make cabernet sauvignon king in the area, with perfect growing conditions for the grape. Ultimately, there are a total of 53 appellations from the Left Bank, some of which include Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, and Haut-Medoc. 

In Libournais lies the Right Bank, consisting of clay, limestone, and gravel soils, creating ideal conditions for merlot and cabernet franc. Many are familiar with Pomerol and Saint-Emilion within this region, with notable producers including Chateau Ausone, Lafleur, Petrus, and Cheval Blanc.

An underrated and often overlooked area in Bordeaux is Graves and Pessac-Leognan, creating age-worthy red blends with cabernet and merlot as the dominant varietals. In addition to the famed red blends, dry blends of sauvignon blanc and semillon are also produced in this area.

The sweet wines of Sauternes are famed for their unique winemaking process. Sauvignon blanc and semillon are most often used to make these golden wines, marked by notes of apricot, honey, and marmalade. In order to gain the distinctive taste, the grapes must undergo Noble rot, or Botrytis cinerea, a gray fungus that grows on the fruit under humid conditions. The grapes become shriveled and decayed, intensifying the sweetness level and offering complex flavors. Most famous from this region is Chateau d'Yquem, the only estate certified First Growth from this region in 1855.