A Port City's Wine Evolution

Bordeaux's story begins with water—the Gironde estuary and its tributaries creating both transport routes and climate moderation. When Eleanor of Aquitaine married England's Henry II in 1152, she brought Bordeaux as her dowry, beginning a 300-year English rule that established wine as export commodity rather than local beverage.

The Dutch came next, draining marshlands in the 17th century to create today's Médoc. They wanted wine that traveled well, encouraging the shift from light clairet (the origin of "claret") to the age-worthy reds we know today.

The 1855 Classification, ranking Médoc châteaux into five growth levels, created a hierarchy that still influences prices 170 years later. Yet this system, based on land values at a specific moment, freezes reputation in time. Château Mouton Rothschild fought for over a century to be upgraded from second to first growth—succeeding only in 1973.