Santa Margherita

The two great French wine regions of Burgundy and Bordeaux, though they are both leading production areas from the point of view of quality, are substantially different, especially in the way in which they consider and interpret the concept of terroir.
In Burgundy, the system is based on the vineyard and on the individual parcel of land, and the best are themselves appellations (grand cru or premier cru), just as are – at a less exalted level and in more generic terms – village or commune denominations and then the sub-regional and regional ones.
Such distinctions are impossible in Bordeaux, where the AOC system follows administrative boundaries rather than actual differences in the terrains: it does not, therefore, go into any greater detail than the commune in question. Differences in soil may well be found within the same commune or property. At Château Latour, for instance, 80 different soil profiles have been identified! (And in St. Émilion, there are limestone soils in the plateau around the town itself, an alluvial sandy plain on the banks of the Dordogne, stony soils around Libourne, cooler muddy and clayey soils in the northern part of the appellation, but this too is a considerable simplification).
The difference is even more marked if one considers the properties and the way they are run. In Burgundy everyone bottles his wine according to the individual vineyard it comes from. In Bordeaux (especially on the Left Bank) the châteaux bottle under their own names (and that of a large appellation) wine from the various sites that they own, however scattered they may be and even though they may lie in different communes.
One should also bear in mind that while in Burgundy producers work with a single variety (Pinot Noir for the reds, Chardonnay for the whites), in the Bordeaux area there is also a certain variability linked to the grape mix (Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot in the Médoc , Merlot / Cabernet Sauvignon / Cabernet Franc on the Right Bank for the reds, Sauvignon Blanc /Sémillon for the whites), not to mention the different vinification methods that can result in wines with extreme styles, as in the case of the so-called vins de garage of Saint Émilion and Pomerol, wines with incredible concentration as a result of severe selection in both the vineyard and winery, extraction using modern techniques and maturation in new barriques.