As the name suggests, the ancestral home of this age-worthy red wine style is Bordeaux. Key varieties used in these blends include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carménère. Each variety gives its own unique contribution to a blend, whether it be body, herbaceous notes, structure or longevity.

But this is a wine style that also takes us far beyond Bordeaux –  from the United States, from California to New York and Washington. Travel to Italy with the stellar Super Tuscans of Ca’ Marcanda, Quintarelli, Antinori, Gasparini and Ornellaia to name but a few. Look to Chilean Almaviva for sumptuous blends laden with concentrated yet juicy black fruit or to Clos Apalta for beautiful reds which showcase the native Chilean Carménère in their bright and lively biodynamic wines.  The Gimblett Gravels of Hawke’s Bay make the perfect terroir for the world class wines of producers such as Coleraine whose Te Mata Estate wines are widely considered the finest Cabernet-based blend in New Zealand. Meanwhile, the Rupert & Rothschild partnership in South Africa are using Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet France in Stellenbosch to make tightly structured, intense reds with notes of blueberry, plum, cedar and dark chocolate. Explore the best of Mendoza from Argentinian Cheval des Andes, whose Malbec dominant wines embody the perfect synergy between the French art of blending and New World creative innovation.