For your next wine blend, go for Bordeaux
In the notes below, we overview Left Bank vs Right Bank red Bordeaux blends; also white Bordeaux blends. Use these notes as a guide to making your own blends in the style of Bordeaux.
Vineyard in Bordeaux
Bordeaux red blends most often consist of some mixture of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Malbec and Petit Verdot are also added at smaller ratios.
Bordeaux white blends typically consists of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. A little Muscadelle is sometimes added as well.
The Left Bank
The appellations on the Left Bank are the most prestigious : Paulliac, St. Julien, St. Estephe, Margaux, Haut Medoc to name a few. You will find Chateaux Lafite, Mouton Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, and Haut-Brion on the Left Bank and their wines retail for thousands USD.
Grapes of the Left Bank
Cabernet Sauvignon is the main base for the blend here (usually over 60% of the blend), where it is complimented by Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and sometimes Petit Verdot.
The Right Bank
Map of the Left and Right Bank of Bordeaux
Less renowned but still famous appellations include Pomerol, Petrus, and St. Emilion.
Grapes of the Right Bank
Merlot is the main base on the Right Bank (usually over 60% of the blend), with Cabernet Franc and sometimes Cabernet Sauvignon consisting of the rest. In many cases built to be enjoyed sooner, these wines are often softer, fruitier, and more round than their Left Bank counterparts.
The White Bordeaux
White Bordeaux (Bordeaux Blanc) can be dry or sweet. The best known dry whites come from Pessac Leognan, and the best known sweet whites come from Sauternes and Barsac.
Grapes of the Bordeaux Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon are the primary grapes used for either Bordeaux dry or sweet white wine. Typically 70% of dry white Bordeaux are composed of Sauvignon Blanc, and sweet white Bordeaux can consist of 70%-100% Semillon with a small amount of Sauvignon Blanc or still smaller amounts of Muscadelle.
Each pail includes 5 gallons of grape must
Product will arrive partially frozen.
Contra Costa County, California
Brix: 25.8 , pH: 3.66 , TA: 3.5 g/L , YAN: 107 mg/L
(Just click through photos for ETS Lab Report or CLICK HERE)
Harvested September 11th, 2025
Planted in 1888
⚠️ This is a pre-sale. Grapes will ship as soon as they arrive at our distribution center in Oregon, estimated for early to mid-October. Quantities are extremely limited—only a few tons will be harvested.
Sandy Lane Vineyard, located in Contra Costa County, is a rare and remarkable site—own-rooted, head-trained, dry-farmed vines planted in 1888 grow in deep Delhi sandy loam just feet from the Sacramento River Delta. These soils are inhospitable to phylloxera, which is why the original vines are still alive and producing fruit today—an increasingly rare phenomenon in California or anywhere else in the world.
Mourvèdre from this vineyard has gained a reputation for its depth, structure, and signature savory edge. While the grape is often blended, single-varietal bottlings from Sandy Lane have shown distinctive notes of boysenberry, black fruit, sage, lavender, forest floor, and dried herbs, with a naturally firm tannic backbone and persistent finish. The fruit carries the unmistakable imprint of its place: old vines, wind-swept sand, and a slow, deliberate growing season shaped by the Delta breeze.
This vineyard shares a fence line with Evangelho, now farmed by Bedrock Wine Co., and has been used by Ridge Vineyards and other top producers. These are true California heritage vines—enduring, expressive, and deeply rooted in the history of West Coast winemaking.
Quantities are extremely limited.