Good Bordeaux wine doesn’t have to be expensive!

The Bordeaux Value Wine Guide covers all of the best, well-priced wines from Bordeaux. This page focuses on the best wines for the money from the Right Bank including the top best priced wines from: Cotes de Castillon, Lalande de Pomerol, Fronsac, Canon Fronsac, Bordeaux Superieur, Entre Deux Mers and Cotes de Bordeaux.

If you want to read about other Bordeaux wine producers in different Bordeaux appellations: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles If you are interested in learning more about Bordeaux wine, we offer numerous articles on everything about Bordeaux wine, from a history of the Bordeaux region and the famous 1855 Classification, to the grapes used to produce Bordeaux wine and even vintage summaries covering Bordeaux wine from 1900 to today: All About Bordeaux Wine Guide

Top Ten Things to Know About Bordeaux Value Wines

#1 Bordeaux offers more high-quality value wines than every other wine region.

#2 Bordeaux value wines are often produced in large volumes making them easy to find.

#3 Cotes de Castillon has terroirs similar to St. Emilion and can produce wines that compete with Classified Saint Emilions for a lot less money.

#4 There are Lalande de Pomerol wines that produce wines similar in character to Pomerol for a lot less money.

#5 Even though most Bordeaux value wines are delicious young, they can age and evolve, or up to 2 decades or more!

#6 Located adjacent to St. Emilion, the Saint Emilion satellite appellations are producing superb wines today that sell for incredibly fair prices.

#7 Most of the best priced wine values in Bordeaux can be enjoyed young, or even on release.

#8 There are several white Bordeaux wines with character that sell for a song!

#9 Bordeaux value wines from the Right Bank offer the best deals for Merlot and Cabernet Franc in the world!

#10 With climate change and dedication, value priced Bordeaux wines have never been better!

Tasting numerous Bordeaux value wines to find the best deals for you.

The links located to the left of the page lead to complete profiles on the best value-priced Bordeaux wine and include wine tasting notes, detailed histories, information on the wines, vineyards, winemaking, winemakers, and other important information, as well as view images of the following top Bordeaux value wine producers:

While there are numerous strong wines selling for fair prices that come from the Cotes de Castillon appellation, contenders for the top wines are Chateau d’Aiguilhe and Clos Les Lunelles.

Lalande de Pomerol is located slightly north of Pomerol. Saint Emilion is just a little bit to the south.

The best soils are clay and gravel, similar to that which is found in Pomerol. Neac could have the best terroir of the appellation. Merlot is the dominant grape, followed by Cabernet Franc. Lalande de Pomerol is small in size with almost 1,100 planted hectares. Lalande de Pomerol is home to approximately 200 different producers.

1925 marks the first vintage when chateaux in the region began including the appellation name, Lalande de Pomerol, on their labels. The best wine of Lalande de Pomerol is produced at Chateau La Fleur de Bouard, followed by Chateau de Chambrun. Although if a taster reversed the order of those chateaux, I could certainly see their point.

Fronsac Canon Fronsac are situated west of Libourne, the important business city of the Right Bank.The vineyards are close to Pomerol and not much further from Saint Emilion. Fronsac is an attractive appellation with its rolling, verdant hillside vineyards and an occasion castle or two.

In total, seven communes create the Fronsac region. Merlot is the most important grape followed by Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. There is also a minor portion of Malbec in the vineyards as well, which is similar to what you find in Pomerol.

The wines of Fronsac and Canon Fronsac drink well in their youth. More importantly, they are delicious, rich, ripe and affordable. Fronsac has 834 hectares under vine. Canon Fronsac is quite a bit smaller with 299 hectares under vine. Close to 150 producers and growers are active in the region today.

The wines of the Fronsac appellation were not always affordable like they are today. In fact, from about the middle of the 18th century through the start of the 19th century, the top estates in Fronsac and Canon Fronsac were better known and often sold for more money than many wines from Pomerol and Saint Emilion!

The terroir that creates the unique appellation can be similar to that found in Pomerol or St. Emilion, with its clay and limestone soils. More of the soils in Fronsac are devoted to limestone. Canon Fronsac features more clay. Of the two appellations, Fronsac produces the finer wine.

On the plateau, the terroir is mostly limestone. As you travel further down the slopes, you find clay with limestone and at the base, the soils are more sand with clay. Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the two most important grapes of the appellations. Fronsac consists of 840 hectares of planted vineyards. Canon Fronsac has 280 hectares under vine. Chateau La Vieille Cure and Chateau La Dauphine are two of the top wines of the Fronsac appellation.

Cotes de Bordeaux is the youngest appellation in Bordeaux. It was created in 2008 when the INAO declared that 4, previously recognized communes, Cotes de Blaye, Cotes de Bordeaux, Cotes de Castillon, and Cotes de Francs should merge.

The new, 13,500 hectare, Cotes de Bordeaux appellation produces close to 14% of all Bordeaux wine. While invited to be a part of the Cotes de Bordeaux appellation, Cotes de Bourg declined to become a member of the new, Cotes de Bordeaux appellation designation.

In 2017, the region of Cotes de Bordeaux was expanded when they added the Sainte Foy appellation and its 280 hectares of vines, making the total number of appellations in the regions in the group to 5.

The Cotes de Bordeaux appellation is located close to St. Emilion and not far from the important, Dordogne and Garonne rivers. Cotes de Bordeaux, due to its large size features wide array of terroirs that include clay, gravel, and limestone soils. The best terroirs of Cotes de Bordeaux are similar to Saint Emilion or Pomerol. Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the most important grapes of the region.

But Cabernet Sauvignon along with the other important grape varieties are also planted. To get an idea on how the soil and terroir of the Cotes de Bordeaux and other Satellite communes compares to the other important appellations in Bordeaux; The terroir and soil of Bordeaux

St. Emilion Satellite Appellations located next to St. Emilion have numerous, quality producers that consistently make well priced, Merlot dominated, Bordeaux wine.

The terroir can be similar to Saint Emilion and the vines can be old as well. Some are over 100 years old! The St. Emilion satellite appellations are: Lussac St. Emilion, Montagne St. Emilion, Puisseguin St. Emilion and St. Georges St. Emilion.

Some of the top Bordeaux value wines come from those appellations. Look for Beausejour Montagne and Soleil. When added together, the satellite appellations of St. Emilion cover a large area with 5,485 hectares planted with vines.

Puisseguin St. Emilion has 989 hectares under vine. Lussac St. Emilion has 1,396 hectares under vine. Montagne St. Emilion has 1,549 hectares under vine. St. Georges St. Emilion is the smallest of the St. Emilion satellite appellations with just 180 hectares under vine.

Cotes de Bourg is one of the oldest wine producing regions in France.

Cotes de Bourg has a history dating back to the Ancient Romans. Cotes de Bourg is massive with 3,884 hectares under vine. Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the leading grape varieties, although all of the 5 major Bordeaux grape varieties are planted. The region is littered with variable terroir. The best terroirs feature clay and limestone soils.

While devoted almost exclusively to the production of red, Bordeaux wine, Cotes de Bourg also produces a limited amount of dry, white Bordeaux wine. It is one of the few Bordeaux appellations with plantings of Colombard and Ugni Blanc grapes. which are used in the production of inexpensive, dry white, Bordeaux wine.

Perhaps the best wine in the Cotes de Bourg appellation is Roc de Cambes.

Cotes de Francs has some good terroir. With some of the higher elevations in Bordeaux, the Cotes de Francs appellation has 490 hectares under vine. Close to 75 different producers are making wine in the appellation.

Cotes de Francs is the smallest appellation in Bordeaux. Located not far from St. Emilion and Cotes de Castillon, the clay and limestone terroir are mostly planted to Merlot. However, vines are also planted to the other, major, red wine, Bordeaux varieties as well.

Some growers also plant grapes for the production of white, Bordeaux wine, most notably, Semillon, Muscadelle and Sauvignon Blanc. There are a few notable chateau in the Cotes de Francs appellation of which the best are Chateau La Prade, Chateau Puygueraud and Chateau de Francs.

Cotes de Blaye is a massive wine-producing region with more than 6,600 hectares under vine. In 2009, the name of the appellation was officially changed to Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux. The appellation produces, for the most part, simple wines that are often enjoyed by the local French population.

In total, 42 different communes make up the sizable appellation. Close to 700 different producers make wine in the Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux appellation. Due to its large size, Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux features a wide array of terroirs and soils, ranging from limestone and clay hillsides to soils with more gravel, sand, and chalk.

With its diverse soils, Cotes de Blaye produces red and white wine. In 2009, Cotes de Blaye, along with Cotes de Castillon and Cotes de Francs became part of the larger, Cotes de Bordeaux appellation. The best wines from Cotes de Blaye to seek out are Gigault Cuvee Viva and Les Grands Marechaux.

Bordeaux Superieur is a designation granted to chateaux that can be located in specific appellation. While the estate could have the right to be listed as part of that specific appellation, most of the time, but not always, the designation of Bordeaux Superieur is used to signify wines of lesser quality. But that is not always the case. There are appellation status granted to both Bordeaux Superieur Red wine and Bordeaux Superieur Blanc.

The surface area devoted to Bordeaux Superieur wines is large with 4,725 hectares under vine. Bordeaux Superieur became one of the first proponents to adopt and promote anti-counterfeiting measures en masse. The appellation wants its member estates to add fraud detection to their labels with a unique barcode that will help ensure and guarantee the provenance of bottles for consumers.

The code will also alert the chateaux when and where each bottle was scanned. The QR code on the label brings the consumer to a webpage where they can enter the bottle’s specific code, informing users if their bottle is genuine or a potential counterfeit. The anti-fraud, unremovable prevention stickers can be placed on the neck of the bottle and the back label.

The wines covered in The Wine Cellar Insider listed as Bordeaux Superieur are often some of the best candidates in multiple vintages for the top value, Bordeaux wine of the year. Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the most important grape varieties in the production of wines classed as Bordeaux Superieur.

As a matter of style, the Merlot-dominated wines from Bordeaux Superieur are delicious to drink young, they are soft, round, and easy to like. One wine that is consistently strong with the classification of Bordeaux Superieur is Chateau Reignac. However, it’s important to note that there are dozens of Bordeaux Superieur wines that are well worth buying, as they often represent great value and style, with early drinking charm.

Entre Deux Mers was once responsible for producing more white than red wine in Bordeaux. Entre Deux Mers takes its name from its location, which is in the middle of two bodies of water, the Garonne and the Dordogne rivers. The Entre Deux Mers appellation has 2,400 hectares under vine.

The Entre Deux Mers appellation includes 9 separate AOC designated areas. Similar to what takes place in the Medoc, Entre Deux Mers is one of the AOC areas. The other areas are the Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, Sainte Croix du Mont, St. Macaire, Graves de Vayres, Sainte Foy Bordeaux. Loupiac and Cadillac are in the Entre Deux Mers appellation as well. Both those regions are well known for producing affordable, sweet, white Bordeaux wine made from grapes attacked by botrytis, which is also known as noble rot.

The Entre Deux Mers region was first planted to vines by the ancient Romans. But the area earned its reputation for wine produced by Benedictine Monks during the Middle Ages. Many of the best growers with the Bordeaux Superieur designation come from the large, Entre Deux Mers appellation. Generally speaking, the best wines from the Entre Deux Mers area are the white wines, due to the region’s cooler terroir and its compact, sand, and clay soils.

However, there are sections where you can also find gravel and limestone. Part of the problem with the terroir of the Entre Deux Mers appellation is the lack of mineral elements in the soil. Much of the appellation is not planted for the production of grapes as it’s inhabited by forest land and other greenery situated on a series of rolling hills and is used to produce other agricultural crops.

The main grape varieties planted in the Entre Deux Mers are Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle. Those varieties are used to produce both dry, white Bordeaux wine as well as sweet, white Bordeaux wine. The white wines of the Entre Deux Mers appellation are what the region does best. In fact, only the white wines are allowed to include the Entre Deux Mers appellation on their label.

The red wines of the region are sold as either Bordeaux Superieur or more commonly as Bordeaux. For the production of red Bordeaux wine, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are the most important grapes. Chateau Marjosse is an example of one of the better wines from Entre Deux Mers.

Bordeaux AOC designated wines are the lowest, the most general level of wine from Bordeaux. To be a Bordeaux wine simply means the wine is from the larger appellation of Bordeaux, and not from one of the other appellations. These wines only need to follow the wide rules of the “Bordeaux AOC.”

The area is massive. Close to 59,000 hectares are under vine, producing more than 35,000,000 cases of red wine per year! An additional 60,000,000 cases of white wine are also produced with the same designation for each vintage.

Bordeaux AOC is by far the largest designated area for wine in France with more than 35,000 hectares under vine. Because the area is so vast, the quality and type of terroir and soils vary. The overwhelming, vast majority of the time, these are not quality wines worth buying. They are often simple, mass-produced wines for inexpensive, early-drinking consumption.

However, out of thousands of wines, there are a handful of exceptions with the Bordeaux AOC designation. Yet, it is important to note that there are wines from the more famous appellations that have been downgraded to Bordeaux AOC status because they did not follow the rules of the appellation. These wines can be good, and even very expensive.

For example, the dry white wine from Chateau d’Yquem, (because the sugar level is not high enough) or from producers that blend wine from various appellations. These wines can be quite good values, as they usually sell for 5-10 Euros and are ready to drink on release.

Vin de Pay and Vin de Pays Pyrénees-Atlantiques wines are most often, not worth buying. However, there are exceptions. And some very expensive ones too. For example, the special wine from Chateau Palmer which includes Syrah in the blend. Bordeaux wines classed as Vin de Pays are wines that do not follow the AOC laws, which could range from blends including non-Bordeaux varieties to a blend of vintages. Chateau Angelus produced a white wine from a blend of non-allowable grape varieties which is sold as a Vin de Pays Pyrénees-Atlantiques, which is quite good, and very expensive as well.