The Right Bank

In contrast to the left bank, the Medoc and Graves, the right bank is referred by the French mostly as Libourne, after its ancient capital and Bordeaux’s second center of wine commerce. It used to supply Northern Europe with simple wines from neighboring vineyards of Fronsac, St-Emilion and Pomerol, with Belgium the main market.

Today St-Emilion and Pomerol are the more famous and expensive, but the other appellations are just as lively in modern times. An example is Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac, west of Libourne, which was historically got good reputation.

Although rustic when young, the quality of these appellations has been improving with investment for modernization. The difference for the two is hard to tell, with the limestone slopes along the river denominated as Canon-Fronsac.

Around Pomerol and the village of Neac is the appellation Lalande-de-Pomerol, generally less vivid, but with many under the ownership of grander property the quality is also good, like La Fleur de Bouard which is owned by Chateau Angelus.

Similar phenomenon happens on the easternmost appellations, Cotes de Castillon and Cotes de Francs, with Chateau Puygueraud under the Thienpont family, also in possession of Vieux Chateau Certan and Le Pin.

Chateau d’Aiguilhe is under the same owner as Chateau Canon-la-Gaffeliere in St-Emilion, Chateau Joanin Becot part of another conglomerate and Clos Puy Arnaud is sister property of Troplong Mondot.

There are also the four satellites of St-Emilion, Montagne, Lussac, Puisseguin and St-Georges, all appending the St-Emilion name to their own, with the wines tasted like a slightly rustic cross between St-Emilion and Bergerac to the immediate east.

Most interesting of all, however, is still the St-Emilion and Pomerol appellations where a lot has been invested recently to push its limits of the red Bordeaux.

I have tasted the following wines from the Right Bank (excluding St-Emilion and Pomerol) so far:

Chateau La Vieille Cure

2002