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Route: South from Bordeaux along the left bank of the Garonne.
Northern focus: Pessac-Léognan surrounds the city’s southern edge; Graves continues south.
Sweet focus: Sauternes and Barsac lie around the Ciron–Garonne area. The cool wooded Ciron valley and warmer Garonne help create humid autumn mornings; sunny, ventilated afternoons can then favour noble rot rather than destructive wet rot.

Graves / Pessac-Léognan: Both make red and dry white wines.
Graves Supérieures: Sweet white, rather than a universal higher tier for Graves reds.
Sauternes / Barsac / Cérons: Sweet-white appellations; botrytis and selective harvesting are central study themes.

Dates & rank: Created in 1953 and completed in 1959, the Graves classification has one Cru Classé level. It has no Premier Cru or numbered hierarchy.
Colour matters: Classification recognises red, dry white, or both. Château Haut-Bailly is classified for red only; Château Couhins for dry white only. All the classified properties lie within today’s Pessac-Léognan.
Both colours: Domaine de Chevalier and Château Carbonnieux are classified for both red and dry white wine.
Haut-Brion twice: Its red is both a First Growth in 1855 and a Cru Classé de Graves. Do not transfer either classification automatically to Haut-Brion blanc.
16 names, 14 châteaux: The traditional roster has 16 named crus. The current syndicate lists 14 châteaux after La Tour Haut-Brion’s integration and Laville Haut-Brion’s renaming within La Mission Haut-Brion; keep the historical list separate from today’s producer count.

Assess: Identify red, dry white or sweet white first. Compare red tannin and maturity, dry-white acidity and texture, or sweet-wine richness against freshness rather than inferring one style from Graves.
Pair: Try entrecôte marchand de vin with a red, lobster Thermidor with a broad dry white, and Roquefort or spice-glazed duck with a sweet white. Match the preparation to the actual bottle.
Service: Start reds around 16–18°C, fuller dry whites around 10–12°C and sweet whites around 8–10°C. Taste before aeration and use measured sweet-wine pours; bottle condition decides whether sediment needs removing.