Wedding · choosing the appellation
Which Bordeaux for a wedding: Médoc, Saint-Émilion or Pessac-Léognan?
Bordeaux is not one wine, it is sixty appellations. For a wedding, five are enough: one for the reception, two for the meal, one for summer, one for the whites. This page says which goes where, at what age, and at what price per bottle. No château is named; they will be on the quote.
Five appellations, five roles
You choose a wedding Bordeaux by moment of the day, not by reputation. The wine with the meal is tasted sitting down; the one at the reception is drunk standing up while talking about something else.
Médoc
Cabernet sauvignon, structure, stands up to meat. Haut-Médoc and Listrac for the budget, Saint-Julien, Pauillac or Margaux to mark the occasion. Five to ten years old: young, it is harsh and tannic. If it is young anyway, the page should you decant the wedding wine says how to open it in time.
Saint-Émilion and its satellites
Merlot, fruit, roundness: the red that pleases a hundred people who don't share the same tastes. Montagne, Lussac, Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion at half the price of the grand cru. Three to seven years.
Pessac-Léognan, Graves
Barrel-aged sauvignon and sémillon: the only Bordeaux white that stands up to a dish. With fish, poultry, asparagus. Two to five years.
Entre-deux-Mers
Dry, lively, inexpensive, to drink young. The white for the drinks reception, alongside the sparkling. Nobody analyses it; they find it refreshing. One to three years.
Bordeaux rosé, clairet
Clairet is a dark rosé, almost a light red, served chilled: the local speciality nobody knows outside the Gironde. For a July wedding, it replaces half the red.
What age, what price, at which moment
Prices incl. VAT per 75 cl bottle, ranges seen at a wine merchant in September 2026, delivery excluded. The grands crus classés sit above, and the page on second wines explains how to get close for a third of the price.
| Moment | Appellation | Age | Price / btl | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drinks reception | Entre-deux-Mers, dry white Bordeaux | 1–3 years | €7–12 | Drunk standing, while talking. Freshness matters, not complexity. |
| Drinks reception | Bordeaux rosé, clairet | 1–2 years | €7–11 | In summer, replaces some of the white. |
| Starter | White Pessac-Léognan, white Graves | 2–5 years | €14–35 | The only white that stands up to a dish. One bottle for four. |
| Main course | Haut-Médoc, Listrac, Moulis, a cru bourgeois | 5–8 years | €14–25 | The heart of the meal. One bottle for three. |
| Main course | Saint-Julien, Pauillac, Margaux or Saint-Estèphe | 6–12 years | €30–80 | To mark the occasion, with the main course only. |
| Main course, cheese | Saint-Émilion and its satellites, Castillon, Fronsac | 3–7 years | €10–30 | The red everyone agrees on. |
| Dessert | Sparkling, or Sauternes in half bottles | — | — | No red with the wedding cake. |
How to split it across 100 guests
A wedding of 100 people drinks about 120 bottles over the day, 40 of them at the meal. Of those 40, a third white for the starter and two thirds red for the main course and cheese. The red with the meal is often split in two: a Médoc with the main course, a Saint-Émilion with the cheese, or the other way round depending on the meat. The menu makes the choice more reliably than the couple's taste.
The wedding wine page does the full count, moment by moment, and the budget per person page turns these appellations into euros per guest. In short: €17–25 a head for decent to good Bordeaux with champagne, €45 and more with classified growths at the meal.
Do you need a grand cru classé for a wedding?
No, except with the main course, and only if the budget allows it without cutting back on the rest. A classified growth drunk standing at the reception is a classified growth wasted. A good Médoc cru bourgeois at €18 makes a faultless wedding meal. If the name matters, the second wine of a great château gives you the name for a third of the price.
Which vintage to choose for a wedding in 2026?
For the reds with the meal, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020 are in their drinking window in 2026; 2015 too among the crus bourgeois. For dry whites, 2022 to 2024. The vintages to drink in 2026 page sets out year by year what is ready and what should wait.
Médoc or Saint-Émilion for a wedding?
Saint-Émilion if you don't know your guests' tastes: merlot appeals more widely and drinks younger. Médoc if the meat is red and the guests like wine. Many weddings have both: one with the main course, the other with the cheese, and nobody complains.
Can you serve only Bordeaux at a wedding?
Yes, and it is simpler for everyone: apart from the sparkling, the region covers the reception, starter, main course, cheese and dessert. Champagne for the sparkling, which we supply; Crémant de Bordeaux on request. That is the only point where you leave the Gironde.
Choices that show
- A two-year-old Médoc with the main course. Tannic, closed, people find it hard. At that age, take a Saint-Émilion or a satellite.
- One red for the whole day. The reception does not need red; the evening red ends up in the garage. Reception in white, rosé and sparkling.
- A white Pessac-Léognan at the drinks reception. Too expensive to drink standing, too oaky to drink without food. Entre-deux-Mers at the reception, Pessac at the table.
- Choosing the label before the menu. The dish decides the appellation. A fish menu with a Pauillac is a failed menu.