What wine is it?

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- Great French dessert wine from the Bordeaux district of the same name, made from a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes harvested late and usually affected by botrytis, which see above. The most famous (and expensive) rendition is Chateau d'Yquemm although there are many other excellent examples.

- Excellent white wine made from Chardonnay grapes in the region of the same name in northern Burgundy.

- Red-wine grape commonplace in Languedoc and the Rhone, also California and, as Garnacha, in Spain. Typically makes hearty, peppery wines.

- Neighbour of Cotes-du-Rhone, sometimes offering exceptional quality-price ratio. Look for La Vieille Ferme, replaced in the mid-'90s by Perrin Reserve

: Excellent white-wine grape of the Rhone, increasingly planted in California

- Bordeaux region on the right bank of the Dordogne, upriver from Pomerol, and like the latter, best known for its red wines made with Merlot and sometimes Cabernet Franc dominating the blend.

- A light, dry Loire white wine made from a grape of the same name (alternatively named Melon, sometimes showing a light musky or cantaloupe quality.

- Northern portion of the Haut-Médoc in Bordeaux, producing wines considered somewhat less "refined" than Pauillac to the south (there are no first growths in Saint-Estephe), but still generally excellent, and perhaps more affordable.

- Southwestern French wine region, not far from Bordeaux, best known for inky-dark red wines made from the Malbec grape.

- Generic appellation for basic Rhone Valley wines, red and white. Often represent good value, although some drop to jug-wine status.