The Right Bank of Bordeaux is home to vineyards located eastward from the city of Bordeaux and the Gironde Estuary, and north of the Dordogne River. The following are the two major sub-regions of Bordeaux:

• St.-Emilion, southeast of the port of Libourne
• Pomerol, northeast of Libourne

As the Right Bank is farther from the ocean, the soil contains less gravel, and is usually a mixture of clay, silt, sand, and limestone. In this terroir, the Merlot grape variety grows well, and reigns as the Right Bank’s dominant grape variety. Merlot is also the most commonly planted grape variety in the entire Bordeaux region.

Cabernet Franc, which takes a shorter time to ripen than Cabernet Sauvignon, is the second-most important variety in this area. A typical St.-Emilion or Pomerol contains about 70 percent Merlot, while Cabernet Franc usually, and Cabernet Sauvignon occasionally make up the remainder.

Right Bank Bordeaux reds are ideal for the less experienced red Bordeaux drinkers because they are less tannic and austere, and more approachable, than Left Bank Bordeaux. This difference is strongly noticeable when the wines are young (less than ten years old). The reason for this is that Merlot grapes have considerably lesser and softer tannin than Cabernet Sauvignon, which comprises the bulk of Left Bank Bordeaux. Also, the soil on the Right Bank being more fertile contributes to a fruitier and softer essence for Right Bank Bordeaux. Therefore, a Pomerol or St.-Emilion may be consumed when its less than ten years old, but a Left Bank Bordeaux is never taken that in such youth.

Although Right Bank red Bordeaux wines can be drunk sooner than those of the Left Bank variety, the higher quality wines among them , especially in good vintages, can be left to mature for many decades, almost as long as Left Bank Bordeaux.
In general, the wines of Pomerol are the rarest and costliestBordeaux wines, as these wines originate from the smallest châteaux of all the major Bordeaux sub-regions, For example, a Haut-Médoc wine estate typically produces about 20,000 to 25,000 cases (12 bottles to a case) of wine per year while the average winery from Pomerol makes only 3,000 to 5,000 cases of wine annually.