Bordeaux - A Beginners Guide to French Wine

The Red wines from Bordeaux are primarily blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. White wines from the region are usually blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. To really understand Bordeaux, it’s is important to understand a little about the history of France. If you don’t want to learn that much about France, it’s enough to know that French wine, unlike the wines of other places are named for the places they are grown/made. Bordeaux is always and only from Bordeaux. Médoc wines only come from the Médoc area of Bordeaux. Champagne is only from Champagne and similar wines are not Champagne, but are sparkling wines.

Bordeaux is divided by the Gironde River and understanding this is the key to understanding Bordeaux. It tells you where the grapes are from, which usually will tell you the dominant grape and, therefore, style of wine (remember the wine guy at the store describing a particular wine as either left bank or right bank as you nodded your head cluelessly? I do.)

The Left Bank (Médoc/Haut-Médoc)

This area of Bordeaux is located on the northern tip of Bordeaux on the left bank (west) of the Gironde River. South of the Médoc is Haut-Médoc, which includes the villages of St-Estèphe, Moulis, Listrac, Pauillac, St-Julien and Margaux.

Here, as they say, Cabernet is King. During great years, wines produced here can be aged for years or even decades. When wine drinkers think of Cabernet, they think of Bordeaux and that means left-bank. There wines are always blends, but the dominant grape is cabernet sauvignon (which I just learned was produced by a making a hybrid of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, go figure). Most of the left bank cabs I have tasted have been on the more austere side, but, when done right these wines are powerhouses with intense flavors or very reserved with a great amount of elegance.

The Right Bank (Pomerol & St. Emilion)

To the east of the Gironde estuary (Right Bank) are the Chateaux of Pomerol and St-Emilion. In addition to these more well-known appellations, the right bank includes Lalande-de-Pomerol, Lussac-St-Emilion, Montagne-St-Emilion, Puisseguin-St-Emilion and St-Georges-St-Emilion. The dominant grape here is Merlot which thrives in clay rich soil and produces a softer, rounder, more fruit-forward wine and tends to be a little more drinkable for regular old wine lovers than the sometimes more powerful wines of the left-bank.

Lesser Appellations

The less prominent appellations of Bordeaux are certainly worth knowing about. This is where you can get great French wine for a fraction of the price of the wines listed above. In previous postings, I have mentioned Chateau D’Oupia and other inexpensive (NOT cheap) French wines. Many came/come from the areas listed here: Just west of Pomerol are Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac. Further north are the Premières Côtes de Blaye and the Côtes de Bourg, producing mostly red wines. To the east of St-Emilion are the Côtes de Castillon and the Côtes de Francs.

On the east bank of the Garonne, the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux is better known for sweet wines, but it also produces dry wines, both red, white, and rosé.

Sauternes

While on vacation last summer, I read a fantastic book about French wine and history of French wine industry. The title of the book, Noble Rot, refers to a fungus (Botrytis cinerea) which infects the grapes and increases their sugar content and allowing sweet wines like Sauternes and Tokays to be made. These wines are often very expensive because of they are supposed to be very labor intensive to make. Some of the better producers also hold back stock making the wines more expensive due to a lack of supply.

Having said that, these delicious dessert wines with tastes of honey suckle, ripe apple and pear are found on the west bank of the Garonne, south of Graves. Within Sauternes is the commune of Barsac, which also contains a number of top properties. Interestingly, wines from Barsac may be made from grapes form either the Barsac or Sauternes appellations.

Bordeaux Wine Classifications

In 1855, in preparation for Napolean III’s University of Paris Expo, the Gironde Chamber of Commerce requested that wine producing estates of Bordeaux be classified or ranked to accompany its display of fine wines for the visitors from around the world. The Bordeaux Wine Brokers Union devised the rankings that are still in use today. Essentially what they did was to rank the Chateaux of Bordeaux from best to worst. In doing so, they came up with a five-class ranking system of the red wines from the Medoc region, with the exception of Chateau Haut-Brion (which is from Graves), because it was widely recognized as an exeptional wine. Included in these rankings were the white bordeaux of Sauternes and Barsac. They were placed into a two-class ranking (except for Chateau d’Yquem, which was classified as Premier Cru Supérieur. It is the only wine, red or white to receive that classification, which means “First Great Growth”).

While these rankings often do not mean that a top ranked chateaux wine will be better than a lesser chateaux, it does add to the cache of the wine and, usually, the price and availability of the wine at market.

*The following is a list of the original 1855 Classification of Medoc wines:

First Growths (Premiers Crus) Commune

Château Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac)
Château Margaux (Margaux)
Château Latour (Pauillac)
Château Haut-Brion Pessac (Graves)
Château Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac)

Second Growths (Deuxièmes Crus) Commune
Château Rausan-Ségla (Margaux)
Château Rauzan-Gassies (Margaux)
Château Léoville-Las Cases (Saint-Julien)
Château Léoville-Poyferré (Saint-Julien)
Château Léoville-Barton (Saint-Julien)
Château Durfort-Vivens (Margaux)
Château Gruaud-Larose (Saint-Julien)
Château Lascombes (Margaux)
Château Brane-Cantenac Cantenac (Margaux)
Château Pichon-Longueville-Baron (Pauillac)
Château Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande (Pauillac)
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou (Saint-Julien)
Château Cos d'Estournel (Saint-Estèphe)
Château Montrose (Saint-Estèphe)

Third Growths (Troisièmes Crus) Commune
Château Kirwan Cantenac (Margaux)
Château d'Issan Cantenac (Margaux)
Château Lagrange (Saint-Julien)
Château Langoa-Barton (Saint-Julien)
Château Giscours Labarde (Margaux)
Château Malescot Saint-Exupéry (Margaux)
Château Boyd-Cantenac Cantenac (Margaux)
Château Cantenac-Brown Cantenac (Margaux)
Château Palmer Cantenac (Margaux)
Château La Lagune Ludon (Haut-Médoc)
Château Desmirail (Margaux)
Château Calon-Ségur (Saint-Estèphe)
Château Ferrière (Margaux)
Château Marquis d'Alesme-Becker (Margaux)

Fourth Growths (Quatrièmes Crus) Commune
Château Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien)
Château Talbot (Saint-Julien)
Château Branaire-Ducru (Saint-Julien)
Château Duhart-Milon-Rothschild (Pauillac)
Château Pouget Cantenac (Margaux)
Château La Tour-Carnet Saint-Laurent (Haut Médoc)
Château Lafon-Rochet (Saint-Estèphe)
Château Beychevelle (Saint-Julien)
Château Prieuré-Lichine Cantenac (Margaux)
Château Marquis-de-Terme (Margaux)

Fifth Growths (Cinquièmes Crus) Commune
Château Pontet-Canet (Pauillac)
Château Batailley (Pauillac)
Château Haut-Batailley (Pauillac)
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste (Pauillac)
Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse (Pauillac)
Château Lynch-Bages (Pauillac)
Château Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac)
Château Dauzac Labarde (Margaux)
Château Mouton-Baronne-Philippe (Pauillac)
Château du Tertre Arsac (Margaux)
Château Haut-Bages-Libéral (Pauillac)
Château Pédesclaux (Pauillac)
Château Belgrave Saint-Laurent (Haut-Médoc)
Château de Camensac Saint-Laurent (Haut-Médoc)
Château Cos-Labory (Saint-Estèphe)
Château Clerc-Milon (Pauillac)
Château Croizet-Bages (Pauillac)
Château Cantemerle Macau (Haut-Médoc)

The 1855 Official Classification of SAUTERNES – BARSAC

First Great Growth (Premier Cru Supérieur) Commune
Château d'Yquem (Sauternes)

First Growths (Premiers Crus) Commune
Château La Tour-Blanche (Bommes)
Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey (Bommes)
Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey (Bommes)
Château de Rayne-Vigneau (Bommes)
Château Suduiraut (Preignac)
Château Coutet (Barsac)
Château Climens (Barsac)
Château Guiraud (Sauternes)
Château Rieussec (Fargues)
Château Rabaud-Promis (Bommes)
Château Sigalas-Rabaud (Bommes)

Second Growths (Deuxièmes Crus) Commune

Château de Myrat (Barsac)
Château Doisy-Daëne (Barsac)
Château Doisy-Dubroca (Barsac)
Château Doisy-Védrines (Barsac)
Château d'Arche (Sauternes)
Château Filhot (Sauternes)
Château Broustet (Barsac)
Château Nairac (Barsac)
Château Caillou (Barsac)
Château Suau (Barsac)
Château de Malle (Preignac)
Château Romer-du-Hayot (Fargues)
Château Lamothe-Despujols (Sauternes)
Château Lamothe-Guignard (Sauternes)

* Remember, just because a wine is listed a 5th Growth or a Bordeaux Superior, doesn't mean that it's not an amazing wine. Like all things created by French bureaucracy, take the classifications with a grain of salt.

Wine Lover's Glossary of Terms - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Once I started getting into wine, I realized that if I wanted to move beyond the jug o' Gallo (joke) or buying only what someone else told me to get. To do this, I needed to understand more about the language behind the wine. What I began to realize was that, as I have already implied, oenophiles have their own language and when you know the buzz words, I think it helps to de-mystifies wine-speak and wine in general.

Please feel free to add your own terms/definitions to this effort. If you have any questions, here's where to ask.

This is a work in progress, so please be patient and thanks in advance for the help.

I hate when my real job interferes with my fun job - More to Follow....

Bistro Night - 1993 Cheval Blanc & 1998 Guiraud

On Friday 13th, we had some friends over so I could try out some "Bistro" recipes. The menu included French Onion Soup, NY Strip Streaks in a Chantrelle Brandy Cream Sauce, Potatoes Au Gratin, Haricot Vert & Creme Brulee (can't you just hear and feel the cholesterol attaching to your veins & arteries?). Being my own worst critic, (I am know tranforming my persona into the Whine Defender) I thought the food was good, but certainly not as good as I wanted. The soup needed more cheese and less time under the broiler, the steaks were cooked perfectly (thanks to Mark), but were not sufficiently seasoned; the cream sauce, again, was good but not great. The potatoes and the creme brulee came out as planned and I thought were good, but the potatoes didn't set up quite as much as I wanted.

With that bit of whinning out of the way, we did have some really good wine. I had scored some 1998 Pontet-Canet (against the advise and to the confusion of my friend Adam), my last bottle of 1997 Mouton Rothschild and some 1998 Guiraud Sauternes. Mark, one of the guests, brought 2 bottles of 1993 Cheval Blanc.

As we opened the Cheval Blanc, which was not easy due to some dry cork issues, Mark made me promise that I would be honest when I wrote about the wines and not to worry about trashing a guest's wine if that's what I wanted to do. So here goes: I've never Cheval Blanc before and after watching Sideways, always wanted to... I thought that the wine was very good. I think it was on the decline (past its prime), but had really good body and depth (as compared to the Pontet-Canet which did not) and delicious flavor or soft velvety black cherries and vanilla. This is a St. Emilion wine so is Merlot based, and in classic merlot fashion, was more of a fruit-bomb than left-bank wines tend to be. To sum up, while this wine was really, really good, it definitely was not a great Cheval Blanc.

The Mouton was also really good and this bottle was the best of ones I bought. I've found that the '97 Moutons to be a little thin and without a tremendous amount of character. I like the wine and really enjoy the taste, texture and flavors, but it's not worth the $100/bottle price point. Frankly, I liked the initial taste of the Pontet-Canet, but that wine has, as many previous reviews have noted, no mid-palate. There is a good nose and flavor and an OK finish, just in the middle, when you swallow, there's an emptiness to the flavor of the wine.

We finished up with the Guiraud Sauternes, which I thought was very good. It is a reasonably priced Sauterne and is definitely drinking now. Like all good sauternes, there is that great honey taste with really nice fruit nectar flavor that really tends to linger. I really like this wine with the creme brulee because it pairs nicely (no pun, given the pear flavor in the wine) with the silkiness of the custard and the grand marnier in the recipe I used.

Bottom line, good food, great wine, great company, great time!