At the announcement, some 190 wines were available to taste, and below are the notes of the wines I tasted during a couple of hours at the session.

Themes across the piece included plenty of new oak flying around, sweet ripe fruit erring to lush fruit on occasion, supple, ripe tannins with nothing hard or edgy. From the list of blends, there seems to be plenty of petit verdot being used in this vintage.

Tasting notes, London, September 21, 2011.

Château Bessan Ségur, 2009, Médoc
50% cabernet sauvignon, 48% merlot, 2% cabernet franc
Sweet new oak amid bright red fruits. Smooth and sweet berry fruit, with a high kick of spice.

Château Blaignan, 2009, Médoc
60% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon
Gently spiced and toasted forest berries, quite lush medium body in nicely proportioned wine, which has some muscle. Good.

Château Chantemerle, 2009, Médoc
60% cabernet sauvignon, 35% merlot, 3% petit verdot, 2% cabernet franc
Spiced blackcurrants and cream on the nose, smooth, charming and gentle oak support; elegant proportions, and nicely balanced.  Good.

Château les Grands Chênes, 2009, Médoc
55% merlot, 42% cabernet sauvignon, 3% cabernet franc
Toasty and faintly oily whiff (not negative) on the nose, followed by rich, sweet fruit. Quite fat and broad in style, so lacks a bit of backbone for me. Lush, round, supple, very ripe style.

Château Greysac, 2009, Médoc
58% merlot, 38% cabernet sauvignon, 3% cabernet franc, 1% petit verdot
Spiced blackcurrant on the nose, smooth, fine-grained texture with sweet-ripe black fruits and faint cinnamon spice. A little more than medium bodied in a very nicely balanced wine that feels quite classic. Good.

Château Haut Barrail, 2009, Médoc
70% cabernet sauvignon 25% merlot 5%malbec
Bit of raw new oak on the nose in an ambitious wine, that may be also a bit rustic, still with sweet berry fruits in a clearly ripe and ready vintage.

Château Livran, 2009, Médoc
merlot, cabernet sauvignon
Deep black fruited nose, blackcurrant and vanilla-spiced cream palate in nicely proportioned wine, quite harmonious feel to this wine. Good.

Château Loudenne, 2009, Médoc
55% merlot – 40% cabernet sauvignon, 5% cabernet franc, 1% malbec
Youthful, fine grained new oak tannins beginning to soften into sweet blackcurrant fruits in a wine of some attractive refined profile. Good.

Château Les Ormes Sorbet, 2009, Médoc
65 % cabernet sauvignon, 30 % merlot, 5 % petit verdot
Piquant vanilla spice on nose, with rustic, youthfully-grained tannins. Heading towards a fuller body of red-focused berry fruits, in nicely balanced wine. Good.

Château Patache d’Aux, 2009, Médoc
60 % cabernet sauvignon, 30 % merlot, 7 % cabernet franc, 3% petit verdot
Nose a bit subdued, then palate quite big, rustic and toasty. Plenty of sweet red berry fruit which should settle in.

Château Preuillac, 2009, Médoc
67% merlot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 3% cabernet franc
Warmly aromatic nose of perfumed summer berries. Dark berries emerge on palate in smooth, youthfully crunchy texture. Nicely balanced and proportioned. Good density and intensity of dark berry and currant fruit. Good.

Château Rollan de By, 2009, Médoc
70% merlot, 20 % cabernet sauvignon et cabernet franc, 10% petit verdot
Spiced bramble bushes and blackcurrant, amid new oak spiciness and toastiness.  Fresh structure to the medium body in a sweet-fruited whole.

Château Saint Christoly, 2009, Médoc
55 % merlot, 45 % cabernet sauvignon
Less interesting than I might have hoped.

Château Tour Prignac, 2009, Médoc
57% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon, 2% malbec, 1% cabernet franc
Gentle spice and supple, not quite sweet tannins, erring to purple fruit. Smooth texture with some intrigue, good density of sweet fruit. Good.

Château Vieux Robin, 2009, Médoc
55% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot, 3% cabernet franc 2% petit verdot
Bright cherry fruits, but not much else here of interest for me.

Château d’Agassac, 2009, Haut-Médoc
52% cabernet sauvignon, 48% merlot
Sweet bramble fruit in very smoothly textured palate of blackcurrant, nutmeg infused cream. Elegant and attractive. Good length.

Château Barreyres, 2009, Haut-Médoc
55% merlot, 45% cabernet sauvignon
Crunchy red fruit spectrum. Palate a bit subdued and less interesting than I might have hoped for.

Château Bibian, 2009, Haut-Médoc
60% merlot 40% cabernet sauvignon
Sweet blackcurrant cream nose and palate. Smooth with integrating splurge of new oak softening in. Heading towards a fuller body with sweet balance and freshness. Good.

Château Caronne Ste Gemme, 2009, Haut-Médoc
60% cabernet sauvignon, 37% merlot 3% petit verdot
Smoky red fruited nose, textured new oak streak to the core, plentiful sweet ripe tannin. Moving up a gear to bigger, more concentrated wine than those tasted thus far. Rich density of fruit in youthful profile.

Château Cissac, 2009, Haut-Médoc
67% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot, 8% petit verdot
Darkly smoky nose, dark, black fruits on the palate, smooth and finely grained.

Château Devise d’Ardilley, 2009, Haut-Médoc
50 % cabernet sauvignon, 45 % merlot, 5 % petit verdot
Red fruits nose, sweet and fully textured. Fully lush and round, richly fruited, with decent length. Good.

Château Larose-Trintaudon, 2009, Haut-Médoc
60% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot
Smoky red aromas, smooth and finely structured. Elegant with some nice class and a bit of sophistication appearing here.

Château la Lauzette-Declercq, 2009, Haut-Médoc
cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc
Full and rustic-crunchy.

Château Liversan, 2009, Haut-Médoc
50 % cabernet sauvignon, 40 % merlot, 5 % cabernet franc, 5% petit verdot
Gently roasted forest berries, smooth attack, quite lush and sweet, rounded and full bodied. Definite high fruit-sweetness factor here, and lacks a bit of backbone, and tone round the middle, for me at this stage.

Château Paloumey, 2009, Haut-Médoc
55% cabernet sauvignon, 5% cabernet franc, 40% merlot
Spiced sandalwood, a hint raw still at this stage. Medium weight, has lift and definition, needs to mellow a little more. Less succulent that some.

Château Puy Castéra, 2009, Haut-Médoc
50 % cabernet-sauvignon, 35% merlot, 14% cabernet-franc, 1% petit-verdot
Smoked berries, mid palate a little loose and lacking structure.

Château de Sainte-Gemme, 2009, Haut-Médoc
50% cabernet sauvignon, 50% merlot
Smoky black fruit, smooth textured attack of blackcurrant and loganberry, good sweetness and density in smooth profile, but lacks a little refinement.

Château de Villegeorge, 2009, Haut-Médoc
56% cabernet sauvignon, 44% merlot
Toasty and blackcurrant nose, full of roasted fruits and cinnamon, dark berries and black fruit. Smoothly textured, erring to full body in nicely balanced, rounded whole. Wholesom lush style, with some good length. Good.

Château Fonréaud, 2009, Listrac-Médoc
52% cabernet sauvignon, 45% merlot, 3% petit verdot
Spicy red fruits, lush and sweet fruit still with defining freshness, and depth of fruit. Nicely proportioned, with rich depth and level of seriousness.

Château Lestage, 2009, Listrac-Médoc
56% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon, 4% petit verdot
Rustic nose,  chewy palate. Aspirational rather than delivering, on this tasting, for me.

Château Vieux Moulin, 2009, Listrac-Médoc
65% merlot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 5% petit verdot
Toasted fruits and chewy oak. Sweet red fruit focus comes through on the mid palate, which will round out and soften in the tannin. Just a bit unintegrated now, though balance is not out of kilter.

Château d’Arsac, 2009, Margaux
67 % cabernet sauvignon, 33 % merlot
Smooth dark berry fruits, lush and with some sophistication here. A different class really, integrated with attractive concentration and future.

Château Deyrem Valentin, 2009, Margaux
50% merlot 48%, cabernet sauvignon, 2% petit verdot
Dark black fruits in crunchy tannin of fine grainy texture and firm backbone. Smooth textured, enticing, tasty. Very good.

Château Paveil de Luze, 2009, Margaux
70% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot
Red spicy stuff on the nose, full and toasted with integrity to mature nicely in bottle. Medium weight with elegant lifted fruit throughout profile. Good.

Château La Tour de Bessan, 2009, Margaux
60% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 10% cabernet franc
Nose a bit closed. Palate fine grained with rich red berry fruits, elegantly structured, lovely depth of fruit and integrity. Nice.

Château la Fleur Peyrabon, 2009, Pauillac
67 % cabernet sauvignon, 26 % merlot, 7 % petit verdot
Big, crunchy, smoky nose, bit of rawness still on palate attack, plenty sweet fruit to subsume the oak in time.

Château Plantey, 2009, Pauillac
55% merlot, 45% cabernet sauvignon
Crunchy, black hints of dense oak in a big wine that should soften. Quite huge now, but not unbalanced.

Château Beau-Site, 2009, Saint-Estèphe
70% cabernet sauvignon, 24% merlot, 3% cabernet franc, 3% petit verdot
Muscley brambles on the nose, sweet and almost succulent black berry fruits on palate attack. Full and sweet, with fresh core. Serious, harmonious balance here. Nice wine with big concentration.

Château Le Crock, 2009, Saint-Estèphe
58% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 6% cabernet franc, 6% petit verdot
More in the red fruit spectrum. Lifted and upright, with fresh backbone and toned fruit flesh. Elegantly proportioned with readily ripe red fruits.

Château Lilian Ladouys, 2009, Saint-Estèphe
cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc
Crunchy toasted oak nose, sweet red fruits, smooth fruited profile, erring to full body, muscley in a smooth gentle way.

218 of the 2009 Crus Bourgeois were also classified for the 2008 vintage.
164 of the 2009 Crus Bourgeois were also classified in 2003.
126 of the 2009 Crus Bourgeois were part of the original 1932 list.
101 of the 2009 Crus Bourgeois were part of both the 1932 list and the 2003 classification.
95 of the 2009 Crus Bourgeois were classified in 2008, 2003 and 1932.

Source:  Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc

Frédéric de Luze

In its second year, the annual awarding of cru bourgeois status has been achieved by 246 left bank Bordeaux properties for their 2009 vintage.  This is three up on the 2008 vintage.

The numbers involved for the 2009 vintage were not too dissimilar from 2008. Just 5% more properties applied for the cru bourgeois moniker for their 2009 wines, but the success rate was 3% lower than for the 2008 vintage.  Some 218 Châteaux have achieved cru bourgeois status for both their 2008 and 2009 vintages, with plenty of new entrants in 2009, as well as properties not in it for this year.

Frédéric de Luze, the president of the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois and owner of Chateau Paveil de Luze in Margaux said it’s been “a very positive year, and constructive. We feel all the châteaux owners are happy, it’s a good opportunity, and they are still happy to be cru bourgeois. They’re still proud of cru bourgeois, which is quite difficult to get.”

With some 32 million bottles being marketed under the cru bourgeois name, de Luze added “this makes cru bourgeois the strongest force in Bordeaux, as a club of producers.”

To take account of vintage variation, the minimum benchmark for entry to cru bourgeois status is “to make a better vintage than the average [quality] of the vintage” explained François Nony, of Château Caronne Ste Gemme, and vice president of the alliance.  He added “In Médoc 2,000 estates could apply. Most don’t apply because technically they can’t” because they don’t (yet?) have a proper cellar or vat room, or don’t have the necessary land associated with the entry requirements for cru bourgeois.

One of Nony’s criticisms of the previous cru bourgeois system was that 100% of a property’s wines were classified as cru bourgeois.  With the new system, for the 2008 vintage, he said “about two-thirds of [a chateau’s] production was cru bourgeois. The other third was declassified as a second wine” and is not therefore in the cru bourgeois system.

Something new for next year may be cru bourgeois tiers, which is being studied, though de Luze said “it’s a bit in advance to talk too much about it.  The châteaux would like it because it’s a sort of competition.”

The price:quality ratio of cru bourgeois was also emphasised, with the implication that cru bourgeois might become the new crus classés for ordinary mortals. Nony said “my wine, Caronne Ste Gemme is still selling at the same price as in 1997.  We know we have to fight to keep our customers.”  On this point de Luze added “in 1985 Paveil was half the price of Ducru Beaucaillou, now it’s about a tenth.” Given that prices of cru bourgeois, in the UK at least, range from around £10 to £25, this may be a marketing angle to explore.

Ins and outs

Châteaux choose whether to enter the exam, so reasons for ins and outs could be (a) improvement in quality (b) first application in 2009, (c) loss of quality (d) not entering in 2009, having been awarded 2008.  Consistent patterns of membership will only emerge over time, and that is what should become the hallmark of cru bourgeois.

New in 2009

1. Château Blaignan, Médoc
2. Château d’Argan, Médoc
3. Château Gemeillan, Médoc
4. Château La Chandelliere, Médoc
5. Château La Gorre, Médoc
6. Château La Grange De Bessan, Médoc
7. Château Les Trois Manoirs, Médoc
8. Château Livran, Médoc
9. Château Loirac, Médoc
10. Château Plagnac, Médoc
11. Château Saint Aubin, Médoc
12. Château Tour Saint-Vincent, Médoc
13. Château Bel-Orme Tronquoy De Lalande, Haut-Médoc
14. Château Corconnac, Haut-Médoc
15. Château de Sainte-Gemme, Haut-Médoc
16. Château Dillon, Haut-Médoc
17. Château du Galan, Haut-Médoc
18. Château Peyredon Lagravette, Haut-Médoc
19. Château Puy Castera, Haut-Médoc
20. Château Tourteran, Haut-Médoc
21. Clos la Boheme, Haut-Médoc
22. Domaine de Cartujac, Haut-Médoc
23. Château Lalande, Listrac-Médoc
24. Château Caroline, Moulis en Médoc
25. Château Duplessis, Moulis en Médoc
26. Château Gressier Grand Poujeaux, Moulis en Médoc
27. Château Moulin A Vent, Moulis en Médoc
28. Château Vieux Coutelin, Saint-Estèphe

Out in 2009

1. Château Fontaine de l’Aubier, Médoc
2. Château Grand Bertin de Saint Clair, Médoc
3. Château Hourbanon, Médoc
4. Château Laffitte Laujac, Médoc
5. Château le Barrail, Médoc
6. Château l’Inclassable, Médoc
7. Château Listran, Médoc
8. Château Moulin de Brion, Médoc
9. Château Moulin de Cassy, Médoc
10. Château Charmail, Haut-Médoc
11. Château Haut Madrac, Haut-Médoc
12. Château Lamothe Cissac, Haut-Médoc
13. Château Larrivaux, Haut-Médoc
14. Château Maucaillou Felletin, Haut-Médoc
15. Château Moulin de Laborde, Haut-Médoc
16. Château Grand Tayac, Margaux
17. Château la Galiane, Margaux
18. Château le Coteau, Margaux
19. Château Tayac, Margaux
20. Château du Glana, St. Julien
21. Château Lalande, St. Julien
22. Château Bel Air, Saint-Estèphe
23. Château Domeyne, Saint-Estèphe
24. Château Segur de Cabanac, Saint-Estèphe
25. Château Tour de Pez, Saint-Estèphe

Generally new blood brings new initiatives, even if the properties themselves have an ancient lineage. And often the initiatives involve the most fundamental unit of location, of site specificity – the soil. 

So it is at Château de la Dauphine in Fronsac, which was established in 1747.  Though it has been owned by the Halley family since 2000, Guillaume Halley recently took the reins. 

In that first decade, the family invested over €10 million restoring the château and the cellars, and installing new equipment, but it was only in 2010 that a soil study was done across the 31ha domaine. The results of this are forming the foundation of better matching the merlot and cabernet franc grown to the 14 different soil types the survey identified.

In a separate initiative, the Halleys have introduced a second wine, which ensures the best selections are kept for their Château label. Guillaume said “between 2004 and 2007 we sold to negoce because we didn’t make a second wine. Now we make about 100,000 bottles of grand vin and 60,000 bottles of Delphis.”  The first vintage of Delphis was in 2006, and the family continues to sell up to 30,000 bottles’ worth to negoce of wine deselected from the first and second wines, though in the excellent 2009 and 2010 vintages the Halleys kept all their fruit for themselves.

Eric Monneret

Another property coming under the soil and geology microscope since Eric Monneret recently took over as managing director is Château La Pointe, one of the largest wine estates in Pomerol, with 22 hectares.  As a result of the study, the drainage system has been upgraded in the third of the property that collected water, on sandy soil overlying clays and gravel.  This third also happened to be the third that was planted to possibly the least adapted of the available grape varieties, cabernet sauvignon, so that has all come out.  The estate is now planted to 85% merlot and 15% cabernet franc, making it a much more classic Pomerol property.

Since Generali France bought La Pointe in 2007, other investment has included a new vat room which was in position for the 2009 harvest, complete with solar power and a rain water collection system.

It’s not just unclassified properties that are waking up to the demands of a globally competitive marketplace. Château Marquis de Terme, a fourth growth in Margaux, has been owned by the Sénéclauze family since 1935. Since Ludovic David (ex-Fombrauge) was employed as oenologist in time for the 2009 vintage, he has changed much, such as increasing the number of vinifications made by individual plot, and changing vineyard practice to promote extra ripening.  He said “the date of harvest is later than before, by 7 to 10 days. The winemaking is different and we’ve changed the management of the vineyard, winemaking and ageing” without making huge financial investments in the immediate term, in order “to show the potential of the terroir.”  

Ludovic David

For example, David said “we changed the vineyard because we want to respect the environment, so we plough and have grass in the rows.  We changed winemaking to extract tannins more softly, by reducing the temperature of the fermentation, and reducing the number and length of remontages.” 

Such properties as these are fully aware that laurels cannot be rested upon. Even being a lower classed growth offers no protection or right of sale, as David explained “in the past Marquis de Terme was strict and classical. Now we have more global competition, we have to show that Bordeaux is one of best places in the world to produce good wine.”

Bordeaux soils

While everyone’s been busy with the en primeurs in Bordeaux, here’s a snapshot from three producers who came to London in March 2010 with a sneak preview of their wines.  What these three said is being repeated by the specialist Bordeaux writers after their week of tasting and interviewing – 2010 is looking classically classy.

Ludovic David, the oenologist and agronomic engineer at Château Marquis de Terme in Margaux said “2010 is a great vintage. We had good weather, some millerandage on the merlot. June and July were dry with sunshine [making] grape evolution smooth and slow. We had fresh nights in August and September, and good weather in September and October. It’s a more classic vintage than 2009 – ripe grapes with lower alcohol and better acidity, while 2009 was like 2005 – rich, tannic and strong.”  He added that he made better wine at Terme in 2010 than 2009.  

It was a similar story from the two producers on the right bank. “It’s not easy to put into words” said Eric Monneret, the managing director of Château La Pointe, in Pomerol, “we used a lot [of words] on 2009. The 2010 is a classic, pure, Bordeaux vintage, the style is pure, mineral, precise, whereas 2009 was more charming.  It’s a bit up over 2009, but not in the same style.” Adding that maybe the 2010 might keep a bit longer.

Guillaume Halley

“It will be a difficult vintage to communicate” agreed Guillaume Halley, owner and director Château La Dauphine, in Fronsac, adding “the main problem of 2010 is 2009” out of which long shadow the vintage must prove itself. But Halley said “it is a great vintage with everything in it: tannin, alcohol, acidity and freshness.

And as to pricing, we’re now soon to find out.  Halley said “the global economy is better than one year ago, and China is still dynamic.”  

Read here (soon) for more information about how these châteaux have been working to improve quality for the longer term in their affordable estates.

Tasting notes, London, March 2011

Château de la Dauphine 2010, Fronsac,
90% merlot, 10% cabernet franc
Dark and brambly nose. Succculent fruit of juicy intensity. Balanced now with plenty of promise.

Château de la Dauphine 2009, Fronsac, ~£16
80% merlot, 20% cabernet franc
Dark, bitter chocolate nose, firmly crunchy fruit with upright tannins of fine grain, more muscle here, bit more structure and notes of fresh red meat. Youthful and muscley, in classic medium bodied weight, suggesting it will settle in nicely.   

Château de la Dauphine 2008, Fronsac, ~£14
90% merlot, 10% cabernet franc
Blackberries and plums on the nose, soft and gentle. Sweet dark cherry attack, very smooth texture, youthful and fine grained. Supple and nicely balanced, with rich and intense sweet dark fruits. Good.

Château la Pointe 2010, Pomerol
85% merlot, 15% cabernet franc
Bramble and balsamic oak. Rich, sweet core, lush and fresh, mouthfilling, dark chocolate. Intense dark cherry, black currant, blueberry flavours and long. Vg

Château la Pointe 2009, Pomerol, ~ £30
85% merlot, 15% cabernet franc
Smoke, aromatic tar, rich sweet dark berried fruit attack and core. Tannins already integrating smoothly and in supporting fashion, giving lush, seductive texture. Enveloping dark fruits with layering hints of fresh biltong. Complex and with sophistication. Vg.

Château la Pointe 2008, Pomerol, ~£25
85% merlot, 15% cabernet franc
Hint of smoke and tar, bramble and undergrowth. Supple and nearly full bodied. Young and chewy, plenty of ripe tannin, dark chocolate and liquorice notes. Nicely balanced. Big back palate and long.

Château Marquis de Terme 2010, 4ème grand cru classé, Margaux
60% cabernet sauvignon, 35% merlot, 5% petit verdot
Deep colour, not too aromatic on this day. Palate attack is rich and dense with dark-berried fruits of the forest. Lush and sweet fruit. Plentiful supple supporting tannins. Delicious and enchanting, with medium weight, already showing harmony amidst the early balance.

Château Marquis de Terme 2009, 4ème grand cru classé, Margaux, ~£30
60% cabernet sauvignon, 34% merlot, 6% petit verdot
Bramble crumble nose, tarry and youthfully chewy fine-grained tannin, medium weight and fresh, linear palate, long in the mouth, and sweet-cored red berry fruits with fresh frame. Lifted and good.

Château Marquis de Terme 2008, 4ème grand cru classé, Margaux, ~£25
65% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot, 10% petit verdot
Roasted cherries on the nose. Palate medium weighted, with chalky dry tannins, typical for more cabernet sauvignon. Lifted blackcurrant mid palate with fefreshing tannins that are youthful and sandy-grained. Ripe fresh/crunchy fruit and lifted aromatics in the core.  Refreshing and good.

Margaux
Château D’Arsac
Château Deyrem Valentin             
Château Grand Tayac                    
Château Haut Breton Larigaudiere
Château La Galiane
Château La Tour De Bessan         
Château La Tour De Mons            
Château Le Coteau
Château Mongravey                        
Château Paveil De Luze
Château Pontac Lynch
Château Pontet Chappaz
Château Tayac                                    

Saint-Julien
Château du Glana
Château Lalande

Pauillac
Château Fonbadet                            
Château Haut-Bages Monpelou
Château La Fleur Peyrabon          
Château Plantey
Château Tour Sieujean

Saint-Estèphe
Château Beau Site
Château Bel Air                                
Château Clauzet                               
Château Coutelin Merville
Château De Côme                            
Château Domeyne
Château La Commanderie
Château La Haye                             
Château Ladouys                             
Château Laffitte Carcasset            
Château L’Argilus du Roi             
Château Le Boscq                             
Château Le Crock                             
Château Lilian Ladouys                
Château Petit Bocq                           
Château Picard                                   
Château Plantier Rose                      
Château Segur de Cabanac          
Château Serilhan                             
Château Tour de Pez                      
Château Tour des Termes             
Château Tour Saint-Fort

New logo, on every bottle from the 2009 vintage onwards

The term cru bourgeois has undergone a lot of change in the last few years after the debacle, in 2003, of re-creating this historic group of growers into an official classification.  It is now an annual award of vintage quality based on a blind tasting in the months before bottling. Thus the 2008 vintage is the first to be announced, under this new system, in 2010.

In 1932, the term was first coined for a group of 444 châteaux in the Médoc. At the time it was not made into an official classification.  An attempt was made to change this in 2003, when, after a selection and tasting process, the French government ratified the first official classification of 247 châteaux, out of a total of 490 châteaux that had applied for the designation. 

However a number of châteaux took legal proceedings against the classification, arguing it had not been carried out fairly, and the classification was annulled in 2007.  Outgoing president of the Alliance des Cru Bourgeois du Médoc, Thierry Gardinier, owner of Château Phélan Ségur said “it was a tough time.  But we decided to rebuild something [to keep] the international name of cru bourgeois, but we couldn’t use the base of the old system. We needed to do something coming from the wines, not the estates.”

In the subsequent three years, work has been going on to create this entirely new system that preserves the heritage and positive image of cru bourgeois wines, and leaves behind the disarray.  Gardinier said “the classification is not based on property or terroir. It is based on wine. Wine which is tasted each year. It is not the château which is recognised, but it is the wine which is recognised as being able to be cru bourgeois.”

This is an important departure for Bordeaux – that the wine, and not the property achieves cru bourgeois.  And so, it is an annual award which must be applied for each year.  Any château in the eight Médoc communes of Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac-Médoc, Moulis en Médoc Margaux, Saint Julien, Pauillac and Saint Estèphe may apply.

The whole process is overseen by the independent compliance and certification laboratory Bureau Véritas.  Of the 290 Châteaux that applied for cru bourgeois for their grand vin – it cannot be cuvée – from the 2008 vintage, all were visited and assessed by Bureau Véritas according to the requirements for production facilities and traceability laid down by the Alliance.  Passing this assessment makes a Château eligible to apply for cru bourgeois. Properties will be re-checked by Bureau Véritas at least every five years. Any new châteaux applying for the 2009 vintage that have not already been checked by Bureau Véritas will need to have their eligibility confirmed by the laboratory.

Wines are submitted for blind tasting by panels of professionals, and who have no direct family connection to the châteaux. No château owners are allowed to be part of the panels. The tasting panels are also verified by Bureau Véritas.

Each year a minimum benchmark of quality will be set for that vintage, using an average of ten representative wines, and which is representative of the vintage, and which takes account of vintage variation.  

A number of tastings for cru bourgeois status are held between February and July, so, Gardinier said “if you are not accepted first time, you can adapt your blend and present it to the next tasting. But the wine passed has to [match] the volume put on the market.”  He added “the system is controlled by Bureau Véritas. We [the Alliance] keep a second sample. And we can purchase the wine one, two, three years later” so anyone trying to cheat the system is likely to be found out.  Bottling must be declared, so the Alliance can take a sample for analysis.

Frédéric de Luze

Gardinier has passed on the baton of presidency to Frédéric de Luze, owner of Château Paveil de Luze in Margaux.  After 15 years as part of the cru bourgeois association Gardinier said “I’ve been president for six years. My first mandate was in 2004, when there was a [political] storm in the Médoc, we had hard time.  Phélan Ségur was a cru bourgeois exceptionelle because of the 2003 classification, but our property had not used cru bourgeois on the label.  In 2007, the classification was cancelled, and I knew to rebuild cru bourgeois we needed no hierarchy.” Gardinier was asked to stay on, and was re-elected as president, just one month after the collapse of the previous classification. He said “I decided not to leave then, I had to finish the job [of rebuilding cru bourgeois].”  And, he said, having now withdrawn Phélan Ségur from the cru bourgeois system, “I cannot be part of an association in which my Château is not part.”

Phélan Ségur is not the only ‘big name’ missing from the roll call of cru bourgeois. The new president, de Luze, said “most of the missing names are waiting to see what happens with 2008.”

And, with retail prices in France for cru bourgeois wines varying from €7 to €25+, de Luze hinted of a possibility of a hierarchy returning in the future, saying “it’s too early to develop. We have to take our time so people get used to it.  After that it might happen that we organise a new classification in the selection. But for consumers, today if they can identify cru bourgeois as a reference it will be the first thing” they achieve positively. The Alliance must also get consumers ready to look out for the new list every year.

The full list will be published here.

The list of cru bourgeois for the 2009 vintage will be announced in September 2011.

 
166 crus bourgeois 2008 were also classified in 2003
119 crus bourgeois 2008 were part of the original 1932 list
 96 crus bourgeois 2008 were both part of the 1932 list and the 2003 classification

Source:  Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc

 
Fifth growth Château Lynch-Bages (or ‘Lunch Bags’ to some of its irreverent anglophone friends) is one of the most celebrated châteaux in Bordeaux. Despite its ‘lowly’ classification, it is known as one of the ‘super-seconds’ – châteaux that regularly and consistently outperform their ranking in the 1855 classification.  

Lynch Bages

This is in large part due to the long dedication of the Cazes family. It was Jean-Michel Cazes’ grandfather, Jean-Charles Cazes, who bought Lynch-Bages in 1939, after he’d already been running the estate for six years.

Jean-Michel joined the business in the early 1970s, and immediately set about restructuring the vineyards and winery over the next decade, setting the scene for the rise of the château. Another new phase of stewardship is evolving as Jean-Michel’s son, also Jean-Charles, took over the management of the château at the end of 2006.

Château Lynch-Bages and Pauillac

Lynch-Bages is located just outside the tiny hamlet of Bages, south of Pauillac town itself. It got its name back in 1749, when Thomas Lynch, descendant of an Irish émigré married the daughter of the owner of the then Domaine de Bages. One of his sons gave the name to the family’s Bordeaux branded wine, Michel Lynch, which is a one-million-bottle brand.

The property remained under Lynch family ownership until 1824. After a couple of changes of ownership, it came to the Cazes family.  

The commune of Pauillac is a mother-lode of top terroir in the Médoc. Seventy percent of the appellation vineyards are classed growth, and include three of the five first growths (Lafite, Latour, Mouton-Rothschild). 

The vineyards are made up of two low-lying plateaus of gravel beds which are deeper and higher than any others in the Médoc. They reach a grand 30m above sea level.

With 90 hectares, Lynch-Bages is one of the largest of the classed growth châteaux. In true left bank style, the vineyards are dominated by cabernet sauvignon plantings, 73%, with 15% merlot, 10% cabernet franc and 2% of petit verdot, a very late-ripening variety which is gaining more popularity on the left bank.  As a little bit of seasoning in the blend it adds concentration of colour, piquancy and dense, black-fruited spice, bramble and blueberry. 

Not that the wine itself mirrors the vineyard plantings.  Each year, Daniel Lhose, the technical director, and his team, make a bench blending to determine which plots of land and which grape variety proportions will best express the vintage potential of that year.  

Sylvie Cazes

Lynch-Bages is one of those wines that is a quintessential example of both Bordeaux and Pauillac. The archetype is power with elegance and a rich core of blackcurrant, showing fineness and finesse. Tannins are firm, liquid concentrated and sweet, with pencil shavings, perfume and polish.

The other stalwart of the Cazes family is Sylvie Régimbeau-Cazes, sister of Jean-Michel, who directs the global marketing and communications for the family properties. She said: “terroir is really important, and what proprietors make of their terroir. What is most important for us is to give the best care to such a great vineyard that was given to us – the care of the vines, tight pruning, the selection are all important to us to enhance the quality of the grape.” The aim, she added is “well structured wines with great fruit, elegance, elegant tannins and the best balance.”

The second wine

Not to be confused with the 1855 ‘second growth’ ranking, classed growths usually make what is called a ‘second wine’, in effect a baby brother of the ‘grand vin’, the latter which is the wine of the Château label.

Lynch Bages Echo

Very often the second wine can be an affordable introduction to the ‘house style’ of the grand vin.  Château Haut-Bages Averous was bought by the Cazes family in 1973 and became the name of their second wine up to the 2007 vintage, generally using fruit from young vines – those from 3 to 12 years old.

Sylvie said: “the proportions vary each year, it’s usually about one-third second wine, two-thirds grand vin.” And it is likely to have slightly higher proportions of merlot and cabernet franc than the grand vin.

From the 2008 vintage, Château Haut-Bages Averous changed its name to Echo de Lynch-Bages, creating an emotive as well as visual link to the grand vin.

Gastronomy

The family’s move into gastronomy, Sylvie said “was a deliberate strategy. There was no good table in the area, so we decided to do our own.”   In 1985 Pauillac Château Cordeillan-Bages was added to the portfolio. The 18^th century monastery was renovated and is a Relais & Châteaux hotel with a two-Michelin star restaurant under chef Thierry Marx. There is also two hectares of vineyard, made into wine under the château name.

The family’s historic Le Chapon Fin restaurant in the centre of Bordeaux was added in 2001.  

The hamlet of Bages

One of Jean-Michel’s latest achievements before he retired at the end of 2006 was to restore the hamlet of Bages, where he grew up. There’s a bakery, named after his and Sylvie’s grandmother, Au Baba d’Andréa, a relaxed family-style café and bistro – Café Lavinal – and the Bages Bazaar, which sells wines as well as wine and dining paraphernalia.

Venturing further afield

Jean Charles Cazes

From its stronghold in Bordeaux, the Cazes family have expanded to the Rhône Valley and the Languedoc. Sylvie said: “In the French estates we wanted to find estates with good and great potential, which could be some of the leaders of their appellations. We’ve achieved this with Ostal and Sénéchaux.”

It’s at these properties that Sylvie says Jean-Charles is focusing his early attention. “Jean-Charles is working a lot at L’Ostal and Sénéchaux, to restructure the vineyard, and to reflect on what to do with the wines and how to select them. The last few vintages have been really interesting, with lots of potential, and we’re growing in quality.”

They’ve also been developing joint ventures with experts and friends in other parts of the world, including Australia. Tapanappa is a venture with Brian Croser and the Bollinger Champagne family.  And Xisto (pronounced ‘shis-toe’), after the schist soils of the Douro valley in Portugal, is a collaboration with the renowned Quinta do Crasto.

Tapanappa

This is a family that doesn’t stand still – they’re unlikely to turn down the right opportunity.

Cazes family businesses at a glance – Domaines Jean-Michel Cazes

1. Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac
2. Château Haut-Bages Averous (Lynch-Bages second wine)
3. Blanc de Lynch-Bages. Bordeaux AC. The white wine of Lynch-Bages
4. Château Cordeillan-Bages Pauillac
5. Château Les Ormes de Pez St. Estephe
6. Château Villa Bel-Air Graves
7. Michel Lynch Bordeaux branded wine
8. Le Chapon Fin Restaurant in centre of Bordeaux
9. Domaine des Sénéchaux. Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône Valley
10. L’Ostal Cazes Minervois La Livinière, Southern France
11. Tappanappa (with Brian Croser and Champagne Bollinger, in Australia)
12. Xistu (with Quinta do Crasto, in Portugal)
13. Ecole du Bordeaux.  (not to be confused with the Ecole du Vin, known in English as the Bordeaux Wine School, run by the CIVB)
14. Bordeaux Saveurs.  Wine and leisure tours in Bordeaux, not just to Cazes family properties.

Thereafter, the cru bourgeois status will be awarded on an annual basis, following a blind tasting by industry professionals.

Left bank Bordeaux

The cru bourgeois designation is only open to châteaux in the eight appellations of the left bank north of Bordeaux city: Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Margaux, Pauillac, St. Julien, St. Estèphe, Listrac-Médoc and Moulis-en-Médoc. The properties cover more than 7,000 hectares of vineyards, over 40% of the whole Médoc vineyard.

The cru bourgeois moniker is to become both a classification and a guarantee of a certain quality being achieved each year by producers.  The director of the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc, Frédérique Dutheillet de Lamothe, who’s not a wine producer, said “all the processes are controlled by Bureau Veritas [a third party organisation that independently monitors protocols and procedures] which will validate that each step of the process is objective and impartial. They will control the volume of wine presented to the tasting matches that on the market.  There will be no direct link with producers, and they will monitor the tasting panels.”

In the first instance, she added “Bureau Veritas will visit all the 290 châteaux [who applied with their 2008 vintage wine] when they apply. And 20% of the châteaux will be re-visited each year” to monitor the châteaux according to a checklist drawn up by the Alliance. Which means all châteaux will be re-visited in five years.

Médoc vineyards

Additionally the blind tasting assessments (called the reconnaissance tasting) will not be done by château producers, which had been one of the criticisms in the legal challenge following the 2003 classification. Instead they are being conducted by 25 tasters from Bordeaux, drawn from such wine professions as oenologists, merchants and brokers.  Tastings are held twice a month from February to July.

Given that Bordeaux experiences variation in its vintages, a benchmark quality level will be set each year, one for the regional appellations of Médoc and Haut-Médoc, and one for all the communal appellations.

There are no rules regarding oak ageing, or style of wine, though châteaux cannot bottle their wine until at least 16 months after the harvest, which is not unusual at this level.  Production regulations are still governed by the appellation rules.

Given that the new cru bourgeois is based on a qualitative blind assessment, and that it is completely voluntary, it will be an ‘open house’, so producers can enter their wine one year and not the next, if they choose. For the 2008 vintage, 290 châteaux applied.  For the 2009 vintage this number of applicants could be greater or smaller, though all applicants must be based in the stated appellations.

Whichever châteaux are awarded the cru bourgeois based on the reconnaissance tasting will be entitled to use the cru bourgeois logo for that vintage, for the volume of wine entered into the tasting. (many châteaux produce more than one wine). Each bottle of wine will have a unique traceable number.

It is hoped that this will bring objectivity, consistency and respect into a classification that it is thought has some significant resonance with consumers but that was in danger of being discredited by the various legal proceedings.

What had happened in 2003 was that 500 châteaux applied for a (then) new cru bourgeois classification, and 247 were awarded that status.  Legal challenges were made by some of those not selected, and the long and short of it is that the selection procedure was deemed legally faulty, so the group had to come up with a whole new protocol.  This is it.

For all that, it is a largely unprepossessing landscape made beautiful and dramatic by pristine row upon row of vines, carpeting the grounds of classic and charming châteaux. And it is remarkably recently that this most traditional of wine regions has begun to embrace wine tourists.

The man who measures clouds, by Jan Fabre

La Winery was one such recent, overtly touristic, project made by Philippe Raoux, who also owns nearby Château d’Arsac.  He wanted to bring something of the new world to the region. Certainly the glass and steel greenhouse-style building bears little comparison with those classic châteaux. 

Having opening in 2007, it had already attracted some 50,000 visitors in the following year, with a quarter of them estimated to be from abroad.  But what is it, with its franglais name?  It’s a struggle to classify easily: it’s not a wine château and vineyard with it’s own label. It is a shop with over 1,000 different wines, 40% from Bordeaux, 45% from other parts of France and 15% from other countries. This latter point alone flies in the face of much of vinously parochial France.

It is a restaurant. It is a place, a destination, yet at the beginning of the Médoc, just 25km/half an hour from the city of Bordeaux, where visitors can view modern art, taste wine, hear concerts, learn about wine, and find out their ‘wine sign’. 

Art exhibitions are thrice yearly, and there is an audio guided tour in French and English, for the permanent art installations, which takes about 20 minutes.

But the main attraction, since the beginning, has been the wine sign session, which is great fun and takes about an hour. There are three sittings a day, which can be booked in advance, and in English too, with enough advance warning.  

The wine sign is good fun for people not knowing too much about wine. It tries to identify, in about an hour, what sort of tastes you like, via a blind tasting of six wines.  Depending on how posh the blind wines are, it costs between €16 and €89.

Each person gets a ‘wine sign’ (there are eight categories altogether) and an accompanying booklet explaining your approach to wine.  Your wine ‘logo’, with such evocative names as ‘sensuel’, ‘gourmand’, ‘eternel‘, ‘tendance’ and ‘esthète’, can then be matched to bottles of wine in the store.

At the end of 2009, La Winery was the French national winner of a Great Wine Capitals ‘Best of Wine Tourism’ 2010 award for innovative wine tourism (the global award went to Bodegas Muga in Rioja, Spain).

Armelle Falcy-Cruse of Ch.du Taillan, preparing the blending workshop

A couple of years before La Winery opened, and well into the heartland of the Médoc a group of four women friends, château owners and winemakers got together to do something constructive about sharing their passion for their wines.  

Martine Cazeneuve of Château Paloumey (Haut-Médoc), Armelle Falcy-Cruse of Château du Taillan, (Haut-Médoc), Marie-Laure Lurton of Château La Tour de Bessan (Margaux) and Florence Lafragette of Château Loudenne (Médoc) formed Les Médocaines at a benign moment in history. They invited tourists into their work during the stunning 2005 harvest, receiving one bus a week.  Falcy-Cruse said “In 2005, this was unusual – women demystifying wine, and introducing wine in a fun way.” The novelty value soon worked into a firm fixture. 

Falcy-Cruse explained: “our philosophy is for people to have fun. We are all general managers of our wineries, each with our own story.  But our target is wine and tourism, it is not for specialists of wine. [Our visitors] want to know about wine, but not to be at school, so we do this in a fun way.  It goes against the image of Bordeaux, which is to wear a tie and suit when you come into the chateaux, with lots of protocol.”

Part of their proposition is for tourists to meet with at least two of the owners, along with a visit to two of the four châteaux, which they mix traditional (18^th century Taillan and 19^th century Loudenne) and modern (the new cellar at Paloumey and the ‘bunker’ of Bessan).

The organised visits have to be booked through the tourism office. Though visitors wanting the traditional visit and tasting can turn up during the week, as usual.    

A day’s visit in late Sept/early Oct 2010 will cost €80 all in, including transport from Bordeaux city. Falcy-Cruse said: “we pick grapes for an hour, work at the sorting table, have lunch with real pickers, taste four Médocaines wines.  After lunch, we see the vinification, and taste from vat, or taste the grapes or must (juice) from the day.  We show our job from the inside, it’s not like a theatre.”

Pre-Christmas visitors to the city might like to do a blending workshop on a Monday morning in November or December for €45. Falcy-Cruse said “we explain about the grape varieties, typicity, how we taste – the colour, the nose, how it’s easier to compare two glasses than to have only one.  It’s a very interactive workshop. It’s important for everyone to participate“.

Château Lanessan's stables

For a less active view of the Médoc, horse-drawn carriages in the 264-hectare estate of Château Lanessan are an option. Just 40 hectares are vineyard, and it is the horse-ware that’s the main attraction here. A late 19^th century stables of opulence was installed with running water when most human habitations lacked it. Pyrenean marble troughs and brass fixtures are some indication of the level of luxury afforded to the owner’s prized horses. Ten carriages are kept in working order including a Phaeton from 1884.

Visits are available throughout the year, to explore the horse museum, or to do a winemaking and blending tour, but you must do one of these to get half an hour of the vineyards in a horse-drawn carriage, all for €125 for five people. Bookings are directly with the Château, and can be in English, German or Spanish, with enough advance notice.

Read part one here, and part two here.  

This article was inspired by a visit to the region in May 2009 sponsored by the CIVB.

Present were:

• Jean-Christophe Mau, owner of Château Brown in Pessac-Léognan.
• Bruno Eynard, general manager of third growth Chateau Lagrange in Saint-Julien.
• Eric Perrin, owner of Chateau Carbonnieux in Pessac-Léognan, classified for red and white.
• Francois Despagne, owner of Chateau Grand-Corbin-Despagne in Saint Emilion, promoted to St. Emilion Grand Cru Classé in 2006.

Of these four, Château Brown and Carbonnieux produce white wine.

White wine

The issues for white wine are far more imminent and pressing, than for red wines, for these top Graves producers. Both Mau and Perrin are concerned for their white production in the immediate term with Mau saying “the problem for whites is more important. We want to keep acidity and freshness, and it will be complicated to keep the freshness.”

Jean-Christophe Mau

And as with the reds, 2003 was a watershed, with the issue being more important for sauvignon blanc, whose racy acidity is part of proposition of the blend, to balance the softer maturity of fleshier semillon.

Mau explained their changing behaviour of the sauvignon blanc, saying “2003 was a complex vintage for whites, it was not a classic balance, and we lost some acidity and flavour [though Mau was not the owner in 2003].  In 2009, to avoid having so much maturity, we harvested in early September.”

Perrin may have caught an earlier boat on this one, saying “in 2003 we finished the harvest of whites on 2^nd August. It was never so early.  I have the impression of being in South Africa yet we have white 2003s that are fresh, with fruit.”

At Carbonnieux, Perrin is also fortunate to create his wines from a much larger white vineyard than at Château Brown, saying his large and varied vineyard still offered some good climate buffering capability.  He said of his white “I have a complex problem. My white vineyard is huge, 45 hectares, all on different soils, with sauvignon blanc on gravel, on limetone, on sand, on limestone-clay.  Usually at the end of harvest there are 35 to 40 different styles [lots] of white wine.  All these are very different, and after winter we blend together to make the best wines – we have a very large palette of flavours.” So actually Perrin has less of a problem than for small vineyards on one soil type.  For the moment…

And it is the vineyard that is the last battleground for quality.  Most quality improvements throughout the 1980s and 1990s were in the winery, with improved hygiene and high-tech kit. Perrin, who employs white wine guru Denis Dubourdieu as consultant, said “he first consulted on the winemaking, now most of his work is in the vineyard.” Preservation of terroir character is high up the agenda, so for whites, in the first instance, there are more leaves in the vineyard to protect against sun exposure.  Bringing forward harvest date, especially on the zesty sauvignon blanc is another option, though this means burrowing into August, the sacrosanct holiday month for the French, so there are some deep cultural challenges.

Challenging culture is one thing. It was even mooted, heretically though tongue-in-cheek, to swap sauvignon blanc with chardonnay, which tolerates more warmth than sauvignon blanc.

Present were:

• Jean-Christophe Mau, owner of Château Brown in Pessac-Léognan.
• Bruno Eynard, general manager of third growth Chateau Lagrange in Saint-Julien.
• Eric Perrin, owner of Chateau Carbonnieux in Pessac-Léognan, classified for red and white.
• Francois Despagne, owner of Chateau Grand-Corbin-Despagne in Saint Emilion, promoted to St. Emilion Grand Cru Classé in 2006.

Red wine

(Whites here.) The discussion naturally and immediately gravitated to reds, which account for 90% of Bordeaux production. The ability to grow and create a unique balance is one of claret’s enduring qualities, but how and when will a warming climate begin to degrade that balance?  Eynard said “it’s the balance between alcohol and acidity that’s unique in the world, with 3.2 to 3.4 [g/l total acid expressed as sulphuric; (5 to 5.2 g/l expressed as tartaric)] acid, and rich in tannins. It’s impossible to find this elsewhere in the world.  But I feel this balance is threatened by climate change, and the 2003 vintage is the evidence.”

Château Lagrange

Part of the arguably changing style of Bordeaux red wine seems to conflict with a warming climate, where picking times would generally become earlier in order to retain freshness. In Bordeaux, which is essentially a cooler, marginal climate for the grape varieties grown there, greater knowledge, especially understanding the difference between physiological and phenolic ripeness, which develop along different curves, has lead to later picking. Eynard said “today we pick one week later than before because we’re able to check the ripeness of polyphenols. Twenty years ago, we would have picked the 2009 earlier than we did. And because we wait for a good ripeness of the seed tannins, the alcohol also goes up, but it’s better for the overall balance of the wine.”  

Over on the right bank, the warming climate issues are slightly modified by the soils.  Despagne said “Pomerol and northern St. Emilion have more gravel and sand. Here the harvest is earlier that where the soil is clay-limestone. There are more problems on clay-limestone due to the concentration, with some alcohols reaching 14%, 14.5%, even 15%.”

Vintage 2003 was a seminal moment also for Despagne. He said: there is a problem when physiological and phenolic ripeness do not occur at the same moment.  In 2003 physiological ripeness came, and we waited for phenolic ripeness. Then we got the concentration, with small berries and lower acidity.”

In the great 2005, as well as 2009, predicted for greatness, Despagne said these different aspects of ripeness proceeded at a similar pace, resulting in high concentration, yet with a good level of acidity. Synchronised ripening of sugars and phenols is the ideal scenario.

Vintage 2003 was more of a new world vintage, and, said Despagne, “it was a good vintage to change.”  It’s surprising to imagine the Bordelais as inexperienced, but, said Eynard “hot vintages are the most difficult to manage. We don’t know them very well. No-one find the right dates for picking, one neighbour picks two weeks ahead of the other neighbour. It’s the same for vinification: we are less experienced.”

This was the vintage that stopped these guys dealing systematically with their vineyard management.  Where once they would have routinely de-leafed in June and July, Despagne de-leafed just one side in 2003, and only once, and “in 2005, with the water stress of that year, we limited de-leafing” leaving more bunches in the lower evapo-transpiration zone of shade. “Now” he said “we don’t work systematically. We adapt our canopy management according to the weather.”

Part of Despagne’s adaptation is to increase his cabernet franc plantings. He said “I am increasing cabernet franc because of the balance [in the wine].  It has tannins and acidity and doesn’t have big alcohol. Cabernet franc to help deal with climate change is very interesting.”

Data on average alcohol levels from the CIVB show remarkably little increase in figures. In the 17 years from 1990 to 2007, St Estephe has moved from an average 12.9% to 12.6%, peaking at 13.2% in 2002. Pomerol has moved from 12.8% to 13.1% in the same period. St. Emilion is 13.1% in both 1990 and 2007, though got up to 14% for the 2005 vintage.  However this is all rather spurious as it is muddied by the chaptalisation waters.

Jean-Christophe Mau, of Ch. Brown

At the four Châteaux, between these dates, yields have not fluctuated markedly, nor have total acidity figures, or pH, which runs between 3.6 and 3.8.  Alcohol extremes are 12.5% (Château Brown, 2000) and 13.9%, also Château Brown, 2009).

Despagne reverted to the balance of Bordeaux wines, saying “we must understand what happens, and do what is necessary.  In 2005, and 2009, the alcohol is important [high], and the tannins are rich, with balance.  Also the pH is more interesting, 3.6, 3.7” which keeps that fresh balance alongside the richness and concentration.  Mau added: “in 2005 the sugar level of cabernet sauvignon at Château Brown was 12.5%.  In 2009, it was 14%, but my acidity is good” reflecting the more synchronised ripening of sugar and phenols in that vintage.

The longer cycle

Looking beyond the last 20 years, a short series of hotter or colder years can be identified in most decades: the 1940s, the 2000s on the hotter side; the 1960s, the 1990s on the cooler side.  The vintage of easy choice to pluck out of the pantheon on such occasions is the remarkable 1947 vintage, with Cheval Blanc being cited with alcohol of 14.4%.

But Eynard has noted a changing theme to the decade rule of thumb.  He said: “in a decade we used to get one exceptional, three good, three medium and three modest [for which read not great]. Now we get 3 exceptional, six very good and one medium.” Despagne emphasised the point “we have no more bad vintages in Bordeaux.” Which for the immediate moment, is enviable.

However, no-one is in any doubt that the climate is warming.  For the moment, the Bordelais have some time to adapt each year.  Being originally ‘cooler climate’, in fact a warming climate in the short term enable grapes to ripen more regularly and consistently, as Eynard noted, saying “it’s not too late for us. The new weather is still comfortable for us. We have enough technical capabilities to manage the vineyard, for example de-leafing, the date of the harvest, even a higher crop could be possible.” But he warned, “the most difficult choices are for the next 20, 30, 40 years. For example, when we plant, should we drain, because in 20 years we will need the water.”

Whether the choice of grape varieties planted might change is also an issue to address now. Despagne is already planting more cabernet franc.  

Anecdotal tasting

We tasted 2007s, 2003s and 1989s from the châteaux, being one cool and two hot vintages. Whilst trying to eliminate the variation of age … and hopefully not pre-empting what one might be expecting to taste … the 2007s were unexpectedly fine and approachable, obviously youthful with tight, sweet fruit in the ‘cooler’ blackcurrant spectrum.   

On the 2003s, by comparison, I felt the tannins, rather than alcohol gave away the heat of the 2003 vintage.  Indeed the alcohol was supremely well integrated across the board: ‘warmth of alcohol’ didn’t feature in any of my notes.  The 2003 tannins though, relatively, I felt to be a little coarser, a little chunkier, a little grittier, a little more granular, and hessian-textured, with a little more friction in the mouth, by comparison to the smooth, almost slippery and fine-grained tannins in 2007.  I supposed the heat of 2003 was challenging for the phenolic development.  

On this purely anecdotal tasting, bottle evolution may also become an issue in a warming climate. I felt the 1989s to be approaching full maturity, indeed one of wines I felt to be drying out just a little. Perhaps the – relatively speaking – coarser-textured tannins of the 2003 are also more evolved than in a cooler vintage and may be less able to provide traditional levels of bottle ageing capacity.

All were still medium-bodied, so classically Bordeaux, with no overtly noticeable alcoholic perception, so no risk yet of Bordeaux becoming a chunky, clunky, full-bodied, alcoholic, spicy and jammy wine, which one might be forgiven for associating Bordeaux grape varieties in a hot climate.

Cabernet sauvignon is the most renowned grape variety in the world, the veritable king of grapes. It’s homeland and the apogee of its expression, invariably blended with a little merlot, has always, undeniably, indisputably been held to be on the left bank of the Bordeaux region, in France. Bordeaux’s right bank, in the notable appellations of Saint Emilion and Saint Emilion Grand Cru, focuses more on a blend of merlot and cabernet franc.

It was in 1855, when left bank châteaux were classified as part of the Paris Exposition of the same year.  Merchants took as their framework the price lists for the previous years and drew up a list of some 60-plus châteaux which were consistently getting the highest prices on the Bordeaux Place, the trading hub for Bordeaux wines.  Bordeaux has never looked back.

Château Margaux

At least, Bordeaux’s upper echelons.  Looking at the trading prices for the 2005s (in 2008) – Château Lafite-Rothschild was £9,200 a case (AUD$19,080).

But Bordeaux is not a singular place, and when a Bordeaux château-owner tells you Bordeaux is like a whole country, it pricks up your attention to reality check the statement.  With 123,000 hectares of vineyard in the Bordeaux appellation, that’s more than Chile, it’s more than South Africa, it’s more than Germany. Up until a few years ago, it was more than Australia. And this also reveals the fundamental dichotomy that is Bordeaux. The top end is aspirational and sublime.  The bottom end often struggles to be sold.

One of cabernet sauvignon’s assets is that it maintains good varietal definition and flavour under reasonably different production and climatic regimes. It’s a vigorous vine, it grows easily in a variety of different soils. Though ‘hot’ climate cabernet sauvignon does become distinctly different, taking on baked, jammy, hot attributes which overwhelm the normal varietal character, such as cassis, blackcurrant, cedar notes with French oak. 

cabernet sauvignon is now planted the world over

Because of its adaptability, and because any and all wine-producing regions have wanted to emulate the top, top wine producing region in the world, cabernet sauvignon is now planted the world over.  France has 59,000 ha, half of which is in Bordeaux; Australia has as much cabernet sauvignon as Bordeaux; California has 30,000 ha, Chile has 40,000ha.

In the face of all this ‘extra’ cabernet sauvignon out there, is the bottom end suffering from new world competition? If top end Bordeaux is about 3% of Bordeaux’s production, the bottom end is about 50% of the region’s production – about 3 million hectolitres, or one-quarter the total production of Australia.

Michael Cox, the UK director of Wines of Chile, the promotional agency for Chilean wines, said “cabernet sauvignon was taken to Chile in the 1850s and has thrived. One of reasons for Chile’s success in the 80s and 90s was because the style of cabernet sauvignon was a pure expression of ripe, vibrant fruit and soft tannins.”  It’s a rare (increasingly less so), warm vintage in Bordeaux that the fruit can make that particular claim. He added “the difference between top, top quality Chilean cabernet sauvignon and average quality Chilean cabernet sauvignon is relatively narrow. But in Bordeaux the difference is huge.”  The difference in Bordeaux is split by a chasm.

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

A general measure of ‘success’ for everyday Bordeaux is the price of a tonneau.  This is the traditional measurement of 900 litres (or 4 barriques of 225 litres each) by which quotidian wine is traded. When the price is up around the €1,000 mark (AUD$1,638), as it was in 2008, Bordeaux tends to be reasonably happy.  Back at the end of 2005, the tonneau price was about €750 (AUD1.36/litre), barely enough to live on. As a comparison, Australia’s 2008 statistics showed the average export value is AUD$3.85/litre. 2005 marked a low point for everyday Bordeaux wines, the stunning quality of the vintage notwithstanding. 

But Bordeaux’s, as France’s, main historic problem is a dramatically declining domestic consumption, which has halved over the course of a generation.  This, plus of course, declining exports in the face of new world competition and a consumer preference for ripe, soft-fruited, soft-tannin wines. 

One small trend that reflects this is a snail-like increase in plantings of merlot, by two percentage points over the last half a dozen or so years, at the expense of both cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. This is likely to be because merlot is (a) slightly earlier ripening than cabernet sauvignon, therefore ‘easier’ to grow in a cool, maritime climate and (b) reflecting the trend to ‘easier’ wines – merlot has lighter tannins, sweet alcoholic fruit, and the resulting wine needs less time in bottle. But the degree of change in plantings is so slight as to have no real discernible influence on the final wine style.

The latest figures from Bordeaux showed it was in recovery in 2008, before the recession really set in. Exports were starting to grow again. They were up 7% volume and 9% value to €1.38 bn (AUD2.27bn).  Just as Australia looks to China, Russia and other Asian markets for more export success, so does Bordeaux.  Exports to China were up 158% in 2007.

Château Mouton Rothschild

Top end Bordeaux is largely immune to the competitive market. It’s traded as a commodity these days; it might as well be lead, or copper, or concrete (or gold). If posh UK wine merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd can sell £60 million of the 2005 vintage, things are not too bad for top Bordeaux.

Changes are afoot though, in both the lower and middle sectors of the market.  Mark Walford, of Bordeaux negociant Richards Walford, said: “There was a period in Bordeaux’s history, when people were making wine to please Mr. [Robert] Parker. They are finding their vineyards are more suited to an accent on finesse than attack. There are many young châteaux owners making wine in this style rather than the Californian style.”

And at the bottom, Walford continued, appellations such as “Bordeaux Supérieur are having to stand on their own feet. They need to pick grapes properly ripe, not overproduce, and raise the wine with care. I think they’re still Bordeaux in style. They don’t get the sugar levels [of the new world] especially with cabernet sauvignon.  Certainly, wines have to be made better to appeal to the market” suggesting in part Australians, and other new world producers, may have passed technical lessons to Europe in how to make wine.  Walford cited Domaine de Chevalier, in the Graves, where the style of winemaking is getting finer, more refined and stylish as the team there gets into their stride, implying that this is the opposite of a new world style.

If new world competitivity has done anything, it’s make Bordeaux (and arguably the rest of the old world) realise that however typical wines are of their region, they must still appeal to consumers.

St. Emilion

A settlement was founded here by an 8th century monk, called Emilion, on the highest point of the limestone ridge, at around 100m above sea level. It’s a short, but gymnastically steep distance from the top at the Place du Clocher where the 15th century bell tower was built over the monolithic church, and the Place du Marché at the bottom of the slope.

Indeed the middle ages were the town’s heyday, after the golden age of pilgrimages in Europe had made the town a stopping place on the route to Santiago de Compostela, in the north western tip of Spain.

A long religious and political history surrounds the town and the vineyard culture, and a guided tour organised from the tourist office will furnish you with so much more than interesting stories of monks and nuns, the English rule during the 12^th century when responsibility for the quality of the wine was given to twelve men, who also had jurisdiction over the town and it environs.

An hour and a half’s guided tour, available from the tourist office, will take in the hermit’s cave, the catacombs, Trinity chapel and the monolithic church. This latter is carved out of the limestone escarpment, with perfect proportions as though it had been constructed rather than excavated. It was once lavishly decorated and embellished, but time and dampness have taken their toll.  Nonetheless two masses are held inside each year.

For anyone with a vinous bent, but not having made private appointments to visit wine properties, the tourist office also offers various wine tasting, visit and tour options.

If you want to stay in the vineyards rather than the town, Château Franc Mayne has nine rooms at its adjacent Le Relais de Franc Mayne. Each of the rooms is individually and uniquely designed: a blood-red and black Asian-theme; the muted browns and tans of the French country theme. I stayed in the richly decorated ‘British landscape’ room and felt like a welcome intruder into a plush country pile. The room looked out onto what they call a ‘natural swimming pool’ which the fluff said is ‘biologically purified using plants and micro-organisms”, with a regeneration zone and a filtration zone.  It looked pretty, and relaxing, with vineyard views.  

Franc Mayne limestone quarry

The Château has its own quarries on the property, dating from the 12^th and 13^th centuries, as do most of the quarries around St. Emilion, where barrels of the estate wine mature for 12 months. With a pretty constant 13°C and 80% relative humidity, these are decent natural conditions for wine maturation. And much like the monolithic church it looks as though the quarry walls have been constructed, with neat block lines, rather than deconstructed.

There’s an old post house (for the post/mail) on the Franc Mayne property which has just been renovated to become a new, dedicated tasting room, so the tour now takes you all the way through their quarry, emerging at the post house, ready to taste.

After which, a delightful 20 minute walk/30 minute stroll through the vineyards, coming out at the back of Beauséjour-Bécot, will take you the 1 kilometre into St. Emilion town, where the restaurant L’Envers du Décors is undoubtedly one of the best-known, and characterful watering holes, where the tables are topped with the branded ends of wines’ wooden boxes. Food was tasty, too.

A bit further out of St. Emilion, across the Dordogne and into the Entre-Deux-Mers, is one of the most family-friendly winery properties in Bordeaux.  Château Cablanc lies in a protected nature reserve in the valley of the river Gamage, a tributary of the Dordogne. The reserve offers protection for such rare species as the European mink and four species of orchid. But dogs are still allowed, though not in the cellar.

Jean-Daniel Debart is the third generation to run the property. Since his grandfather bought the property 50 years ago, the vineyard has expanded to 60 ha, and the whole estate covers almost 120 ha of secluded farm and woodland. 

Cablanc activity trail

This surrounding restive woodland provides the terrain for Debart’s ‘secrets of the valley’ nature trail.  It is a fun discovery trail for children and the child in all of us. Kids are given quiz and activity sheets appropriate to their age, and the family can spend a couple of hours on the trail, learning about woodland, the vineyard and wine. There are a series of shuttered boxes on the trail as part of the activities.  At the top of the hill is a play and picnic area, and if you’ve forgotten to bring your own, picnics can be bought at the château.

Jean-Daniel, with three young boys of his own, has even managed to make the winery and cellar tour child-friendly and educational for all.  It includes the use of toy machines to explain harvest, and listening to a recording of fermenting wine as a red strobe light flickers inside an empty vat. Adults get to taste the finished product in a tasting room that includes a table and chairs with colouring equipment and word games for younger ones.

For all of this, Château Cablanc has won the Great Wine Capitals of the world ‘Best of’ award for Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices.

Heading back across the river Dordogne, into the right bank, and 45 km north of Bordeaux city, is Blaye, where the citadel just last year (2008) became another in the clutch of Unesco world heritage sites for the Bordeaux region. 

Blaye citadel fortifications

Blaye is not really a promontory, but more of a slight and strategic bulge into the Gironde estuary, and giving good enough reconnaissance for the Romans to have established a military base on the rocky protuberance.

The bulge narrows the estuary sufficiently for a more recent ferry service to be sited there, going to Lamarque (between Margaux and St. Julien communes), which avoids the long schlep into, through, and out again, of Bordeaux city to access the left bank.

The Roman base was replaced by a medieval fortress, and it was Vauban (Sébastien le Prestre, field marshall Vauban, b. 1633, d. 1707) who was the architect of the current imposing fortifications, one of 33 fortresses he created.

Blaye had evidently long been a key strategic defensive point for Bordeaux, and Vauban endeavoured to seal off the entire Gironde from marauding ships, by also constructing a fortress on the left bank – Fort Médoc – and on an island in between – Fort Paté.  The Blaye citadel alone covers 33 hectares, or ¾ of a kilometre at its longest and nearly ½ kilometre at its widest.

The citadel is free to enter, there’s even a campsite at its heart, but it’s well worth booking a guided tour, both for the wealth of information as well as access to otherwise locked labyrinthine underground parts of the citadel. For the knowledge-hungry, the tourist office has a comprehensive document, all in English, detailing the history of Blaye’s citadel and Vauban’s influence.

The Romans didn’t just build a military base, they also brought vines, as to other parts of Bordeaux, and Blaye’s vineyards now extend over some 10,000 hectares.  The region’s wines can be identified on the label by the appellation: Côtes de Bordeaux – Blaye.   

La Rose Bellevue

It is in this appellation that another touristic gem lies, right up in the top corner of the right bank, 20km north of Blaye, before the land heads off into Cognac territory. This is the poetically named Château La Rose Bellevue, where there is a pink and purple theme that’s close to my heart. Even the winery doors and several unused barrels are painted nearly-purple.

Winemaker Jérôme Eymas, fourth generation at the property, has a clutch of high profile work on his CV, including with Pfeiffer in Australia’s Rutherglen and Domaine Michel and Stéphane Ogier in Côte-Rôtie.   

Aside from the refreshing wines, both of which whites – the Cuvee Tradition, and the barrel fermented Prestige – were really rather nice, it is for organising boat trips on the Gironde estuary that this enterprising property has more recently made its name, winning the Great Wine Capitals’ ‘Best of’ award for Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences in 2009.

Jérôme Eymas in the secret garden

Leaving from Blaye port floating dock, the three hour tour includes wine tasting, a seafood lunch of oysters, langoustines, mussels, shrimps etc., and the ebullient Jérôme regaling you with his wines and quirky sense of humour.

If that’s enough to entice an exploration to the property itself, their ‘secret garden’, with a bring-your-own food barbecue, and pétanque, offers a more laid back way to enjoy a visit, and taste the wines.  The ‘secret garden’ is more akin to ‘living alcoves’ of pink roses, evergreen bushes and a cherry tree planted by Jérôme’s grandfather.  And if you’ve arrived sans picnic, you can buy one made up of local produce from the château. The secret garden creates a lovely image, the vineyard is right there, and Jérôme is a full-on friendly cellar guide. 

Having had your fill of winery visits extra cases can be added at Planète Bordeaux.  Or if you don’t have time to spend a luxurious day or two exploring the picturesque, rolling, mixed countryside of the right bank, you can pop the 30 minutes or so out of Bordeaux city and make a selection from the more than 1,000 producers of Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur, that are stocked at this maison du vin. The wines are sold at the same price as at the Châteaux.

In addition to a well stocked cellar Planète Bordeaux offers visitors a listen, read and sniff exploration of wine and winemaking. There are loads of sniff and learn aromas: blackcurrant, oak, citrus, grapefruit, the whole spectrum of flavours in the glass. And there’s a series of educational spaces which take the visitor through grape growing, harvest and winemaking. It needs a bit of updating, but if you’re short of time or an enthusiastic oeno-neophyte, this could be a good starting point to get a feel for the basics.

This article was inspired by a visit to the region in May 2009 sponsored by the CIVB. 

But if you are visiting wine producers, and haven’t booked anything before arriving, the tourism office is your port of call.  From May to October, you can book onto an off-the-rack wine tour, from several choices on both left and right banks. Prices vary from €45 for half a day to €90 for a full day’s trip.  For example, an all-inclusive day in the commune of Margaux promises you’ll learn about the 1855 classification at Château Prieuré-Lichine, the terroir at Rauzan-Gassies, the grape varieties and how to blend them at La Tour de Bessan, and winemaking and the trade at Château Kirwan.

The tourism office is also the point of booking for other visit programmes organised privately by some of the châteaux, such as where a group of four women winemakers of Crus Bourgeois châteaux, monikered Les Médocaines, (more in depth article to be posted soon) offer blending workshops led by one of the owners. The half day session needs to be booked at the tourism office, and transport is included.

The transport thing is a consideration, because the vineyards, both left and right banks, are up to an hour’s drive and more from Bordeaux city.

Trams at the Bourse

If you do have your own transport though, the arrival of the tram in 2003 inside the city has made it more difficult to bring a car into the city centre. But this is becoming a fairly normal feature of urbanism in the 21^st century. For the visitor the benefits outweigh the inconvenience. The inner city has a modest population of about a quarter of a million, which makes walking the ideal form of transport. A day-ticket for the tram is the only accompaniment required.

The tram was contentious when first mooted, and caused massive upheaval, but the ultra-sleek, shiny, slate-grey trams glide effortlessly around the city along three lines. And in the historic centre, the city was the first in Europe to introduce power from a third rail, which has meant there are no overhead wires and pillars to obstruct views of the monumental facades. The tram stops at the main railway, but doesn’t quite reach Merignac airport, 10km from the city, and this is an obvious shortcoming.

While the tram was being built, the city’s facades have been cleaned, giving a spruce appearance to what used to be grimily blackened buildings. The patina of age may be attractive in antique furniture, but on buildings it can have an overbearing, depressing effect on visitors’ and inhabitants’ perceptions.

On the riverfront, the classical 18^th century Place de la Bourse is quite the centre-piece. But the restoration stretches much further – there are now 4.5km of newly-restored riverfront. Along the Quai de Chartrons, the old quarter of wine negociants, the warehouses fronting the old harbour have been removed and a promenade created, with gardens where walkers, bicyclists, skateboarders, roller-bladers all get by together, without a hint of painted lanes on the surface to keep everyone separate.  A few of the old harbour warehouses remain, as a reminder of a previous era in the city’s past, but these have been converted to a skate park, a restaurant, and shops.

Miroir d'eau

A central part of the redevelopment, right in front of the Bourse, is the miroir d’eau, which has become an inspirational, yet deceptively simple focal point.  A large rectangle of very shallow water attracts folk of all ages for a cooling paddle in a couple of centimetres of water.  Small fountains sporadically spurt a fine enveloping mist a metre or so skywards to offer more fun for people to run through. At night the water is calm and unruffled, giving a perfect reflection of the Place de la Bourse buildings, which can be lit up to accentuate the reflective event. The night view can best be seen from the right bank of the river, and the restaurant L’Estaquade, built on stilts out in the river Garonne opposite the Place de la Bourse is the place to watch the sun go down and the lights come up on Bordeaux’s most famous skyline.

Behind the 18^th façade lies the medieval heart of the old city. It is mostly pedestrian-only access, indeed the rue Ste. Catherine is the longest pedestrian street in Europe, with continuous shopping opportunities.

Grosse Cloche

The tourism office runs guided walking tours in English and French of old Bordeaux at 10am almost every day. It’s easy to lose an entire weekend admiring the listed architecture, from the 12^th to 15^th century Grosse Cloche bell tower at the southern end of the ancient city, and the gothic Cailhau gate down towards the Pont de Pierre, to the entire 4.5km of the riverfront centred on the Place de la Bourse. Much of the view of the old town can be taken in from atop the tower adjacent to the Saint Michel Basilica.

For those with a winey bent the Wine and Trade museum (Musée du vin et du Négoce) on the Quai des Chartrons, the historic home of the wine business since the middle ages, shows how the Bordeaux wine trade was conducted from this previously marshy area of river frontage. From April to October, Monday to Sunday, from 10am to 6pm, €7 buys a visit, including a taste of two wines.

Quai des Chartrons

Undoubtedly as a result of much of the renovation and re-vitalisation of the city, Bordeaux became a Unesco World Heritage site in 2007. June of that year saw nearly half the city area of Bordeaux listed, an area encompassing the Port of the Moon – around the Bourse and Quai de Chartrons – so called because of the crescent moon shape formed by the historic part of the left bank as the river makes a hardish-right turn on its way towards the estuary.

Additionally, as part of the city’s changing attitude, ten years ago it also became part of a new tourism group – the Great Wine Capitals of the world, a group of eight ‘wine capitals’ spanning the new and old worlds that, among other things, presents ‘best of wine tourism’ awards for excellence in various touristic categories such as service to customers, innovation and degrees of sustainability.

The other capitals are Bilbao for Rioja, Cape Town, Firenze/Florence, Mainz in the Rheinshessen, Mendoza, Porto and San Francisco for the Napa Valley.

No oenophilic visit to Bordeaux city would be complete without a stint at the Ecole du Vin at the Maison du Vin. The Maison du Vin is bang in the middle of town, opposite the tourism office, and just down from the Grand Theatre. It is also the headquarters of the CIVB, (The Bordeaux Wine Bureau, an organisation of industry members, producers, brokers, negociants.)

There are plenty of courses running at the school.  To dip a toe in the water, €25 buys a two-hour introduction to the Bordeaux region and its wines. And for the serious amateur, €350 gets a two-day course on soil, grapes, classifications, appellations and tasting technique; and €600 buys a three day course on the grands crus, including visiting classed growth properties, left bank and right bank.

To relax after the day’s study, or if the classroom and fieldwork is too much, the Maison du Vin has a modern wine bar, open from 11am to 10pm on Monday to Saturday, where a rotating selection of Bordeaux wines can be tasted, many for €3 to €4 for a 15cl glass, with various plates of cheese and charcuterie also on offer.

This article was inspired by a visit to the region in May 2009 sponsored by the CIVB.

Bordeaux wine region

Bordeaux is the most prestigious and the finest wine producing area in the world. The eponymous region in south west France is the home of some of the most sought-after “collectors’ items” in the world, as well much good value everyday wine. It produces 14% of all French wines, 65-70 million cases, which is more than Romania.

HISTORY

The region is one of the oldest wine growing regions, and there is a long trading history with England. A 12^th century royal marriage gave to England much territory in south west France, and favourable trading terms.  

During the 17^th and 18^th centuries, long after the land reverted to French ownership, entrepreneurs from several countries such as Ireland, Britain, the Netherlands and Germany moved to Bordeaux to trade and export wine to their home countries.   

It was the Dutch, with their excellent land-drainage skills who, by draining the marshy land of the Médoc in the mid 17^th century, exposed their beautifully draining gravels, laying the foundation for the modern Bordeaux wine region – the left bank -  and its top quality wines. 

Bordeaux reds are often called claret in the UK as a linguistic artefact of our centuries-long historical trading association. 

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

The Bordeaux region covers over 120,000 hectares (300,000 acres). The climate is similar, but a bit warmer to southern England: temperate, with mild winters, damp springs and rainy autumns.    

The region is sliced into three big chunks by the Gironde estuary, which is fed by the rivers Dordogne and Garonne.  The Entre-deux-mers is akin to the bread-basket of Bordeaux producing much everyday red and white wine.  But it is the left bank of the Médoc that lays claim to the finest red wines of Margaux, St. Estephe, St Julien and Pauillac, and the right bank to the highly-prized reds of Pomerol and St. Emilion. 

The best dry whites come from the Graves, immediately south of the city of Bordeaux, and the most famous sweet whites just south of that, in Sauternes and Barsac.                                            

Bordeaux has a total of 57 appellations — a specific, delimited area of land, the name of which appears on the label.   These appellations generally avoid land that is of too poor quality to grow grapes such as low-lying badly drained land, or soils that are too sandy. 

To qualify for an appellation all the grapes must be grown within the borders of the appellation. So, for a wine labelled ‘Bordeaux Appellation Contrôlée’ the grapes can come from anywhere within the 120,000 hectares.  But there are fewer than 800 ha of vines in Pomerol, which makes average production per grower a tiny 2,500 to 3,000 cases.  As a point of comparison, in the UK, we buy over 2.5 million cases of Aussie wine Jacob’s Creek to drink at home.

Another criterion for appellation is the use of specific grape varieties.  For Bordeaux, all red wines are made from cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc (sometimes with sprinklings of petit verdot and malbec).  All white wines, both sweet and dry, are made from differing proportions of sauvignon blanc and semillon, sometimes with a little muscadelle.  Bordeaux wines cannot be made from any other grape varieties. As a comparison, the appellations of Burgundy must be just pinot noir for reds and chardonnay for whites.

GRAPES AND BLENDS – RED

Pauillac vineyards

It is the red wines of Bordeaux that have claimed their place in wine immortality. They account for the lion’s share of production, about 90%. Over the centuries the Bordelais have found that blending their grape varieties can add additional layers of complexity and palate profile to a wine, with the best aspects of one grape variety complementing the best aspects of another.  For the classic cabernet sauvignon/merlot blend the deeply coloured, tannic and richly blackcurrant-fruited cabernet sauvignon can be softened and rounded a little by the more supple tannins of merlot and its additional flavours added of earth, plum and warm bread.  

Within this classic blend there is a useful distinction to be found between the left bank and right bank.  The Médoc tends to have a higher proportion of cabernet sauvignon in the blend, maybe 60-70%, which lends a stronger, more structured profile, with more tannic grip.  The remainder will be 20-35% merlot, up to 15% cabernet franc, plus a little “seasoning” from those other two grape varieties.

Right bank wines tend to have a higher proportion of merlot (~60%) and cabernet franc (~30%) which offer a softer, rounder, more approachable and supple profile, supported by the strength of about 10% cabernet sauvignon. Right bank wines are often considered an easier introduction to people unfamiliar with the wines of Bordeaux.  And in terms of value, some of the best reds are to be found in the lesser known right bank appellations such as Bourg, Blaye, Fronsac and Côtes de Castillon.

GRAPES AND BLENDS – WHITE

White Bordeaux wines are made from semillon and sauvignon blanc, and the sweet styles may have a little muscadelle also.  For dry whites at the lower end of the market – likely from the Entre-deux-Mers – the best may be varietal sauvignon blanc, unoaked, aiming at primary fruit expression, an aperitif style.  At the top end dry whites are generally blends and are serious, overtly oaked, creamily-textured wines needing appropriate food pairing to show their best colours.  The emphasis for this style is on structure and potential longevity rather than immediate fruity appeal and the price reflects this, often £20 and more. 

The sweet white wines of Sauternes and other appellations such as Barsac, Saint-Croix-du-Mont and Cadillac are made in a very different way.  Some grapes are left on the vine after the ‘dry wine’ harvest.  As autumn approaches and with it the risk of rain, the mornings in places close to the river may be misty which brings a beneficial mould, botrytis. Botrytis wraps itself around each intact berry, drawing water from it, thereby concentrating all the other grape constituents.  So long as the afternoons are dry all is well, but if the autumn is damp and rainy the mould can turn nasty and cause the remaining crop to rot, by splitting the berry skin and exposing the pulp. Semillon has thin skins which are susceptible to this magical, risk-laden botrytis.  Blending with sauvignon blanc, which has naturally high acidity, balances the final wine.

CLASSIFICATION

Almost unique to the wine-producing world, a few Bordeaux properties are classified.  About 200 properties are classified, among the ten thousand growers, and it is these ‘top’ châteaux that provide the global benchmark.

The 1855 Médoc classification is the most widely known (see it here).  It was drawn up for the Universal Exposition in Paris of the same year.  Market prices of the day formed the basis of a list of producers whose wines consistently attained the highest prices.  This group of 60-odd châteaux were ranked into 5 groups – first growth through to fifth growth – what are now known as the ‘classed growths’. 

Other properties, such as those in the Graves, Sauternes and St. Emilion, have also been classified, bringing the total up to 200.

REPUTATION AND QUALITY

At their best and classic expression, the prestigious appellations (containing those classified properties) of St. Estèphe, Pauillac, St. Julien, Margaux, Graves, Pomerol, St. Emilion show subtly different flavour profiles, which reflect the particular site where the grapes have grown.  This is the essence of ‘terroir’ or the ’sense of place’ that good quality wines display.

The vast majority of wine is produced in the less prestigious appellations – the Entre-Deux-Mers and areas lying outside the key names.  Some of these wines are bottled at the property and sold as “petit châteaux” wine under its specific appellation and Château name.  Much is sold in bulk to merchant firms which blend various wines into brands e.g. Mouton Cadet, Numéro 1, Sirius, Calvet Classic, sold under the most generic appellation of Bordeaux Appellation Contrôlée.  The advantage here  is that the merchants are able buy fruit and wine from all the Bordeaux vineyards with the aim of finding the best quality they can to fit into the price of their brands.  This is a vital part of the Bordeaux market, and a way of potentially offering consistent and reliable wine styles for consumers to try the region’s wines.