The Wine Insider: Bordeaux

Each month in The Wine Insider we will highlight one of our destination wine regions and share some interesting tidbits of information about it's wines. Make sure to check out our Tips, Parings and Facts on the right hand side of the page.

Bordeaux

There's no region anywhere in the world that's as much a household name when it comes to wine as Bordeaux, the region in South-West France that was ruled in the 12th Century by Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry II of England.

Straddling the rivers of the Dordogne and the Garonne and their common estuary the Gironde, this is a very large region containing many famous appellations. Margaux, St. Julien, Pauillac and St. Estephe are on the left bank of the Gironde - all part of the Médoc region - along with less famous but very much worth knowing appellations of Moulis and Listrac. This is the home of what's generally known as the "Bordeaux" blend, dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, together with Cab Franc and small quantities of Petit Verdot. These varietals thrive on the gravel soils along the riverside which reflects the sun's warmth and allows Bordeaux's generous rainfall to drain away.

This blending of grapes is one of the main characteristics of French winemaking, where labels traditionally refer to a property or region rather than naming types of grape that are in the bottle. These days we see varietal wines also, as less prestigious regions try to compete in the "New World" style of winemaking, but you'll never see the grape's name listed on the label of a classified wine of Bordeaux.

The Anglo influence (Britain controlled the region for 300 years) still remains, and can be seen in architecture, customs, and names of families, wineries and city streets. Even the alternate name for red Bordeaux, "claret" comes from the British, who didn't like the rough, tannic Bordeaux of the 16th Century. The less extracted, lighter-colored wine favored by the export market was named clairet, meaning "clear" or light. The name evolved into Claret as winemaking techniques changed to allow both color and balance to co-exist in the style of "Grand Cru" that we enjoy nowadays.

Travelling south from the Médoc around the city of Bordeaux we come to the Graves region, which pre-dates the Médoc but is maybe not quite as well known. The same blends of grapes are used for red Graves, and the excellent white Graves (white wine can't be classified officially in the Médoc) are usually Sauvignon Blanc based, with Semillon and sometimes a little Muscadet. The southern end of Graves becomes Barsac and Sauternes, home of the most decadent sweet wines that rely on a fungus and very special weather conditions to create a natural concentration of sugar and exotic aromas that makes them deliciously unique. Heading north over the Garonne river we enter "Entre-deux-Mers" - literally translated as "Between two Seas" which refers to the Garonne and its sister the Dordogne to the north. This region produces about a third of Bordeaux's total volume, and some great values can be found here. Crossing over the Dordogne we arrive at the famous villages of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where clay soils favor Merlot and Cabernet Franc over Sauvignon - again there’s no officially classified white wine here. As famous as any part of Bordeaux, these regions produce superb wines and the World Heritage-listed village of St. Emilion is one of the major tourist attractions of France. There are few large chateaux here, as the vineyards go back much further in history to pre-Roman times, and land is broken up into smaller parcels from the days when it was owned by monks, churches and landed aristocracy with tenant farmers who reclaimed the land after the French revolution.

Even if you don't make it to every part of this lovely region you'll undoubtedly come away with a far better understanding of what goes on in the most famous wine country in the world, which should translate to more pleasure as you enjoy its wines when you get home!

A Tour in Bordeaux

The Region – Bordeaux dates back 1000s of years to when Cro-magnom man began to exhibit the French talent for artistic endeavors with the famous cave writings in Lascauz, Perigord. It is also home to France's oldest trading port where wine exports to the British initially began in the 12th century. And thanks to this, the rest of world has come to know Bordeaux as the world's wine capital. The incredible countryside with some of the world's most famous and best vineyards is accented by historical chateaux and quaint villages and architectural masterpieces. Mix this with its contemporary-art museum, one of the city's truly essential sights and blend with a few days in Paris and you’ve got the recipe for appreciating the essence of the French sophisticated lifestyle and cultural identity.

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Bordeaux Serving Tips

The biggest dilemma for many people when dealing with red Bordeaux is "when should I drink it". The combination of the Bordelais practice of selling en primeur – in futures – and the long-aging style of the classic wines of the region combine to create a good deal of confusion; we're told to buy early, but then to age the wines ourselves. For many people these days this is a problem, both as our habits are to buy "new world" wines that are ready to drink right away, and many of us just don't have room to store a cellar.

That being said, it's worth the effort to create a space and age your Bordeaux. Even though most of the better wines are now approachable very young, it's a shame not to experience Bordeaux (and many other wines) when they reach full maturity. As the tannins soften and the young fruits flavors break down into more complex and refined notes of nuts, confit fruit, mushrooms etc., we find wines that are superbly interesting and complement food in an entirely different way than when they were young.

Knowing just how long to keep a wine is always the issue. Ideally, you'll have room to store a case of each of your favorites so you can sample them at regular intervals and experience them at all stages of their life. For the majority of us however, we have to rely on tasting notes from experts or consumers, which can be found on the web quite easily. This will tell you how a particular wine is likely to be drinking, then you can decide when to open that lone bottle tucked in the cooler, or be inspired to search for an aged wine you don't yet own.

Often we'll find that a wine is still "closed" when we open it (there's a conundrum for you!) - the tannins are still hanging on to the aroma and taste molecules so you can't get at them. Oxygen is your friend here; decanting the bottle for anything up to 24 hours can dramatically help bring out those aromatics and soften hard-edged tannins. If you don't have a decanter a pitcher can work - pour it back into the bottle when you're ready to serve so it doesn't look like "jug" wine! Just opening the bottle early has limited effect, as it's the relation between surface area and volume that makes the difference, and the neck of a bottle is pretty small.

This rule can even apply to white Bordeaux, when we get to the top cuvées. A great white Graves like Domaine de Chevalier or Fieuzal will last decades in the bottle, and when young will improve immensely with a few hours in a decanter! The delicious sweet white wines of Barsac and Sauternes are some of the longest-aging wines in the world, easily lasting 100 years in a great vintage.

There's a saying that although wine is generally drunk too young, it's even more often drunk too soon after opening. Patience and forward planning will reap rewards!

Bordeaux Food Pairing

Red Bordeaux is the classic wine for red meats, and white Bordeaux for shellfish. Having said that, there's a huge range of wines from this region, and an equally diverse range of food pairings to match them to.

Younger red Bordeaux typically works well with grilled meats and pasta with meat sauces for instance. They can also match some roasts, however these may be even more enhanced by a mature wine. Stews can work with old and young Bordeaux also - the more fat in a dish like this, the better it will work with harder tannins in a young wine. Cheese goes with Bordeaux beautifully, and here there are literally hundreds of combinations - young fruity wines tend to work well with younger hard cheeses, whilst the nuts, underwoods and mushroom flavors of older wines compliment more aged cheeses.

The only cheeses to watch out for with red wine are blue-veined; best to leave these to Sauternes (or some full bodied white Graves) which stand up better to the cheese's acid.

White Bordeaux, being predominantly Sauvignon Blanc based, is a natural match for shellfish such as the oysters and crayfish from the Atlantic coast that borders Bordeaux. Whilst most fish dishes go with white wine, you'll often find a fish prepared with a meat sauce served alongside a lighter-styled red Bordeaux, and likewise a good roast chicken with herbs can be really set off by a full-bodied white Graves or a Sauternes/Barsac that's not overly sugary.

Bordeaux, both red and white, are really meant to be food wines; the food helps to bring out the flavors and aromas that are trapped inside these wines which are generally not as "forward" as many modern-styled wines. As this happens you'll find the complexity and charm of Bordeaux as the wine develops its character in the decanter or the glass, and get the full value of your investment!

Bordeaux wine facts

Bordeaux is home to some 7,000 producers and over 12,000 "cuvées" or brands of wine. Of these, only 61 are listed in the famous "1855 Classification" that is still so widely known. This classification, apart from only including the Médoc region and Chateaux Haut-Brion in the Graves, is today seriously flawed as it has not kept pace with any changes in quality or even the actual vineyards owned by the listed chateau. Sauternes and Barsac were also classified in 1855 but this list is much less known, apart from Chateau d'Yquem which was lauded above every other property both red and white. Several of Bordeaux's regions have since classified themselves, most notably St. Emilion (1955 and revised every 10 years) and Graves (1953 and revised in 1959) - and more notably still perhaps, the tiny appellation of Pomerol, home to the renowned Petrus, steadfastly refuses to be classified!

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