Bordeaux Flashcards
What type of climate does Bordeaux have?
Moderate maritime climate
The vineyards are protected from the worst of the atlantic storms by the ______
Lande pine forest - biggest man made forest in the world
What weather hazard is common all year round?
Rinafall
90% ___ varieties.
Red
The Bay of Arachon has __________.
Large sand dunes which helps protect from the atlanic.
What are some weather hazards in Bordeaux?
Rainfall and humidity - Disrupt flowering (needs consistancy which will reduce overall yields), disrupt fruit set, promote milddew and rot (heat, warmth and moisture) and diluation at harvest.
Canopy managment is used to increase sunlight and reduce moisture
Spraying
What are the wines and climate like in Pomerol?
More continetal but still classified as maritime.
Wines from this are hare veyr powerful, full bodied and majority merlot. Heavy extraction is used with ripe fruit to create deep colour, alcohol of around 14-15% with big structure showing spicy, rich and black fruit.
Explain merlot as a grape variety and what is needs.
moderate to hot climate as it needs warmth to ripen.
Early budding and late ripening.
Very vigours vine and oruning is common.
Supple skins and doesnt need as much work as merlot.
60% of black grapes in Bordeaux.
Acid and tannin is both medium to high and displaying red/black fruits.
What are the two styles of merlot
International - grapes on vines for longer so riper with more structure.
Generic - earlier harvest with a little bit of spice, some colour and predominately red fruit.
Explain Cab Franc as a grape variety.
Lives in warm, well drained soil. Limestone and gravel.
Contains less both than Cab Sauv.
More elegant, more fruity and floral.
Common in Loire Valley but not as much in Bordeaux.
Explain region of Medoc.
Most northerly, most affected by the Atlantic, majority clay and limestone. Produces simplier styles of left bank due to lack of gravel.
Explain the Haut-Medoc?
Used to be a swamp land but was drained in the 1600s by the dutch to produce gravel beds. The deepest is in Paulliac and the shallowest is in the Marguax which produce wines with a bit more elegant.
What are the names of the villages from north to south on the right bank?
- Blaye cotes de bordeaux
- Pomerol
- St Emillion
- Frances cotes de bordeaux
- Castillon cotes de bordeaux
What are the villages from north to south on the left bank?
- Medoc
- Saint-Estephe
- Paulliac
- Haut-Medoc
- Margaux
What are the villages left bank after Bordeaux? North to south.
- Pessac Leognan
- Graves
- Barsac
- Sauternes
What white varieties are planted in Bordeaux and what are they used for?
Semillion - thin skin which is ideal for noble rot. Very important varietal for sweet wines in Bordeaux. Blended with Sauvignon Blanc in Pessac-Legnon and Graves to create dry white wines.
Sauvignon Blanc - produces wines with green and citrus aromas. Varietal whites produced.
Muscadelle- pronounced grapey, floral favour and plays role in sweet wines.
What are the premium white wines from Pessac-Leognan like?
Fermented and matured in oak barrells and have a richness and nuttiness over laying the fruit.
Most of the area beweetn the Dordogne and Gargonne is covered in the appellation _______.
Entre-deux-mers.
What is the 1855 classification?
It was created by a group of merchants. 60 chateaus were given the name Cru Classes.
What are the 5th first growth Chateaus in the 1855 classification?
- Lafite-Rothschild
- Mounton-Rothschild
3.Latour - Margaux
- Haut-Brion
Define a clairet?
A style of wine that undergoes a longer maceration than a typical rose and is deeper in colour and fuller in body.
What are the soils like in Medoc?
Predomintely clay with outcrops of gravel. These wines typically have more merlot in the blend than the south. Tend to be done in a more early drinking style.
What are the wines from the haut medoc like?
Majority Cabernet due to the gravel soil. These wines are fullbodied, high acid and high tannin levels (grippy when young). They show case dark fruits (core of blackcurrent) and typically show uses of oak (ceder).
How many differing vineyards are on the St Emillion sites?
Three.
Describe the soil type on the platau of the north and west of the town of St Emillion.
Warm, well drained gravel and limestone soils encourage cab franc as well as cab sauv.
Describe the soil type on the south and east of St Emillion?
Clay limestone.
What kind of wines come out of St Emillion from the two top subregions?
Medium to high tannin, in comparison to left bank they have a soft and rich texture with complex red berry fruit and plum aromas developing tobacco and cedar notes.
What are the vineyards like at the foot of St Emillion?
Sandy soil at the foot of the escarpment. Wienes are typically lighter and less prestigous.
What appellations lie in Cotes de Bordeuax?
Blaye, Cadillac, Castillon and Francs.
What kind of wines come out of the Cotes de Bordeaux region?
Tend to be merlot based and for early drinking.
What is the difference with wines from Pomerol and St Emillion?
Pomerol has a simular status as St Emillion but the wines appear to be richer, spicer with blackberry fruit.
What does the term vins de garage mean?
Right bank appellation showing full bodied ripe wines from small plots of land with no expensive spared.
What kind of wines come out of Entre-Deux-Mers?
Dry white wines - tend to be Sauvignon Blanc in an unoaked style.
Explain why the top sweet wine appellations of Bordeaux are on the banks of the Garonne?
The river creates ideal misty autumn morning conditions for noble rot to develop in full ripened grapes.
The best sweet wines come out of which appellation and village in Bordeaux?
Sauternes and Barsac.
The best sweet wines from Sauternes demonstrate _____.
High alcohol, sweet and balanced due to high acid and display the apricot and citrus peel of noble rot. Along with notes of toast and vanilla from oak fermentation/maturation.
