Bordeaux Flashcards
Where is Bordeaux located?
Bordeaux - primary climate moderators?
- Waterways and Atlantic Ocean
- Gulf Stream current brings warm water up from the Caribbean, keeping weather mild yet humid.
What are the major regions in Bordeaux?
Which rivers divide Bordeaux?
- Gironde
- Dordogne
- Garrone
What characterizes Bordeaux’s historical background and what led to this factor?
Trade in wine among inland areas boomed; England became most important foreign market. In the Mid-1600’s, Dutch merchants looking to expand trade implmented a complex series of channels and drained marshes to make the land more suitable for viticulture.
Bordeaux - red grape varieties?
- Merlot (most widely planted)
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Cabernet Franc
- Petit Verdot (small quantities)
- Malbec (allowed but rarely seen today)
- Carmenere (also allowed bu rarely seen)
Bordeaux - white grape varieties?
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Semillion
- Muscadaelle (small quantities)
Bordeaux - primary vinification considerations?
Blends of two or more grape varieties in the Bordeaux family.
- Examples of typical wine styles and blends from Bordeaux*
- • Red Wines from Médoc communes (left bank)*
- – 70% Cabernet Sauvignon*
- – 30% Merlot*
- • Red Wines from Saint-Émilion and Pomerol (right bank)*
- – 70% Merlot*
- – 30% Cabernet Franc*
- • Dry White Wines mainly from Graves (Pessac-Léognan)*
- – 80% Sauvignon Blanc*
- – 20% Sémillon*
- • Sweet Wines mainly from Sauternes*
- – 80% Sémillon*
- – 20% Sauvignon Blanc*
List the Bordeaux Appellation hierarchy.
- Regional Appellations (Bordeuax AOP)
- Sub-Regional or District Appellations
- Commune Appellations
What defines the regional appellation designation in Bordeaux?
- Bordeaux AOP
- Largest appellation in size and production. Grapes can come from anywhere in the entire region.
- An appellation for red and white wines in both sweet and dry styles
What defines the Sub-Regional or District Appellations in Bordeaux?
These may be the highest appellations attainable in a particular locale or they may encompass a number of separate commune appellations
– Examples: Haut Médoc AOP and Entre-Deux-Mers AOP
What defines the commune appellation designation in Bordeaux?
- Smallest AOP’s in each region
- Generally highest quality wine
- Examples: Pauillac, Margaux, Pomerol, Saint Julien, Saint Estephe, St. Emilion
Define a Bordeaux château?
A Bordeaux château is an estate under a single ownership. An important note is that the size of an estate can change over time with the sale and purchase of vineyards and land.
Most vineyards in Bordeaux are not known by names attached to specific plots of land, as they are in Burgundy and most other important French wine-growing regions. Instead, Bordeaux vineyards are known by names of châteaux the French word for castles or manor houses. Not all Bordeaux châteaux, however, are as architecturally grand as the word suggests.
What is the 1855 Classification?
Napoleon III commission the ranking of Bordeaux’s top chateaux for the Universal Exposition in Paris. Merchants and brokers ranked 61 properties in five tiers: first growth through fifth growth.
First Growth Châteaux of the 1855 Classification
- Château Lafite-Rothschild
- Château Latour
- Château Mouton-Rothschild (elevated to first growth status in 1973)
- Château Margaux
- Château Haut-Brion (Graves)
Name the first-growths.
- Chateau Lafite-Rothschild
- Chateau Latour
- Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (elevated to 1st growth status in 1973)
- Chateau Margaux
- Chateua Haut-Brion (in Graves)
Where is Médoc located?
North of Bordeaux along the Gironde Estuary.
Top recent vintages of the Medoc?
Where is Graves located?
South of the Medoc; directly south and around city of Bordeaux.
Where is Saint-Emilion located?
Right bank; along the Dordogne River near town of Libourne.
