Bordeaux Flashcards

1
Q

St Éstephe Soils

A

Layers of gravel on a clay base. These poorly drained soils are cooler and can delay ripening, resulting in higher acid wines. Can be great in warm vintages. Separated from Pauillac’s Lafite by only a stream

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2
Q

St Éstephe 2nd Growths

A

Chx Montrose
Cos d’Estournel-similar to Latour in style, big, opulent
Built to last

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3
Q

Other notable St Éstephe Growths

A

Ch Calon-Ségur (3rd)

Ch Lafon-Rochet (4th)

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4
Q

St Éstephe co-op

A

Marquis de St-Éstephe. Much of Éstephes 1,200 ha makes its way into these wines

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5
Q

Pauillac notable 5th Growths

A
12 of 18 in Pauillac. 
Cht Batailley
Haut-Batailley
Ch Grand-Puy-Lacoste (some of Pauillac's best value)
Cht Lynch-Bages 
Cht Haut-Bages-Liberal
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6
Q

Pichon-Longueville

A

Divided into smaller ‘Baron’ portion, and larger Comtesse de Lalande portion before 1855 classification. Near Latour at St Julien end of Pauillac.

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7
Q

Pauillac ha

A

1,200
3 km wide
6 km long

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8
Q

River that flows through Pauillac

A

Gaët. Banks unsuitable for vines.

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9
Q

Latour 2nd wine

A

Les Forts de Latour

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10
Q

Pauillac co-op

A

La Rose Pauillac

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11
Q

St Julien ha

A
  1. Smallest Médoc appellation.
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12
Q

St Julien soils

A

Gravelly soils and subsoils with clay-limestone and hardpan.

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13
Q

St Julien 2nd Growths

A

Chx Léoville-Las-Cases (in North, shares characteristics of Latour, which is within sight)
Léoville-Poyferré (Orignal Ch building on property)
Léoville-Barton
Chx Gruaud-Larose
Ducru-Beaucaillou

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14
Q

St Julien 3rd Growths

A
Ch Langoa-Barton (home of owner Anthony Barton. Also runs Léoville-Barton)
Ch Lagrange (improvements invested by Suntory)
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15
Q

Margaux villages

A
Margaux
Cantenac 
Soussans
Labarde
Arsac

Ch Margaux vineyards in Cantenac and Soussans

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16
Q

Margaux ha

A

1,500 ha. Most extensive appellation in Médoc, with non-contiguous parcels.

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17
Q

Margaux soils

A

Limestone, chalk, clay, sand, best wines on gravel croupes

18
Q

Margaux 2nd Growths

A
Chx Rauzan-Ségla (revived when Chanel bought it in 1994)
Rauzan-Gassies (under performs)
Durfort-Vivens
Lascombes
Brane-Cantenac (Henri Lurton)
19
Q

Margaux 3rd Growth

A

Ch Palmer - Part owned by BDX branch of the Sichel family

20
Q

Listrac

A

540 ha, furthest from the Gironde. Clay-limestone soils. At 40m, some of highest in Médoc. Ch Clarke best, Ch Fonréaud also reliable. 45hl/ha permitted (40hl/ha Moulis, other Haut-Médoc appellations)

21
Q

Moulis

A

600 ha, large diversity of terroir. Various gravels, clays, limestone, varied topography. Ch Chasse-Spleen, Ch Maucaillou, Poujeaux. Well structured, often with some of the perfume of Margaux to the east.

22
Q

Courtier

A

Broker/middleman acting between Chateaux and merchants. Submits samples to merchant, obtains best price and arranges the deal. Involved in about 75% of all bulk wines sale. 89 courtiers in 2015.

23
Q

3/4 of all classed growths sold by:

A

Les Grands Crus
Balaresque
Tastet et Lawton
Lestapis

24
Q

BDX co-ops

A

36 co-ops in 2015, with 4 co-op unions. Focus mainly on lower end of market (avg. price $15)
Caves de Rauzan
Univitis
L’Union Guyenne

25
Q

Ways to purchase BDX

A
Sur Souche (before harvest-huge gamble as vintage conditions can change and affect harvest)
En Primeur (including sales in tranches)
Hectolitre (usually road tankers)
Tonneau (900 L or 100 cases)
Barrique (225 L or 25 cases)
Case (12 bottles)
26
Q

BDX key global markets

A

By volume: China, Germany, Belgium, UK, US
By value: Hong Kong, China, UK, US, Germany
Exports account for 42% of BDX sales

27
Q

BDX Classifications

A

1855 - Médoc and Sauternes
1953/1959 - Graves
1955- St Émilion
1932 - Cru Bourgeois in Médoc

28
Q

BDX leading firms/families

A
AXA
Bartons
Lurtons
Moueix
Sichel
29
Q

3 roles of négociant

A
  1. Buys, blends, sells generic wine in bulk or bottle
  2. Buys individual château wine to sell in bulk or bottle
  3. Buys individual château wines to release and sell at different maturity levels
30
Q

AXA

A

Vast insurance group, wine division AXA. Holdings; Clos de l’Arlot, Ch Pibran, Pinchon-Longueville, Ch Petit Village, Ch Suduirat (Sauternes), Disznóko (Tokaji), Quinto do Noval

31
Q

Sichel

A

Influential wine family. 2 branches. Export business built in 30’s based on Blue Nun. Substantial shareholders in Ch Palmer

32
Q

Mouiex

A

BDX trade family. Notably in St Émilion and Pomerol. Own several R/L bank properties. PETRUS

33
Q

Bartons

A

Trade family from England. Bought Ch Langoa 1821 (St Julien), Léoville vineyard 1826. Ch Langoa-Barton

34
Q

Mouton Cadet

A

1st vintage 1927 (poor) as Camides de Mouton. Available today as red/white/rosé. Fruit driven ML/SB

35
Q

Petits Châteaux

A

Small castles. 1000s of properties modest in both their extent and their reputation and price. Mainly family owned, BDX and Côtes de BDX

36
Q

Lurtons

A

Winemakers and property owners in BDX (more estates than any other family) 12 Lurtons make wine, largest winemaking family in world. André-Ch Bonnet, Ch la Louviere, Couhins. Lucien-Ch Brane-Cantenac, Doisy-Dubroca. Pierre-estate manager for Ch d’Yquem

37
Q

Premiéres Côtes de Bordeaux

A

AC created 2011 specifically for sweet wine made on narrow strip extending 60 km along SW edge of Entre-deux-Mers

38
Q

Côtes de Bordeaux

A
  1. Group of appellations on R bank bringing together wines of 4 smaller regions. Cadillac Côtes de BDX (R)/Castillon Côtes de BDX (R/W), Francs Côte de BDX (R/dry,sweet W) More personality than BDX AC
39
Q

Blaye

A

Mainly clay, limestone. Robust early maturing reds. Blaye Tout Court - riper, lower yields, higher density, higher quality. SB/Sémillon for lively dry whites

40
Q

Famous 2nd wines

A

Les forts de Latour - specifically designated vineyards. Pavillon Rouge. Le Petit Mouton