Bordeaux( France) Flashcards
How would you describe Bordeaux climate?
Bordeaux has a moderate maritime climate.
Which Ocean Current warms Bordeaux?
This warming ocean current extends the growing season: spring frosts are rarely a problem and grape ripening can continue well into October.
The Gulf Stream
It be very risky to rely too heavily on one variety in Bordeaux. The different varieties permitted in Bordeaux flower and ripen at different times, meaning that __________________1_______________.
One bad frost or heavy shower is unlikely to ruin an entire crop.
What are the three major and one minor red grape varieties?
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Franc
Merlot
Petit Verdot
What are the two major and one minor white grape varieties?
Semillon
Sauvignon Blanc
Muscadelle
The Atlantic also brings high levels of rainfall and humidity. The vineyards are protected from the worst of the Atlantic storms by the ______1_____ and the _________2_______ that lie to the west of the region.
1=Landes forest
2= coastal sand dunes
_________1________ dominates in the Haut-Medoc, and it is very important in the Bas-Medoc and the Graves. The high stone/gravel content of the soils here raises vineyard temperature and consequently these are the only areas 1 can reliably ripen. Here it can account for three-quarters of the blend in the finest wines.
Cabernet Sauvignon
________1_______ is widely used in Saint-Emilion and, to a lesser extent, in the Medoc and Graves. It produces wines with less body and tannin than Cabernet Sauvignon. It can have herbaceous or stalky flavours when unripe but when ripe it can contribute vibrant fruit and floral notes to a blend. Like Cabernet Sauvignon it prefers well drained warm soils.
Cabernet Franc
______1___is the most widely planted variety in Bordeaux and is particularly important in the premium wines of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol. This is because 1 can successfully grow on the cooler clay soils found in these areas, whereas Cabernet Sauvignon would struggle to ripen. 1’s softness means it is usually the grape that is predominant in high volume, inexpensive wines.
1=Merlot
_____1______ has far smaller plantings than the other 3 black varieties. It ripens fully only in very hot years, giving a very deep-coloured, tannic wine that ages slowly. It never plays more than a minor role in a blend, where it is used mainly to add tannin, colour and some spicy notes.
Petit Verdot
Top-quality red Bordeaux is aged in ____________1_________.
1= small oak barriques of 225 litres.
Given its thin skin and affinity for noble rot, ______1______ is the most important variety for sweet wines in Bordeaux. It is also blended with Sauvignon Blanc in the premium dry white wines of Pessac-Leognan and Graves, where is adds body to these wines.
1= Semillon
In Bordeaux, _____1_______ produces wines with citrus and green fruit aromas. It is used increasingly for varietal, dry white wines: the one exception to the generalisation that all Bordeaux wines are blends. In blended wines it provides high acidity, which is particularly necessary for sweet wines.
1= Sauvignon Blanc
______1______ has a pronounced grapey, floral flavour and plays an important supporting role in sweet and dry white wine production.
Muscadelle
The Dordogne and Garonne rivers combine to form the _______1_______and divide the Bordeaux vineyards into three broad areas.
The Left Bank
Entre-Deux-Mersアントルードゥメール
The Right Bank
Gironde Estuary
In 1855, on the occasion of the Paris Universal Exhibition, the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce was approached to produce an official list of their best red wines from the ______1____ and white wines from ____2_____. This is now known as the 1855 Classification.
1=Medoc
2= Sauternes
(The 1855 Classification)
Chateaux that are listed within this classification are referred to as ______1______.
In the Medoc, the chateaux were divided into five ranks. Top rank consists of Chateaux Lafite Rothschild, Latourラトゥール, Margaux and Mouton Rothschild, together with Chateau Haut-Brion from Graves. In Sauternes there are three ranks, Chateau d’Yquem occupying the top rank.
1= crus classes
The 1855 Classification accounted for only a very small number of the estates of the Medoc and therefore a further Classification of ________1______ was later introduced for other chateaux. Currently, 1 is only awarded to wines in a specific vintage, rather than to the chateaux itself, and therefore wines in a specific vintages must be submitted each year to gain classification.
1=cru bourgeois クリュ ブルジョワ
Graves(Pessac-Leognan)
The wines of the Graves are classified with parallel平行の, but separate, lists for red and white wines. There is no ranking: all listed wines may simply call themselves _____1_____. All the 1chateaux now lie within the limits of the Pessac-Leognan, as this appellation was created after Graves Classification was drawn up.
1= crus classes
Whithin Sant-Emilion there is a separate appellation Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, and within this appellation there is a classification of the best chateaux. There are reclassifications, with the possibility of promotion and demotion, which occur at least once every ten years.
List 4 from the lower step.
Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe, which is subdivided into Premier Grand Cru ClasseA(the best), and Premier Grand Cru Classe B.
The output of the generic appellations is mainly red labelled as either______1_____ or _______2________( the latter designation has slightly stricter appellation rules and requires a higher level of alcohol in the final wine). The remainder is white labelled as 1 and rose labelled 1 rose or 1 Clairet.
1=Bordeaux
2=Bordeaux Superieur
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(Generic Appellations)
At their best, red Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur are _____1_______ medium-bodied wines with ripe red and black fruit, and sometimes cedar notes from oak. Clairet undergoes a longer maceration than typical rose and is deeper in colour and fuller in body. White Bordeaux is increasingly dominated by Sauvignon Blanc and shows a vibrant ______2_____ character.
1=early drinking
2=grassy