Bordeaux (General Knowledge) Flashcards
Where is Bordeaux?
Southwest France near the Atlantic Ocean
Which river or rivers cross through Bordeaux?
The Dordogne (northern most) and the Garonne (southern most)
What estuary can be found in Bordeaux? How was it formed?
The Gironde estuary was formed by the merging of the Dordogne and Gironde
What is the area between the Dordorgne and the Garonne called?
Entre-Deux-Mers (‘Between two seas’)
What is the area to the east of the Gironde and Dordogne called?
The Right Bank
What is the area to the west of the Gironde and Garonne called?
The Left Bank
What happened in Bordeaux that expanded its area under vine? When?
Bordeaux, formerly dominated by marshland, was drained by Dutch residents in the 17th-18th centuries.
Who distributed Bordeaux wines in the mid-18th Century? How is it distributed today?
Specialized merchants purchased the wines from distributors and resold them to merchants.
They were primarily based out of Britain, Ireland, Germany, Holland, and elsewhere.
The system is still in place, though today the merchants are based around the world.
What happened in Bordeaux in 1855?
The Exposition Universelle de Paris was scheduled, inspiring the Bordeaux chamber of commerce to ask wine brokers to classify the region’s wine by price. Five classification levels were made for Medoc and Haut Brion in Graves, with three levels in Sauternes. This official classification remains in effect.
How many hectares are under vine in Bordeaux?
Around 111,000
How much of Bordeaux’ production is dedicated to inexpensive and mid-priced wine?
70% is used in Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur
How much of Bordeaux wine is premium and super-premium?
30%
How many hectares does Appellation Pomerol cover?
Around 800 hectares
What is the climate in Bordeaux?
Moderate Maritime
What provides the greatest cooling influence on Bordeaux?
The Atlantic Ocean
What is the ideal growing season in Bordeaux?
Gentle heat throughout the growing season
Sufficient rainfall to promote growth and ripening
Relatively dry and warm autumn
Is the Left Bank protected from Atlantic storms? Why or why not?
Yes. The Landes pine forest protects much of the Medoc by shielding it from oceanic influences. Estates nearer the forest are generally cooler than others. The Northern Medoc is less protected.
What amount of rain can be expected in Bordeaux?
The average is 950mm per year, but there is a significant deviation among vintages both in quantity and timing.
What effect has climate change had on Bordeaux?
Summers are hotter and drier with less rainfall.
How do Bordeaux varieties handle extreme dry, hot climates?
Well, though they produce wines that lack acidity and balance (as with 2003) and possess more alcohol
What is the Libournais?
An area of the Right Bank that includes
- Pomerol,
- Saint-Émilion,
- Fronsac, and the
- Côtes-de-Bordeaux
What is the influence of the Atlantic ocean on the Libournais?
Not as pronounced as on the Left Bank, but it remains a factor
Where would you typically find the vineyards for Bordeaux’ most prestigious wines? Why?
Close to the Gironde Estuary due to the moderating influence it has on the climate.
What happened in 1956, 1991, and 2017 in Bordeaux and what does it tell us about the growing conditions?
Vines in Bordeaux were decimated by frost in those years. The cool growing conditions lead to increased frost and hail risk that is often mitigated in vineyards close to the Gironde.
Have frost and hail conditions in Bordeaux improved over the past decade?
No. Climate change has worsened the frost risk in Bordeaux.
Is volume consistent from vintage to vintage in Bordeaux?
No. For example, the frost-affected 2017 vintage was 33% below the ten year average and 40% lower than 2016.
What type of soil pervades the Left Bank? Where did it come from? When was it deposited?
Gravel and stony soil brought to the region by floodwaters from the Pyrenees and the Massif Central many thousand years ago.
Depending on where the soils are from, the gravel may be mixed with clay, sand, and minerals.
Describe the depth and consistency of the gravel mounds in the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
The mounds of gravel deposits are not consistently deposited across Bordeaux and are somewhat shallow. The deepest gravel soil is in Margaux where it reaches 32m deep.
The best estates are on these gravel mounds, called ‘croupes’
Do vines in Pomerol risk drought stress?
Due to the shallow soils (rarely more than a meter deep), vines in Pomerol can suffer from drought as occurred in 2016.
What are the risks of growing on gravel soils in Bordeaux?
In drier years, the lack of water retention can cause drought stress.
Are there clay soils on the Left Bank?
Yes, particularly in Saint-Estèphe. The wines grown on these soils are robust and characterful, but have not achieved the same acclaim as those from gravel soils.
What type of soil dominates the Right Bank?
Clay, though there are significant patches of gravel in some parts of the Libournais.
Why is Merlot the dominant variety of the Right Bank?
Merlot is ideally suited to clay soils.
Why is Merlot prized in Bordeaux?
It ripens in almost all vintages
It delivers more sugar than Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, thus providing more alcohol.
This was a benefit in the past when temperatures were lower.
Where do the best Right Bank wines come from?
Vineyards on the limestone plateau or the gravel section bordering Pomerol.
What kind of soil do we find in the northern Medoc?
Fertile soils with a high clay content
What is the traditional planting density for top quality vineyards in Bordeaux? What is the vine and row spacing? Why?
10,000 vines per hectare. One meter between vines in a row, one meter between rows.
The soils are relatively infertile, resulting in moderate vine vigor.
How does vineyard density in Bordeaux affect costs of grape and wine production? How does it affect profitability?
Costs are higher. More vines need to be bought, more trellising used, more labor for training/ploughing/spraying, and over-the-top tractors for automation.
High densities improve profitability on expensive vineyard land.
How does vineyard density on less prestigious appellations compare to that of the most desired appellations?
Less prestigious vineyards are often planted at lower density.
Which diseases have recently become a problem in Bordeaux? What kind of diseases are they?
Eutypa Dieback and Esca. They are Trunk Diseases.
What has been successful at preventing/treating trunk diseases in Bordeaux? Describe it and where it came from.
Soft Pruning is a technique devised by Italian company Simonit and Sirch that insists on making the smallest cut possible while respecting the flow of sap and branching development as much as possible.
What is Flavescence Doree? Why does it concern organic and biodynamic growers?
A Phytoplasma disease recently renamed ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma vitis’ that is spread by the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus.
The most successful treatment is synthetic insecticide, worrying organic and biodynamic winemakers who cannot use such treatments.
What has been the trend regarding yields in Bordeaux over the past two decades? What effect has this had on its wines?
Yields have gone down. The current average is 50 hl/ha. Wine quality has benefitted from the reduction.
What practice regarding yields on the Right Bank came into fashion but is now in decline?
Producing exageratedly low yields of grapes to create extremely dense wines. The excessive concentration offers wines that lack the sense of place Bordeaux is known for, and so the practice is dissipating.
How was harvest traditionally practiced in Bordeaux? How did this affect quality?
Randomly, with pickers hired for a defined period based on a ‘best guess’ of when he grapes should be picked.
Some grapes were picked underripe, some overripe, and the rest in between.
How is harvest practiced in Bordeaux today? How does this affect quality?
Top estates hire pickers for a range of time that may include idle days due to rain or other issues.
Other estates may use automation to pick the grapes.
Manual picking gives greater quality control but automation allows larger estates to pick quickly at the desired level of ripeness.
Overall quality has improved.
In what parts of Bordeaux might it be difficult to find manual labor? Give an example.
Areas that are far away from the town of Bordeaux, such as the Northern Medoc which can be a 2 hour drive from Bordeaux.
Whose work contributed to the contemporary style of Bordeaux blanc? What did they advocate?
Professor Denis Dubourdieu and André Lurton. They advocated for an increased focus on Sauvignon Blanc, skin contact to aid in aromatic extraction, and a reduction of new oak used in fermentation and maceration
How much new oak does Chateau d’Yquem use on their wine?
100%
When and how were the wines of Pomerol AOC classified?
Pomerol AOC has no classification system
What conditions encourage the development of noble rot in Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC?
The cooler Ciron river meets the warmer Garonne river, creating mists that penetrate the vineyards. If the mists burn off by midday, the sun can dry the grapes and prevent the mold from creating grey rot.
What has been the trend for sales of Sauternes AOC? How has this benefitted or affected estates there?
There has been a lack of demand over the past 30 years. Many producers have started producing dry wines to supplement their income.
How many classification systems are there in Bordeaux? What are they?
There are four.
The 1855 Classification
The Graves Classification
The Saint-Émilion Classification
The Crus Bourgeois du Médoc Classification
What is the 1855 Classification and how did it come to be?
A quality hierarchy commissioned by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce for the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris. The wines of Médoc and Sauternes AOC were reviewed by wine merchants and qualified based on their sale price. One producer in Graves was included.
The wines of Médoc were classified as Grand Cru Classé and sub-divided into ranks of First Growth (Premiers Cru) through Fifth Growth (Cinquiémes Cru). The wines of Sauternes AOC were ranked as First or Second Growth. It remains mostly unmodified today.
What percentage of wine in Bordeaux is Grand Cru Classé?
About 25%
What wine in Sauternes AOC was awarded a special title through the 1855 Classification? What is that title?
Chateau d’Yquem was awarded
Premier Cru Supérieur
What bottling requirement is required by the 1855 Classification?
All classified wines must be bottled at the estate
How many properties are classified by the 1855 Classification?
60
What are the five Premiers Cru Classé? Where are they located?
Chateau Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac)
Chateau Latour (Pauillac)
Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac)
Chateau Margaux (Margaux)
Chateau Haut-Brion (Pessac)
How many Premiers Cru Classé were defined upon release of the 1855 Classification? What were they?
There were four.
Chateau Lafite
Chateau Latour
Chateau Margaux
Chateau Haut-Brion
When did Chateau Mouton-Rothschild become a Premier Cru Classé? Why?
It was promoted in 1979 after decades of intense lobbying. The argument was made that, despite having wines equal in price to Chateau Lafite, the wine was left out of Premier Cru Classé status because the vineyards were owned by an Englishman.
What were the only two modifications made to the 1855 Classfication?
The addition of Château Cantemerle to Cinquiémes Cru in 1856
The promotion of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild to Premiers Cru in 1979
What is the Graves Classification and how did it come to be?
A quality level created in 1959 based on pricing, fame, and quality as judged by tasting.
The classification is a list of quality producers in the Pessac-Leognan sub-region with no levels;
They may be producers of white wine, red wine, or both.
How many Châteaux are classified by the Graves Classification?
16
What is the Saint-Émilion Classification?
A classification system of Saint-Émilion wines that began in 1955
Revised every ten years.
Châteaux are judged based on terroir, methods of production, reputation and commercial considerations, and on a blind tasting of at least 10 vintages.
The most recent revision was 2012.
There are four quality levels:
Premier Grand Cru Classé A,
Premier Grand Cru Classé B,
Grand Cru Classé, and
Grand Cru.
What are the quality levels defined by the Saint-Émilion Classification?
Premier Grand Cru Classé A
Premier Grand Cru Classé B
Grand Cru Classé
Grand Cru
What is the Cru Bourgeois du Médoc Classification?
A level of wine classification created in 1932 in Médoc;
below Cru Classé but still of superior quality.
Amended in 2010 to apply to individual wines instead of individual Châteaux as a mark of quality.
Wines are judged by production methods and quality of the finished product.
From the 2018 vintage on, there are three quality levels:
- Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel,
- Cru Bourgeois Supérieur, and
- Cru Bourgeois.
What are the quality levels of the Cru Bourgeois du Médoc Classification?
Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel
Cru Bourgeois Supérieur
Cru Bourgeois
Which top quality appellation in Bordeaux has no quality level?
Pomerol
What are some of the issues affecting the Saint-Émilion Classification?
Lawsuits have dented its reputation
Some outside the region contest that the name of the lowest classification level (Grand Cru) is misleading
What are some of the issues facing the Graves Classification?
Too many high quality estates are not included
Fear of the disputes that have tainted the Saint-Émilion Classification are restricting revision of the current Graves Classification
What is a Château as it relates to Bordeaux?
A wine producing estate. It can be anything from a castle to a dilapidated farmhouse
How many estates in Bordeaux call themselves a Château? What is the trend affecting this number?
Over 7,000, though the number is shrinking as larger neighbors are consolidating vineyards to create more commercially viable volumes of wine
What is the average estate size in Bordeaux?
More than 17 hectares
What is the annual wine production in Bordeaux?
It fluctuates but is generally over 800 million bottles
What percentage of wine production in Bordeaux was made by cooperatives in 2016?
About 25% of wine output from 40% of growers
Why are production costs higher in Bordeaux for a classified wine than a non-classified wine?
Higher vine density
Harvest costs
Much higher viticultural costs
Lower yields
Rigorous grape selection
Barrel aging (more new oak and longer maturation)
What is ‘La Place de Bordeaux’?
A unique commercial system in which an estate’s wine is sold to specialized merchants (négociants) through brokers (courtiers). About 80% of Bordeaux wines are sold in this way.
La Négoce and the Courtiers comprise ‘La Place.’
What is a négociant in Bordeaux?
A specialized merchant who purchases wine from estates through a courtier and resells he wine to wholesalers and retailers.
What is a courtier in Bordeaux?
A broker between the estates that produce wine and négociants who resell the wine
How do Bordeaux châteaux ensure that their wine is distributed to key markets around the world?
They sell their wines to as many as 40 négociants
What is ‘la négoce’?
A collective term for all of the négociants of Bordeaux
How does ‘La Place de Bordeaux’ affect wine prices and profitability?
Courtiers take 2% of the sale price of the wine at the distribution level
Négociants take 15% of the sale price of the wine at the distribution level
How is the amount of wine available to a négociant in Bordeaux determined?
All négociants are provided an allocation of wines
What quality wines are sold via ‘La Place de Bordeaux’?
Non-classified growths
What is ‘En Primeur’?
A futures system where wines from Bordeaux are premiered in the spring following harvest. The wines are still undergoing maturation. It is designed to make hard-to-buy wines more accessible and more affordable than they would be in wine shops.
How do estates benefit from the ‘En Primeur’ system?
They receive payment for the wine before it is bottled and released for distribution.
When and where did the contemporary ‘En Primeur’ system emerge? Why?
In Bordeaux after World War 2, the châteaux were struggling financially and used ‘En Primeur’ to attract consumers. It took until the 1970s for the system to gain traction and the excellent 1982 vintage to really draw people in.
When is ‘En Primeur’ and what happens during it?
In April, estates taste wine buyers and journalists on barrel samples so they can assess the wines. Prices are released by the châteaux throughout May and June.
What is a ‘Tranche’?
A release of wine in the ‘En Primeur’ system. The price of the Tranche is dependent on the reputation of the château and the wine’s reviews. The first Tranche is intended to gauge what the market will pay for the wine with subsequent Tranches adjusted accordingly (typically upward).
What risks must négociants accept when taking allocations of sought-after and/or rare wines?
To remain on the allocation list, négociants may have to buy wines in a less desirable vintage. Such wines could remain on their books for several years before they can be sold.
How long does the ‘En Premieur’ process last?
Several months
What defines the success of an ‘En Premieur’ campaign?
The quality of the wines
The prices being asked
The state of the market
What is included in the price of an ‘En Premieur’ purchase? What is excluded?
The bottled wine and delivery to the retailer’s storage a year later. Taxes due in the final buyer’s market are excluded from the price.
Which wines account for the largest proportion of wines traded on the secondary market?
Bordeaux, especially First Growths and other top wines
Which top Bordeaux producer is no longer selling its wines ‘En Premieur’? When did this happen?
Château Latour pulled out of ‘En Premieur’ in 2012
What occurred in the 2000s to prices of Bordeaux wines during ‘En Premieur’ sales?
Prices boomed, particularly due to increased interest from China. This led to an increase in prices even in down vintages.
What has been the trend in Bordeaux ‘En Premieur’ prices from 2010-2019? What effect has it had on investors in the system?
Prices began to fall due to excessive pricing of wines in poor vintages, such as 2011. Some of those who invested in ‘En Premieur” Bordeaux lost money.
Some of the more prestigious Bordeaux châteaux can avoid the ‘En Premieur’ system or lower the volume they sell through it. Why can’t smaller or less prestigious châteaux abandon it?
They need the income that is generated through ‘En Premieur’ sales.
What has been the history of wine tourism in Bordeaux? What is it like today?
Bordeaux did not market itself as a destination for wine tourism, but today the city of Bordeaux has become an important tourist destination. La Cité du Vin is Bordeaux’ wine visitor center.
