Bordeaux Study Guide Flashcards
What is the largest AOC in France?
Bordeaux AOP
What percentage of wine made in Bordeaux is red?
90% (10% white)
What is the average retail price of Bordeaux AOP or Bordeaux Superieur AOP?
$20
What is the average price retail of the first growth wines and others in their orbit of quality and distinction?
$1500 and up
What are Bordeaux’s top wines known for?
Their ability to be elegant while still possessing concentrated, powerful flavors
Why are Bordeaux wines, both red and white almost always blends of two or more varieties?
Blending is used to achieve complex flavors. Plus growing multiple varieties that ripen at different times is a practical way of spreading the agricultural risk in Bordeaux’s sometimes difficult maritime climate.
How many appellations are in Bordeaux?
Approximately 60
How much larger is Bordeaux compared to Napa? Burgundy?
Six times larger than Napa
Four times larger than Burgundy
What are the three major rivers of Bordeaux?
Gironde Estuary
Dordogne (Right Bank)
Garonne (Left Bank)
What ocean current is responsible for the mitigation of Bordeaux’s climate?
Gulf Stream
What risks does the maritime climate and the pine forests of Bordeaux mitigate?
Storms, severe cold snaps, and potentially devastating frosts.
What does Muscadelle contribute to Bordeaux white wines?
Light floral character
What does Semillon provide for Bordeaux white blends?
Weight, depth and waxy character and, with age, a honied character. Provides nice foil for the pungent character of Sauvignon Blanc. Main grape for Sauternes as its thin skins are great for botrytis
What does Cabernet Franc contribute to Bordeaux red blends?
Aromatic intensity and notes of violets and spices.
What does Cabernet Sauvignon provide to Bordeaux red blends?
Structure and framework
What does Merlot contribute to Bordeaux Blends?
Round and supple, contributes flesh to Cabernet’s Structure. Gives wines an expansive mid-palate
What does Petit Verdot contribute to Bordeaux blends?
Vivid color, flavor intensity, and tannin
What is paramount in regards to great Bordeaux vineyards? What are the best soils to facilitate this?
Good drainage.
Gravel and stone like limestone
What soil type can pose the most problems in Bordeaux? Why?
Clay because
doesn’t drain water as well
stays cool in the spring delaying the vine’s bud break and slows the start of ripening
What is necessary in vineyards with higher proportions of clay to produce good wine?
More warm weather
Why is Merlot better suited to clay soils?
Because of its slightly less tannic structure to begin with, and because it tends to ripen early.
Also the cool soil delays the vigor of an otherwise vigorous Merlot grape
Red Bordeaux by law must be made of one or more of six red grapes. What are they?
Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Petit Verdot Malbec Merlot Carmenère
What is the most planted red grape of Bordeaux? Second most planted? Third most?
Merlot (Approximately 60% of total plantings) Cabernet Sauvignon (approximately 20%) Cabernet Franc (approximately 10%)
What key component in Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot contribute to Bordeaux’s longevity? Why?
Tannin
It is a natural preservative
What grape is the father of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Carmenère?
Cabernet Franc
Malbec is a crossing of what two grapes?
Prunelard x Magdeleine Noire des Charentes
What are the nine grapes permitted for Bordeaux blanc wines?
Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Muscadelle Ugni Blanc Colombard Merlot Blanc Sauvignon Gris Alvarinho Liliorila
What two neighbors are considered the best Semillon-dominant dry whites of Graves?
La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc
Haut-Brion Blanc
Who is the mother of Muscadelle? Is it related to Muscat?
Gouais Blanc
Not related to Muscat of any kind
What do the terms château, cuverie, and chai mean in Bordeaux?
Château refers to a building attached to vineyards.
Cuverie refers to the building the wine will be made in
Chai refers to the cellar where it will be stored and aged
How are the classifications of Bordeaux most interestingly dissimilar to Burgundy?
Classification is attached to the estate in Bordeaux but not in Burgundy where it is to delimited land not to be expanded or collapsed from proximal land acquisition.
How many chateaux were classified in the 1855 classification?
61
What is the classification of Château d’Yquem?
Premier Cru Supérieur Classé
When were the vineyards of Sauternes and Barsac classified?
1855
When were the vineyards of Graves classified? Revised? How is it different than the 1855 classifications?
1953 (revised in 1959)
Chateaux were not ranked. All were given title Grand Cru Classé
When were the chateaux of St.-Émilion classified? How is this classification unique?
1954
Subjected to revision (every 10 years)
What is the hierarchy of the St.-Émilion classification?
Premiers Grands Crus Classés at the top divided between A and B levels
Grands Crus Classés below these
Grand Cru below that
How many chateaux were classified in the Graves classification?
16
When was Mouton promoted to first growth?
1973
How does the selling of en primeur (futures) work in Bordeaux?
Chateaux set opening prices for the wines produced each year and during the spring of the year following harvest the wines go on sale for the opening amounts.
The wines will not be delivered for another two, three years or more until they’re finished aging.
What’s the advantage for chateaux for en primeur? Consumers?
Chateaux get instant cash flow and the consumer gets the wines at a much better price (but not always) than if they would’ve waited until the wine’s release.
What famous Château stopped selling en primeur in 2012?
Château Latour
What are the two Grand Cru Classés A of St.-Emilion?
Pavie
Figeac
What are the 14 Grand Cru Classés B of Saint-Emilion?
Beau-Séjour Becot Beauséjour Bélair-Monange (Belair until '08) Canon Canon-la-Gaffelière La Gaffelière Figeac Clos Fourtet
Lacris-Ducasse La Mondotte Pavie-Macquin Troplong-Mondot Trottevieille Valandraud
What are 5 St.-Emilion Grand Cru Classés?
Bellevue Fleur-Cardinale Quinalt l'Enclos Pavie-Decesse La Tour Figeac
When was the classification for Cru Artisans defined? When it was formally approved?
Defined in 2002
Approved in 2006
What are 5 Cru Artisan producers located in the major communes of the Médoc that contain the classified growths of the Medoc?
Béhèré (Pauillac) Capdet (St.-Julien) de Bigos (Margaux) Gassies du Vieux Bourg (Margaux) La Peyre (St.-Estephe)
How often is the Crus Bourgeois list updated? By who?
Every year by the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc
What are the two large appellations of the Haut-Médoc?
Médoc (Bas)
Haut-Médoc
How do the soils of Listrac and Moulis differ from the rest of the Médoc? What wines does this produce?
The soils are heavier and less well draining giving wines that are less refined and more roughly textured
In what century did the Dutch engineers drain the Haut-Médoc? When were the most prestigious Châteaux vineyards established including Lafite, Latour, and Mouton?
17th century (1600s)
Vineyards established during the 17th century and early 18th century (1600s and early 1700s)
What is the largest commune of the Médoc?
Margaux
Which commune of the Médoc is home to the lightest and most gravelly soils there?
Margaux
How are the best wines from Margaux described?
Like an iron fist in a velvet glove
A combination of power with delicacy, soaring elegance, and refinement
What is the smallest of the major communes of the Médoc and home to the highest percentage of classified growths relative to the rest produced there? What’s the %?
St.-Julien
95% of wine produced here is from chateaux classified in 1855
Which two Leoville estates are said to broach First Growth Status in good years?
Leoville-Las Cases
Leoville-Poyferré
What are the best wines in St.-Julien known for?
Precision and refinement, similar to Margaux
How many classified Châteaux does Pauillac boast?
18 of the 61
Despite its border with St.-Estephe, Lafite is known for its remarkable elegance. What is this due to?
The band of Limestone which it grows on.
What commune in the Haut-Medoc is know for wines produced from more Merlot than Cabernet Sauvignon? Why is this the case?
St.-Estephe
More clay in the soil.
Good Bordeaux should age for how long before being ready?
8-10 years or more
The best soils of Graves are composed of what?
Gravel, sand, and quartz
Where in Bordeaux do most Châteaux make both red and white wine?
Graves
What region in Bordeaux was first to be internationally recognized? When was this?
Graves
Casks of wine were shipped from here to England in the 12th century (1100s)
When was Pessac-Léognan established?
1987
Which first growth of the 1855 Classification is known for having the highest % of both Merlot and Cabernet Franc?
Haut-Brion
as much as 45% Merlot and up to 20% Cab Franc
What is considered the perfect pairing for white bordeaux?
Icy cold, briny oysters caught off Bordeaux’s Atlantic coast
What are considered the top three Pessac-Léognan whites?
La Mission Haut-Brion
Haut-Brion
Domaine de Chevalier
What are the five communes of sweet wine production for Sauternes?
Sauternes Barsac Bommes Fargues Preignac