Bordeaux Triage Flashcards
Where in relationship to the Medoc are Blaye and Bourg?
Actually on the eastern bank of the Gironde, adjacent to Medoc
This region recieves more rainfall than any in France?
Medoc: 950mm (37.4 inches.)
What are the parents of Merlot?
Cabernet Franc and Madeleine Noire des Charentes
What are the three regional appellations of Bordeaux?
Bordeaux AOP
Bordeaux Supérieur AOP
Crémant de Bordeaux AOP
Style of Bordeaux Superieur AOP?
red and medium sweet (Moelleux) white wines
What is the IGP of Bordeaux?
Atlantique
What was the first disease to strike Bordeaux in 1852?
Oidium (Powdery mildew)
in sweet wine appellations of Garonne
When did Phylloxera hit Bordeaux?
1869
What year was the Bordeaux Mixture created?
1888
What controls the trade of wine in Bordeaux?
The Place de Bordeaux:
Production Tier
Sales Tier
Broker Tier (Courtier)
What is the only first growth to opt out of the en primeur system (2012)
Chateau LaTour
Most common vine training in Bordeaux:
Guyot:
double on left bank
simple on the right
Where is cordon training in Bordeaux?
Sauternes, produces smaller berries that attract botrytis
Why is the canopy higher in Pomerol and Saint-Emilion?
helps mitigate frost in the inland region
When, in winemaking, is Cliquage performed?
During elevage, to a finished wine. In barrel, mimics racking.
What year was the breakout year for second wines in Bordeaux?
1982
Dominant soil of Saint Estephe?
Clay
The Jalle de Breuil at the southern end of Saint Estephe divides these two Chateaux?
Château Cos d’Estournel
Château Lafite-Rothschild
This Chateau marks the southern boundary of Pauillac?
Chateau La Tour
Which commune has the highest proportion of classified growths in Medoc?
Saint Julien
What is the name of the croupe of Moulis en Medoc, upon which Chasse-Spleen is planted?
Grand Poujeaux
What was the last commune of the Medoc to acheive AOC in 1957?
Listrac-Medoc
Style of Graves AOP?
Dry red and white
Style of Graves Superieur?
Sweet white: 34 g/l rs min.
These two previously classified defunct Graves estates supply fruit for Château La Mission Haut-Brion?
Château Laville Haut-Brion
Château La Tour Haut-Brion
Andre Lurton was instrumental in creating this AOC in 1987?
Pessac-Leognan
Chateau Margaux Blanc or L’Aile d’Argent (Mouton) would be classified under this AOC?
Bordeaux AOC (Medoc communes do not allow white wine)
What is d’Yquem classified as?
premier cru supérieur
What is the primary role of Botrytis Cinerea in Sauternes production?
Dehydration
Why is sulfur addition so important in Sauternes production?
Prevent refermentation
Ward off Volatile acidity
Largest commune in Sauternes?
Barsac
Dry whites of Sauternes are labeled as this?
Bordeaux AOP: Wines of Sauternes are excluded from Graves
These communes can make sweet wines under Cerons AOP
or dry whites under Graves AOP? (more common)
Cerons
Podensac
Illats
Is there white wine produced on the “right bank” of Bordeaux?
NO
What is the general encepagement on the right bank of Bordeaux
70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc
Who owns Belair Monange in St. Emilion, and what estate was absorbed into it in 2012?
Christian Moueix
Château Magdelaine
Soil of Chateau Figeac and Cheval blanc, in the graves zone in North West St. Emilion closer to Pomerol
Gravel
St Emilion is between these rivers
Dordogne and Barbanne
What year was St Emilion Grand Cru AOP established?
1954
Main difference between St Emilion AOP and St Emilion Grand Cru AOP
St Emilion Grand Cru must be Estate bottled
Where are most of the Grand Cru Estates of St Emilion?
Limestone Cotes and the Plateau surrounding the city
Why were St Emilion Grand Cru Classé and St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé AOCs eliminated as appellations in 1984?
did not comply with the EU definition of an appellation
What year in St Emilion did a group of demoted Chateaux threaten legal action and change the result of the classification?
2006
What year did the Saint-Émilion Wine Council shift authority over the classification system to the INAO?
with the 2012 classification
creating an appeals process for demoted chateaux
The classification of St Emilion typically happens every years?
Every 10 years (except in 2012 after the court battles in 2006 classification)
Pomerol is in the town of Libourne, surrounded by these rivers?
Isle and Barbanne
Chateau Petrus, on the boutonniere, lies just North West of this St. Emilion Chateau
Chateau Figeac
These chateaux of Pomerol are all on the top plateau near Petrus
Vieux Château Certan
Lafleur
l’Evangile
Trotanoy
Clinet
la Conseillante
Petit Village
Le Pin
Château le Bon Pasteur (hamlet of Maillet, previously Michel Rolland)
How did Fronsac get its name
Tertre de Fronsac, a fortress Charlemagne built to repel invaders
Producers in this Commune of Fronsac AOC produce the highest quality wines?
Saillans
This river separates Fronsac and Lalande de Pomerol
Isle
What is Fronsadais Molasse?
mixture of soft limestone and clay.
Fronsac is larger: which AOP is considered higher quality?
Canon Fronsac AOP
Château Grand-Renouil and Château Gaby are top tier producers here?
Canon Fronsac AOP
Fronsac AOP producers
Château Dalem
Château de La Dauphine Michel Rolland-owned Château Fontenil Château de La Rivière (largest property)
Highest elevation satellite in St Emilion?
Puisseguin
Northernmost satellite of St Emilion
Lussac
Smallest satellite of St Emilion
St Georges
Largest satellite of St Emilion (Production, volume)
Montagne
Largest producer in Satellites of St Emilion, located in Puisseguin
Producteurs Réunis
This Lussac producer is owned by Bordeaux tonneliere Sylvain
Château La Rose Perrière
Entre deux mers was restricted to dry whites in 1953 and expanded to dry reds in this year?
2023
(Last updated 2025)
Styles of Cotes de Bordeaux Ste Macaire AOP?
Sec: max. 4 g/l
Moelleux: 34-45 g/l
Liquoreux: min. 45 g/l
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux AOP:
typically moelleux rather than truly dessert sweet
34 g/l RS min
What is the primary grape of Premières Côtes de Bordeaux AOP?
Semillon
Style of Cotes de Bordeaux AOP? (2009)
Rouge only
Cadillac, Loupiac, and Sainte-Croix-du-Mont—lie within the Premières Côtes and have this harvest mandate?
Hand harvested, unlike Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux AOP
Styles of Graves de Vayres AOP
Blanc Sec: max. 4 g/l
Blanc: min. 4 g/l
Rouge: max. 4 g/l
Subzones of Cotes de Bordeaux AOP (2009)
Castillon
Francs
Cadillac
Blaye
Sainte-Foy
Though Cotes de Bordeaux AOP is for red wines only, these subzone appellations allow for both red and whites
Francs
Blaye
Ste Foy
Bourg is named for this?
The port town
Where is the highest concentration of Malbec plantings anywhere in Bordeaux?
Bourg
Styles of Bourg AOP?
Dry White
Dry Red
Star producer of Bourg
Château Roc de Cambes
(François Mitjaville)
Red wines of Blaye AOP may be released as this?
Blaye AOP or Côtes de Bordeaux AOP, with or without the Blaye geographic designation
Elevage of Blaye AOP?
March 31 of the second year after the harvest (one of the longest elevage periods in all Bordeaux)
Dry white wines composed of the standard Bordeaux complement of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon are released under this in Blaye?
Blaye geographic designation of Côtes de Bordeaux AOP.
In Blaye, rare white blends based on the Cognac grapes Ugni Blanc and Colombard are released as this?
Côtes de Blaye AOP
Min. 50% combined Colombard and Ugni Blanc
Historical crossroads with the Charente (providing grapes for Cognac)
