D3 Bordeaux Flashcards
Bordeaux Climate?
Moderate Maritime Climate
Bordeaux Rivers?
Garrone and Dordogne, forming the Gironde Estuary
Other Bordeaux Features?
Landes Forest to the West, pine forest giving partial cover on Left Bank from Atlantic winds and rain
High Vintage Variation due to variable rainfall throughout the year
Bordeaux Soils?
Left Bank is stony and gravelly, sometimes mixed with clay and sand
Top estates of Left Bank planted on ‘croupes’ (gravel mounds)
Pomerol - very shallow soils (1m)
Right Bank has more clay, hence why Merlot is more frequently planted, though some of the best wines come from Limestone plateau
Merlot?
Early-budding and mid-ripening
Most commonly planted Right Bank and Northerly part of Medoc
Can reach higher sugar levels than Cabernet
Medium to pronounced intensity
Medium to high alcohol
Medium tannins
Red fruit and black fruit depending on weather
Single vs Double Guyot?
Single more common in the Right Bank
Double more common in the Left Bank
Treatment for Esca?
Soft Pruning - small incisions wherever possible, to encourage sap at injury site and not leave open wounds
Medoc Appellations North to South?
Medoc St. Estephe Pauillac Haut-Medoc Saint-Julien Listrac-Medoc Moulis Margaux
Medoc & Haut-Medoc AOC?
Red wine only
Haut Medoc more gravel and hence more Cabernet
Saint-Estephe AOC?
Coolest and most northerly of the communes, hence more Merlot
Greater proportion of clay is helpful in hotter and drier years
Pauillac AOC?
Highest proportion of cru classé wines
Considered the most structured
Saint-Julien AOC?
Considered mid-point between Pauillac’s structure and Margaux’s finesse
Margaux AOC?
Most Southerly, so marginally warmer and earlier ripening, so does best comparatively in wet and cold years
Perfumed wines with silky tannins
Listrac-Medoc & Moulis AOC?
Less gravel
Further away from rivers so less moderation
Wines are generally younger and of lesser (good to very good) quality
Medoc First Growths?
Pauillac: 3x
Margaux: 1x
Left Bank First Growths?
Pauillac: Chateau Lafite Rothschild; Chateau Mouton Rothschild; Chateau Latour
Margaux: Chateau Margaux
Graves: Chateau Haut-Brion
Graves AOC?
Red and White grown - 85% red; acceptable to good
Graves-Superieures AOC
Late-picked and botrytised grapes only, giving higher yield sweet wines than Sauternes
Pessac-Leognan AOC?
Gravel soils and moderating effect of Garonne
80% White 20% Red
Whites often complex and oaked
Very good to Outstanding
Entre-deux-Mers AOC?
White only - Red grown here, but labelled as Bordeaux (Superieur)
Acceptable to good with light intensity
Saint-Emilion vs Saint-Emilion Grand Cru?
Maximum Yield SE 53 hL/ha; SEGC 46 hL/ha
Minimum Maturation SE 6 months; SEGC 20 months
Pomerol AOC?
Maximum yield 49 hL/ha
Cotes de Bordeaux AOC?
Red or White
Lower yield if a commune
Cotes de Bourg AOC?
Similar to Medoc, with emphasis on Merlot and Malbec
Sauternes & Barsac AOC?
80% Semillon plantings, rest mostly Sauvignon Blanc with small amount of Muscadelle
Cold Ciron River meets warmer Garonne river, producing morning mists helpful in developing noble rot
Barsac can be labelled as Sauternes if desired
Maximum yields 25 hL/ha
1855 Classification?
Cru Classé wines of the Medoc, about a quarter of production
Saint-Emilion Classification?
Revised roughly every 10 years
Premier Grand Cru A
Premier Grand Cru B
Grand Cru Classé
Grand Cru
Some consider Grand Cru being the entry level as misleading
Cru Bourgeois?
Granted for 5 years
Medoc a step below Cru Classé
Awarded to individual wines, not Chateaux
Cru Bourgeois
Cru Bourgeois Superieur
Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel
Pomerol Classification?
Doesn’t have one
La Place de Bordeaux?
Distribution marketplace/model
Effectively brokers (Courtiers) connect producers to Negociants, who then sell onto wholesalers, importers etc.
Negociants manage about 70% of all wine produced and take about 15% of the sale price
En Primeur?
Wine is bought before it’s even finished maturation and blending - Wine Futures on prospective wines, effectively
Released in tranches of escalating prices - first tends to be trade and journalists, with consumers tapping in later
Declining in popularity, though still commercially useful for smaller, less liquid operations
