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Wine Appreciation > France, Bordeaux > Flashcards

France, Bordeaux Flashcards

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1
Q

Intro

A

une commune du Sud-Ouest de la France, préfecture du département de la Gironde et chef-lieu de la région d’Aquitaine

France’s 2nd largest wine region, nearly 1/4 of French AOC production, ab 2% total world production

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2
Q

Médoc 17th C

A

Dutch businessmen brought engineers, drained the marshes, exposed gentle hills w gravelly soil, perfect for vinifera grapes.

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3
Q

phylloxera

A

late 19th C.; by 1869 Bordeaux grape area decreased by over 1/3; solved by grafting vines onto American rootstock, very slow process; recovery began early 20th C

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4
Q

terroir

A

west coast, exactly halfway b/t North Pole & equator, no extreme temp., thick pine forest along coast, various soil types

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5
Q

Famous Areas

A
  • Médoc
  • St. Émillon
  • Pomerol
  • Grave
  • Sauternes
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6
Q

red varietals

A

Cabernet Sauvignon (best known; = Bouchet)

Merlot (most widely planted)

Cabernet Franc

Petit Verdot

Carmenère

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7
Q

whtie varietals

A

Sauvignon Blanc (most important)

Sémillon (most widely planted)

Muscadelle

Sauvignon Gris

Merlot Blanc

Ondenc

Mauzac

Colombard

Ugni Blanc

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8
Q

Gironde River

left & right bank

A

right bank

  • St. Émilion, Pomerol
  • Merlot, Cabernet Franc

left bank

  • Médoc, Graves
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
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9
Q

quality levels

A
  • Bordeaux (lowest)
  • Bordeaux + region
  • Bordeaux + region + château
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10
Q

Médoc classification

A

est. 1855

Grand Cru Classé - 5 levels

Cru Bourgeois (1920) - great value

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11
Q

Grand Cru Classé

A

Médoc classification, 1855

5 levels (61 châteaux)

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12
Q

Premier Cru

A

croître (pp. crû): vi. to grow; to increase (size, number)

for Médoc, 5 châteaux:

  • Château Mouton Rothschild (Pauillac)
  • Château Lafite Rothschild (Pauillac)
  • Château Latour (Pauillac)
  • Château Margaux (Margaux)
  • Château Haut Brion (Graves)
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13
Q

Bordeaux sweet wines

A

Premier Cru Supérieur

  • Château d’Yquem (Sauternes)

Premier Cru

  • Château La Tour Blanche, Bommes (Sauternes)
  • Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Bommes (Sauternes)
  • Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey, Bommes (Sauternes)
  • Château de Rayne-Vigneau, Bommes (Sauternes)
  • Château Suduiraut, Preignac (Sauternes)
  • Château Coutet, Barsac
  • Château Climens, Barsac
  • Château Guiraud, Sauternes
  • Château Rieussec, Fargues (Sauternes)
  • Château Rabaud-Promis, Bommes (Sauternes)
  • Château Sigalas-Rabaud, Bommes (Sauternes)
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14
Q

Médoc

(“c” pronounced)

A

dominate: Cabernet Sauvignon

sub:

  • Haut Médoc (upper Médoc, up-stream)
    • Saint-Estèphe
    • Pauillac
    • St. Julien
    • Margaux
    • Moulis
    • Listrac
  • Bas Médoc (lower Médoc, down-stream), now simply Médoc; more pasture than grapes
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15
Q

Saint-Estèphe

A
  • knife and fork wine; powerful structure
  • 11%
  • finer acidity, tannic structure and colour than other Médoc wines
  • acquires fruitiness, roundness, and elegance with maturity
  • improves with age, can be kept for considerable time
  • red meats; agneau de Pauillac à la cuisson de sept heures, furred game, truffle sauce

Château Cos d’Estournel (2me cru)

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16
Q

Pauillac

A
  • “stark”
  • usu. fruit: blackcurrant, sometimes veering into plum; pencil-shavings, cigar-box
  • roast lamb, patridge, grouse, phesant, hare, rare beef rib
  • Châteaux
    • Mouton Rothschild (more opulent, structured)
    • Lafite Rothschild (complex bouquet w subtle currant)
    • Latour (more supple, open, elegant, full of fruit)
17
Q

Saint-Julien

A

75% makes grand cru classé; smallest and most compact of Haut Médoc appellations

traditionally divided into two areas

  • southern wines: smoother, more feminine, closely related to Margaux wines
  • northern wines: more robust and powerful (eg. Léoville, bordering Latour), more in common with Pauillac
18
Q

Margaux

A
  • known for perfumed fragrance
  • dominant fruit flavour - blackcurrant
  • w. raspberry aroma, smooth, medium bodied
  • wines from its southern part (i.e. Cantenac, Arsac and Labarde): more powerful, less fragrant, leans more towards plum
19
Q

Moulis

Listrac

A
  • no grand cru classé
  • some of Bordeaux’s best cru bourgeois
20
Q

Graves

A
  • dominant: Cabernet Sauvignon
  • compared to Médoc, bigger proportion of Merlot used in the blend
  • dry whites, Sauvignon blanc
  • sweet whites, Sémillon
  • floral, mineral, grapefruit, tobacco, smoke, chocolate
  • Graves Superieur: an appellation for sweet whites covering the same area as Graves
  • Pessac-Léognan
    • Château Haut Brion
  • Sauternes (botrytized)
    • Barsac (botrytrized)
21
Q

Sauternes

A
  • 5 villages: Sauternes, Bommes, Fargues, Barsac
  • by law:
    • sweet white
    • must be botrytized (la pourriture noble)
  • ambrosial (芬香的), aromas and flavors of dried apricot, clover honey
  • Château d’Yquem
22
Q

Saint-Émilion

A

situated in the Libourne subregion, right bank of the Dordogne; cooler than Médoc; 2/3 more production than Médoc; win production since Gallo-Roman times

Carbernet Franc, Merlot; softer than Médoc wines, can be consumed younger

4 categories

  • premier grand cru classé A
  • premier grand cru classé B
  • grands crus
  • Saint-Émilion AOC
23
Q

premier grand cru classé A

A

Saint-Émilion classification

  • Château Cheval Blanc
  • Château Ausone
  • Château Angélus (2012)
  • Château Pavie (2012)
24
Q

Pomerol

A
  • is an AOC, but its wines never classified officially
  • Merlot (high sugar, low acid; 4 yrs to decades)
  • iron rich soil –> rich flavor
  • minerals, pencil lead
  • Château Pétrus (Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix)
25
Q

Entre-Deux-Mers

A
  • reds can only be labeled as “Bordeaux Rouge”
  • Sauvignon Blanc, w small amount: Ugni Blanc, Colombard
  • large quantities of very affordable, clean, crisp white
26
Q

Premières Côtes de Bordeaux

A
  • white wine
  • sub of Entre-Deux-Mers
  • Since 2008, its reds are labled as cadillac-côtes-de-bordeaux.
27
Q

Lalande de Pomerol

A
  • just north or Pomerol
  • full of erlot, soft, fruity, excellent value
28
Q

Bordeaux Supérieur

A
  • 0.5% higher minimum alchohol requirementthan just Bordeaux
  • lower yields

Wine Appreciation (24 decks)

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