France, Bordeaux Flashcards
Intro
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
Médoc 17th C
Dutch businessmen brought engineers, drained the marshes, exposed gentle hills w gravelly soil, perfect for vinifera grapes.
phylloxera
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
terroir
west coast, exactly halfway b/t North Pole & equator, no extreme temp., thick pine forest along coast, various soil types
Famous Areas
- Médoc
- St. Émillon
- Pomerol
- Grave
- Sauternes
red varietals
Cabernet Sauvignon (best known; = Bouchet)
Merlot (most widely planted)
Cabernet Franc
Petit Verdot
Carmenère
whtie varietals
Sauvignon Blanc (most important)
Sémillon (most widely planted)
Muscadelle
Sauvignon Gris
Merlot Blanc
Ondenc
Mauzac
Colombard
Ugni Blanc
Gironde River
left & right bank
right bank
- St. Émilion, Pomerol
- Merlot, Cabernet Franc
left bank
- Médoc, Graves
- Cabernet Sauvignon
quality levels
- Bordeaux (lowest)
- Bordeaux + region
- Bordeaux + region + château
Médoc classification
est. 1855
Grand Cru Classé - 5 levels
Cru Bourgeois (1920) - great value
Grand Cru Classé
Médoc classification, 1855
5 levels (61 châteaux)
Premier Cru
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)
Bordeaux sweet wines
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)
Médoc
(“c” pronounced)
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
Saint-Estèphe
- 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)
Pauillac
- “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)
Saint-Julien
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
Margaux
- 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
Moulis
Listrac
- no grand cru classé
- some of Bordeaux’s best cru bourgeois
Graves
- 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)
Sauternes
- 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
Saint-Émilion
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
premier grand cru classé A
Saint-Émilion classification
- Château Cheval Blanc
- Château Ausone
- Château Angélus (2012)
- Château Pavie (2012)
Pomerol
- 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)
Entre-Deux-Mers
- reds can only be labeled as “Bordeaux Rouge”
- Sauvignon Blanc, w small amount: Ugni Blanc, Colombard
- large quantities of very affordable, clean, crisp white
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux
- white wine
- sub of Entre-Deux-Mers
- Since 2008, its reds are labled as cadillac-côtes-de-bordeaux.
Lalande de Pomerol
- just north or Pomerol
- full of erlot, soft, fruity, excellent value
Bordeaux Supérieur
- 0.5% higher minimum alchohol requirementthan just Bordeaux
- lower yields
