General Flashcards
1
Q
Bordeaux is 2nd in volume of production only to what other region?
A
Languedoc
2
Q
Bordeaux
Vineyard area size in acres
A
306,000 acres
- France’s largest wine appellation (2004)
3
Q
Evidence of wine production near the Garonne dates back to what century?
A
4th century AD
4
Q
The Dutch
A
Mid 1600s, Dutch provided framework for Medoc’s eventual dominance by creating a complex series of drainage channels throughout the area, making it suitable for viticulture
5
Q
Country that ruled Bordeaux from 1152 to 1453
A
England
6
Q
Century when a merchant class emerged with resources to store and sell wine on a major scale
A
18th century
7
Q
courtiers
A
brokers of wine
- Courtiers became a powerful force in the Medoc by supplying Chateaux with financial backing while gaining total control over the actual trade of wine
8
Q
Time period negociants in Bordeaux start to fade in influence
A
- Post World War ll, with rising appeal of estate bottling
- Courtiers maintain their authority over the trade
9
Q
Group responsible for en primeur sales
A
courtiers
10
Q
en primeur sales
A
Yearly offering of Bordeaux wines as futures
11
Q
Bordeaux
Climate
A
maritime
- Both Atlantic and the Gironde estuary act as moderating influences, which also protects the vines from winter freezes and spring frost
12
Q
What protects the Medoc vineyards from harsh west and northwesterly winds?
A
coastal pine forests
13
Q
St-Emilion and Pomerol
Climate
A
continental
- vs Medoc’s maritime influenced climate near the coast
14
Q
Bordeaux mixture
A
a mix of lime, copper sulfate and water
15
Q
Purpose of the Bordeaux mixture
A
It helps avoid fungal problems.
16
Q
clairet
A
Darker, more aromatic style of rosé that evokes the original claret wines shipped to England in the Middle Ages
17
Q
Besides Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle, 3 other varietals permitted in the basic Bordeaux AOP white blend with %
A
- Ugni Blanc
- Merlot Blanc
- Colombard
Up to 30%
19
Q
Best vintage for Bordeaux, 1929, 1930 or 1931
A
1929
20
Q
Médoc AOP
Miles in length north to south
A
50 miles
21
Q
Year of the 20th century that a terrible frost destroyed nearly 3/4 of the Malbec vines in Bordeaux, leading to its decline in the region
A
1956
23
Q
jalles
A
drainage channels
24
Q
Reason Merlot is grown more in Bas Médoc than Haut-Médoc
A
Merlot performs better in the waterlogged, clay-heavy soils of the Bas-Médoc
25
Q
Haut-Médoc
Soils
A
well-drained gravelly soils
- Perfect for Cabernet Sauvignon
26
Q
Médoc AOP
Style permitted
A
Must be RED
27
Médoc AOP
White grapes
Number of acres
**only 123 acres**
* Médoc is overwhelmingly devoted to red wine production
29
Cru Artisan
Year formally recognized
* **2002**
* Although, Cru Artisan was a designation that had been in use for nearly a century and a half
30
Cru Artisan
From the 2005 vintage forward, number of small producers throughout the Médoc that can use the designaion
**44**
31
Cru Artisan designation
Cru Artisan
* **Exceptional stewards of the land and craft of winemaking**
* **Without the financing or apparatus of large-scale operations**
33
Northernmost commune appellation in the Haut-Médoc
**St-Estéphe AOP**
34
St-Estéphe
Style
**Higher % Merlot, due to high proportion clay amongst gravel**
35
Appellation with the deepest gravel topsoil
**Pauillac AOP**
1st
* Lafite Rothschild
* Latour
* Mouton-Rothschild
2nd
* Pichon Longueville Baron
* Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
3rd
* none
4th
* Duhart-Milon-Rothschild
5th
* Batailley
* Castle Croizet Bages
* Clerc-Milon
* d'Armailhac (known as Mouton-Baronne-Philippe, 1933-1988)
* Grand-Puy-Ducasse
* Grand-Puy-Lacoste
* Haut-Bages-Liberal
* Haut-Batailley
* Lynch-Bages
* Pédesclaux
* Pontet-Canet
36
*croupes*
**gravel mounds**
* Unearthed by the Dutch during their drainage work in the 1600s; the better châteaux are usually located upon these deep gravel banks
37
Most famous estate in Moulis
**Château Chasse-Spleen**
38
5 villages of Margaux
* **Cantenac**
* **Labarde**
* **Arsac**
* **Margaux**
* **Soussans**
## Footnote
(C. L. A. M. S.)
39
Margaux
Style
**Feminine, floral bouquet, exotic character and finesse**
40
Graves
1st identifiable vineyard estate
**Château Pape-Clément**
* Papal gift awarded to Bordeaux in 1305
41
*boulbenes*
Soil mixture of **sand**, **gravel** and **light clay**
42
Group responsible for carrying out the categorization of the classifications
the region's ***courtiers***
* Categorized by pre-existing prices first through fifth growths
44
Year the communal sub-appellation Pessac-Léognan was created
**1987**
46
3 smaller sweet wine appellations in Graves
* **Cérons**
* **Barsac**
* **Sauternes**
47
Sauternes
3 grapes
* **Sémillon**
* **Sauvignon Blanc**
* **Muscadelle**
48
Sauternes
Confluence of 2 rivers
**Ciron and Garonne Rivers**
49
Reason a producer has to pick botyrtis grapes in *tries* (multiple trips through the vineyards)
**Because, botrytis does not attack grapes evenly; some grapes might be more afflicted than others at different points in hang time**
50
The 1 Premier Cru Supérieur in Sauternes
**Château d'Yquem**
52
Château d'Yquem
Dry white
**"Y" ("Ygrec")**
* Labeled as Bordeaux or Bordeaux Supérieur
53
Sauternes
5 villages
* **Sauternes**
* **Barsac**
* **Fargues**
* **Preignac**
* **Bommes**
54
Sauternes AOP and Barsac AOP
min must weight
**221 g/l**
55
Sauternes AOP and Barsac AOP
min rs
**45 g/l rs**
56
Who releases "Creme de Tête", a Sauternes aged for decades in concrete vats?
**Château Gilette**
57
Château Ausone's name is an homage to what?
**Ausonius****, a 4th century Roman poet who may (or may not) have planted his vines at the site of the current estate**
58
What is unique about Château Figeac in St-Émilion?
**Cabernet Sauvignon** is a major component of the blend
59
What are the two broadly categorized types of soils in St-Émilion?
**côtes** - steep hillside slopes of limestone
**graves** - gravelly limestone plateau resembling soils of the Médoc
60
In what year was St-Émilion's three-tier classification published?; in what years were there revisions to the classification?
**1955**; **1969**, **1985**, **1996**, and **2012**
61
What are the requirements for a wine labeled St-Émilion Grand Cru AOP?
* **+ 0.5% alcohol**
* **Longer élevage** than wines simply labeled St-Émilion AOP
62
What is Pomerol's size in acres?
**1,930 acres**
* Just 5 square miles, tiny AOP
* vs. St-Émilion: 13,000 acres
63
What is *crasse de fer*?
* Pomerol subsoil
* **Iron pan** and **rich clay**
64
Pétrus
Pétrus
* **Est. 18th cent**
* **Eearliest records mid-1700s**
* **End of 1700s, Arnaud family (also origins of Château Clinet)**
* **1800s, Pétrus transcended, while less fashionable than Left Bank**
* **WWI, Arnaud family began to sell, Madame Loubat, widowed hotelier from Libourne, slowly aquired beg. in 1923, eventual full ownership**
* **1940s, Loubat hired Jean-Pierre Moueix, oversees production, price Pétrus equal to 1855 1st growths**
* **1961, Loubat passed, estate goes to niece, nephew and portion to Moueix**
* **End of 1960s, Moueix and son Jean-François bought out Loubat family, hired Jean Claude Berrouet to lead winemaking team, expanded vineyard 5 ha, Moueix still own majority, Jean Claude Berrouet's son Olivier is the winemaker**
* **2018, billionaire Santo Domingo purchased 20% share**
* **Pétrus shares its name with the hill upon which it is located, named for a Roman who owned the property in ancient times**
* **Almost uniformly deep, dense blue clay soils, while much of Pomerol is gravelly-clay; reason for wine’s power and high % of Merlot**
* **11.5 ha**
* **97% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc**
* **3,000 cases**
* **Grand vin.: 100% Merlot (2015), ferm in concrete vats, 18-20 mo 50% new French oak**
* **Renowned for its ageability and power, rich and velvety**
* **Always destemmed, sorted optically, a dozen temp-cont 50-130 hl concrete vats, from 50-130 hl, short pre-ferm maceration followed with up to three weeks of post-ferm maceration, malo in a different vat, lots destined for Pétrus are blended and aged in barrel, 50% new, exact length of élevage varies by vintage, fined and filtered before bottling**
66
Cru Bourgeois
3 original categories
Divided 444 properties
* **Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel**
* **Cru Bourgeois Supérieur**
* **Cru Bourgeois**
67
Pomerol
5 of the best properties
* **Château Pétrus**
* **Vieux-Château-Certan**
* **Château Lafleur**
* **Château Le Pin**
* **Château Trotanoy**
68
2 châteaux among the vanguard of the "microchâteau", or garagistes movement
* **Le Pin** - Pomerol
* **Valandraud** - St-Émilion
* **La Mondotte** - St-Émilion
69
Château Le Pin is located in what AOP?
**Pomerol AOP**
70
Château Valandraud is located in what AOP?
**St-Émilion AOP**
71
Le Pin
Number of bottles made annually
**around 6000**
* vs. Château Latour's 150-180,000 bottles of grand vin
72
St-Émilion
4 satellite appellations
* **Montagne**
* **Lussac**
* **Puisseguin**
* **St-Georges**
73
Néac, Fronsac AOP, and Canon-Fronsac AOP are located within what larger appellation?
**Lalande-de-Pomerol AOP**
74
Vintage Château Mouton Rothschild select 2 different labels
**1978**
* Artist - Jean-Paul Riopelle
89
Year Samuel Pepys famously extolled the virtues of "Ho-Bryan"
**1663**
92
Graves
% of white wine production
**25%**
99
Graves
Sweet white designatin
**Graves Supérieur AOP**
105
2 vintages that Château d'Yquem did not produce a Sauternes.
**1952**
**1964**
**1972**
**1974**
**1992**
**2012**
119
Cabernet Franc synonym in Pomerol
**Bouchet**
129
Oldest family owning a classified growth in the Médoc
**Barton**
