General Flashcards
Bordeaux is 2nd in volume of production only to what other region?
Languedoc
Bordeaux
Vineyard area size in acres
306,000 acres
- France’s largest wine appellation (2004)
Evidence of wine production near the Garonne dates back to what century?
4th century AD
The Dutch
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
Country that ruled Bordeaux from 1152 to 1453
England
Century when a merchant class emerged with resources to store and sell wine on a major scale
18th century
courtiers
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
Time period negociants in Bordeaux start to fade in influence
- Post World War ll, with rising appeal of estate bottling
- Courtiers maintain their authority over the trade
Group responsible for en primeur sales
courtiers
en primeur sales
Yearly offering of Bordeaux wines as futures
Bordeaux
Climate
maritime
- Both Atlantic and the Gironde estuary act as moderating influences, which also protects the vines from winter freezes and spring frost
What protects the Medoc vineyards from harsh west and northwesterly winds?
coastal pine forests
St-Emilion and Pomerol
Climate
continental
- vs Medoc’s maritime influenced climate near the coast
Bordeaux mixture
a mix of lime, copper sulfate and water
Purpose of the Bordeaux mixture
It helps avoid fungal problems.
clairet
Darker, more aromatic style of rosé that evokes the original claret wines shipped to England in the Middle Ages
Besides Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle, 3 other varietals permitted in the basic Bordeaux AOP white blend with %
- Ugni Blanc
- Merlot Blanc
- Colombard
Up to 30%
Best vintage for Bordeaux, 1929, 1930 or 1931
1929
Médoc AOP
Miles in length north to south
50 miles
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
1956
jalles
drainage channels
Reason Merlot is grown more in Bas Médoc than Haut-Médoc
Merlot performs better in the waterlogged, clay-heavy soils of the Bas-Médoc
Haut-Médoc
Soils
well-drained gravelly soils
- Perfect for Cabernet Sauvignon
Médoc AOP
Style permitted
Must be RED
Médoc AOP
White grapes
Number of acres
only 123 acres
- Médoc is overwhelmingly devoted to red wine production
Cru Artisan
Year formally recognized
- 2002
- Although, Cru Artisan was a designation that had been in use for nearly a century and a half
Cru Artisan
From the 2005 vintage forward, number of small producers throughout the Médoc that can use the designaion
44
Cru Artisan designation
Cru Artisan
- Exceptional stewards of the land and craft of winemaking
- Without the financing or apparatus of large-scale operations
Northernmost commune appellation in the Haut-Médoc
St-Estéphe AOP
St-Estéphe
Style
Higher % Merlot, due to high proportion clay amongst gravel
Appellation with the deepest gravel topsoil
Pauillac AOP
<u>1st</u>
- Lafite Rothschild
- Latour
- Mouton-Rothschild
<u>2nd</u>
- Pichon Longueville Baron
- Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
<u>3rd</u>
- none
<u>4th</u>
- Duhart-Milon-Rothschild
<u>5th</u>
- 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
Most famous estate in Moulis
Château Chasse-Spleen
5 villages of Margaux
- Cantenac
- Labarde
- Arsac
- Margaux
- Soussans
(C. L. A. M. S.)
Margaux
Style
Feminine, floral bouquet, exotic character and finesse
Graves
1st identifiable vineyard estate
Château Pape-Clément
- Papal gift awarded to Bordeaux in 1305
boulbenes
Soil mixture of sand, gravel and light clay
Year the communal sub-appellation Pessac-Léognan was created
1987
3 smaller sweet wine appellations in Graves
- Cérons
- Barsac
- Sauternes
Sauternes
3 grapes
- Sémillon
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Muscadelle
Sauternes
Confluence of 2 rivers
Ciron and Garonne Rivers
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
The 1 Premier Cru Supérieur in Sauternes
Château d’Yquem
Château d’Yquem
Dry white
“Y” (“Ygrec”)
- Labeled as Bordeaux or Bordeaux Supérieur
Sauternes
5 villages
- Sauternes
- Barsac
- Fargues
- Preignac
- Bommes
Sauternes AOP and Barsac AOP
min must weight
221 g/l
Sauternes AOP and Barsac AOP
min rs
45 g/l rs
Who releases “Creme de Tête”, a Sauternes aged for decades in concrete vats?
Château Gilette
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
What is unique about Château Figeac in St-Émilion?
Cabernet Sauvignon is a major component of the blend
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
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
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
What is Pomerol’s size in acres?
1,930 acres
- Just 5 square miles, tiny AOP
- vs. St-Émilion: 13,000 acres
What is crasse de fer?
- Pomerol subsoil
- Iron pan and rich clay
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
Pomerol
5 of the best properties
- Château Pétrus
- Vieux-Château-Certan
- Château Lafleur
- Château Le Pin
- Château Trotanoy
2 châteaux among the vanguard of the “microchâteau”, or garagistes movement
- Le Pin - Pomerol
- Valandraud - St-Émilion
- La Mondotte - St-Émilion
Château Le Pin is located in what AOP?
Pomerol AOP
Château Valandraud is located in what AOP?
St-Émilion AOP
Le Pin
Number of bottles made annually
around 6000
- vs. Château Latour’s 150-180,000 bottles of grand vin
St-Émilion
4 satellite appellations
- Montagne
- Lussac
- Puisseguin
- St-Georges
Néac, Fronsac AOP, and Canon-Fronsac AOP are located within what larger appellation?
Lalande-de-Pomerol AOP
Vintage Château Mouton Rothschild select 2 different labels
1978
- Artist - Jean-Paul Riopelle
