General

Question 1

Bordeaux ranks ___ in volume of wine production in France.

Answer 1

2nd

Question 2

In 2004 the total vineyard area of Bordeaux was how many acres?

Answer 2

306,000

-making it France’s largest wine appellation

Question 3

Who provided the framework for the Medoc’s eventual dominance by creating a complex series of drainage channels in the area?

Answer 3

The Dutch

-making it suitable for viticulture in the mid 1600s

Question 4

When was Bordeaux ruled by England?

Answer 4

From 1152-1453

Question 5

What are courtiers?

Answer 5

• brokers of wine
• supplies the Chateaux with financial backing while gaining complete control over the actual trade of wine.
• responsible for en primeur sales

Question 6

What is the climate of Bordeaux?

Answer 6

Maritime

Question 7

What are the 2 moderating influences of the climate of Bordeaux?

Answer 7

• the Atlantic Ocean

- The Gironde Estuary

Question 8

True or False:

The climate of Bordeaux becomes more continental toward St. Emilion and Pomerol.

Answer 8

True

Question 9

What is a chief concern at harvest in terms of weather?

Answer 9

Rain

Question 10

Springtime frost can lead to what 2 problems?

Answer 10

• coulure- improper fruit set

- Millerandage-differential ripening

Question 11

What is the Bordeaux Mixture?

Answer 11

a mix of lime,copper sulfate and water used to avoid fungal problems

Question 12

What was the first identifiable vineyard estate of the Left Bank?

Answer 12

Chateau Pape-Clement

-1305

Question 13

What are 6 grapes are allowed for Bordeaux AOP wines?

Answer 13

Cabernet Sauvignon
Merlot 
Cabernet Franc
Petit Verdot
Malbec
Carmenere

Question 14

What is the most widely planted grape in Bordeaux?

Answer 14

Merlot

• earliest to ripen
• prefers clay-based soils as the delay natural vigor

Question 15

What is the preferred soil type of Cabernet Sauvignon?

Answer 15

well drained gravel

-allows the vine’s root system to dig deeply

Question 16

What is the preferred soil type of Cabernet Franc?

Answer 16

Limestone

Question 17

What is the minimum planting density of the left bank?

Answer 17

7,000 vines per hectare

Question 18

What is the typical blend of Left Bank Bordeaux?

Answer 18

2/3 Cabernet Sauvignon

-Merlot and Cabernet Franc make up the rest.

Question 19

What is the typical blend of Right Bank Bordeaux?

Answer 19

3/4 Merlot

1/4 Cabernet Franc

Question 20

What is the last Bordeaux grape to ripen?

Answer 20

Petit Verdot

Question 21

What is Malbec known as in the Right Bank?

Answer 21

Pressac

Question 22

What are the 3 main grapes of the basic Bordeaux AOP white blend? What other grapes are allowed and to what percentage?

Answer 22

Semillon
Sauvignon Blanc
Muscadelle

-Ugni Blanc, Merlot Blanc, Colombard max. 30%

Question 23

What is the size of a barrique?

Answer 23

225 liters

Question 24

What typifies a Bordeaux Superior AOP wine?

Answer 24

Red and off-dry White wines with a higher min. abv.
11%-red
12%-white

Question 25

What is the Sparkling wine appellation of Bordeaux?

Answer 25

Cremant de Bordeaux AOP

Question 26

What does the Medoc AOP cover?

Answer 26

The entire wine-producing left bank of the Gironde Estuary | -typically used by Chateaux who don't qualify for a more precise appellation

Question 27

What are "jalles"?

Answer 27

drainage channels of the Medoc created

Question 28

What are "croupes"?

Answer 28

gravel mounds

Question 29

Name the 6 commune appellations of the Haut-Medoc from North to South.

Answer 29

``` Saint-Estephe Pauillac Saint Julien Listrac-Medoc Moulis-en-Medoc Margaux ```

Question 30

What is the only significant change to happen to ever happen to the 1855 Classification?

Answer 30

1973 Mouton-Rothschild was elevated from 2nd to 1st growth

Question 31

Explain the Cru Artisan designation.

Answer 31

44 small producers throughout the Medoc are allowed to use the designation -Denotes exceptional stewards of land and craft of wine making without the financing or apparatus of large scale operations.

Question 32

What are the 2 categories of Cru Bourgeois that have been eliminated?

Answer 32

Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel | Cru Bourgeois Superior

Question 33

When was the Cru Bourgeois designation re-instated?

Answer 33

2008 - no longer a specific classification - originally introduced in 1932-444 properties. - official in 2003 -247 chateaux retained their status - term acts as a guarantor of quality and chateaux must apply for it regularly.

Question 34

Define "tries".

Answer 34

picking grapes individually in separate trips throughout the vineyard

Question 35

What are the primary rivers of Bordeaux?

Answer 35

Garonne and Dordogne

Question 36

What is the name of the estuary opening into the Atlantic Ocean?

Answer 36

Gironde Estuary

Question 37

What is the first tranche?

Answer 37

The chateaux releases for sale a 'tranche' or proportion of their total production at an opening price for en premier sales.

Question 38

What first growth has left the en premier system?

Answer 38

Chateau Latour

Question 39

What is the classification of Chateau Smith Haut Lafite?

Answer 39

Cru classe de Graves Rouge

Question 40

Which Chateau holds both titles of Premier Grand Cru Classe in 1855 and Cru Classe de Graves Rouge?

Answer 40

Chateau Haut-Brion