Discover the Wines of Bordeaux

Michael Fagan takes us on this memorable journey through the historic vineyards of Bordeaux in 2005. Discover why this region produces wine with such a prestigious worldwide reputation. Explore the wines, the people, and the Chateaux of this famous apellation.
31 minutes

In southwest France the marriage of wine  and culture is a tradition centuries old. Bordeaux with its harmony of history and terroir  has come to exemplify the majesty of fine wine. In the World of Wine, Bordeaux is one of the  most recognized and treasured.

Collectors are happy to pay hundreds of dollars a bottle for  top wines, like Château Margaux, to get them into their collection. But what’s often overlooked  with all the fame and glory these wines attain is that they really only represent five  percent of the total Bordeaux Market.

Bordeaux produces a wide range of wines,  to put things into perspective, there’s as   much wine produced in the Region of Bordeaux  as in many entire New World Wine countries. The region has over 13000 growers, 9000  Châteaus, and 57 different Appellations.  

In this episode we’re going to travel through  Bordeaux and discover all that it has to offer. The 18th century city of Bordeaux is a thriving  Metropolis at the heart of the Bordeaux Region,   built on trade the city is France’s Southwest  Port with commercial links across the globe.

The city is an undiscovered pleasure of  French culture and charm, although sometimes   overshadowed in terms of tourism, the slower  pace contributes to the bordelaise ability   to appreciate food and fine wine. Even today  Bordeaux remains the capital of the Wine World.

The Garonne River, the region’s main thoroughfare,  flows in and out with the rising tide making the city built on its shores a natural port. By the 17th century, merchants of various nationalities began establishing firms on the bank of the Garonne  

To act as négociants, or agents between the wine  producers of Bordeaux and the world marketplace.   So that today the people at large celebrate  the pride of Bordeaux. “The core reason why people are interested in what we are doing is  just because it’s terribly good to drink, so it’s  

It’s a great wine, gives a pleasure. You look  at it, you smell, you swallow and you feel better”   “I think when you think about wine, European wine,  the first thing you think about is Bordeaux.   Bordeaux is the center of the Wine World”.

Bordeaux’s prominence, as a Wine Region today,  can be traced back to one famous document. In 1855 Emperor Napoleon III wanted to showcase  the finest wines of the country at the Paris exposition, so he challenged recognized brokers of the day and had them develop a list, ranking the Châteaus of Bordeaux.

And this is the list. It’s known as the Official Classification of 1855. Many of the great names then  are great names now. Latour Margaux Lafite Haut-Brion Rothschild Here was the origin of the concept of  fine wine. Wine sold by the bottle with a sense of place and history included.

Other classifications followed and expanded throughout Bordeaux. “Bordeaux is certainly not just expensive wines,  however those expensive wines are the symbol of   Bordeaux and, as the French would say, the locomotif. They’re what drive the industry here”   But we’re here to discover and demystify  the broad elements of all Bordeaux wine.

The center of the Wine World became such because  it produces wines for every lifestyle and every   budget, even today the styles of Bordeaux  wines have and are evolving, do as much to   the competition from the new world producers as  to the differing taste of an expanding marketplace.  

With thousands of Châteaus producing  wines, each distinct to its terroir,   the vast array is perhaps the most dizzying aspect  of the industry. How do we make sense of it all? Well, the first step is geographic. Bordeaux, with 100 000 hectares under vine, is France’s largest quality wine region located on the Southwest Coast.

The main waterway is the Gironde estuary with its two tributaries, the Dordogne and the Garonne, which served to divide the region into three distinct zones: the Left Bank, Entre-Deux-Mers and the Right Bank. Each and every bottle of Bordeaux is made under the Appellation d’origine contrôlée or AOC regulations.

The label indicates geographically where the grapes  have been harvested and, in the case of a Château,   where the wine was made. All of which contribute  to the concept of what the French call ‘terroir’.  “The whole ethos of Bordeaux is based on terroir.  Terroir means not only the ground in which  

The grapes are grown but also the atmosphere, the  weather around and drainage, it takes into account   all kinds of aspects about how that grape was grown”. “The main thing to remember about Bordeaux wines, both red and white,

Is that they are a blend and that thereafter, they are a blend of really principally three red grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, in various combinations depending on where you are  in Bordeaux. And Sémillon and Sauvignon for the white”.

The most readily affordable wines of Bordeaux come  from grapes harvested from all areas of the region,   this is usually the product of a négociant, who is  involved in the entire wine making process, from   the purchase of the grapes, to the final blending  and aging of the finished wines.

“Making a blend is just trying to bring to the consumer the most  complex and harmonious wine you can you can make”  Paz Espejo is a winemaker for the  Négociant Calvet, in business since 1818.   In response to increasing competition from New  World Wines, Calvet like others in Bordeaux, has been revitalizing itself.

“I don’t think we have to copy, because the interest people have always had in Bordeaux is because  there was a special personality. I think we don’t have to lose this personality

Because we will never make the same kind of wines at the New World, we’re not in Australia, we’re not in Chile, we are in Bordeaux and we have to understand what Bordeaux is and try to improve the quality as much as we can”. 

The basic grape varieties used for the blending  of Bordeaux red wines are Cabernet Sauvignon and   Merlot with Cabernet Franc and, to a lesser extent,  Malbec and Petit Verdot, to round off particular styles. “Cabernet Sauvignon brings acidity, tannins,  so structure, spiciness, aging capacity.

Merlot, for example, brings fruitiness, the floral side, the violet, the rose petal. So both seems to be, logically, a good complement, a good balance. And Cabernet Franc brings more or less between both, it is spicy but at the same time it brings acidity.  So it is fresh and brings aging capacity too”.

“The winemaker can actually adjust the quantities  of these different grapes in different years.   So if one year the Merlot doesn’t  ripen as well as the Cabernet Sauvignon,   he’ll put more Cabernet Sauvignon in, so it’s really a winemaker’s wine” “What I want is,

Vintage after Vintage, to bring to the consumer  the best expression, the most beautiful wine” The next step up, in terms of quality,  is what is known as Bordeaux Supérieur. Yvon Mau is another large-scale Négociant  Firm, shipping over four million cases a year.

Founded in 1897, Yvon Mau owns or represents  a number of Bordeaux’s smaller producers, among   them Château Ducla, a generic Bordeaux that has  recently been elevated to Bordeaux Supérieur status.   “The main difference between Bordeaux and  Bordeaux Supérieur it’s more consistency of quality”.  

“The three principle differences are  that the Supérieur has to have half a   degree potential alcohol more, it has to have  a slightly lower yield and it has to be aged   for slightly longer in barrel, therefore intimating  that it is a slightly more structured wine”.  

“We’re not so fond of grapes and we think that  the terroir is much more important than the grapes,   to give you an example and to be more precise,  we think that the Cabernet produced in   Médoc would be very different from the  Cabernet in California, just nothing like”.

One of the finest qualities of  Bordeaux lies in the balance. “It cannot be too much something, it could not be too much  alcohol, too much tanning, too much acidity.   The art of Bordeaux, the mystery  of Bordeaux is to be a good balance   and this balance must be, normally, with the food”.

This is the Médoc, a place the French refer  to as the ‘Promised Land of Cabernet Sauvignon’.   ‘la Rive Gauche’ or the Left Bank is comprised  of the Médoc along with Graves and Sauternes and it’s here that we’ll begin our journey  through the Appellations of Bordeaux.

October, the culmination of a  year’s hard work in the vineyards,   the harvest traditions remain strong here with  many of the same people returning year after year. Timing the harvest is critical to obtain the  optimal balance of sugars and acids in the fruit   and ultimately, to express  the character of the vineyard.  

The soils in the district are quite poor  for growing anything other than grapes   but the rocky and gravelly soils retains  heat and drains easily, which makes it ideal for the late ripening Cabernet. “The Médoc is Cabernet Sauvignon dominant, that’s the grape and Cabernet Sauvignon is a very small berry

And a small berry means a large surface of skin and therefore, the wines are quite tannic. These wines tend to be more austere, they need to longer aging than on the Right Bank, where it’s Merlot dominant”. In their youth many of the red wines of Bordeaux,

Although approachable, can be tight and  complex. Over time these characteristics   give way to leather tones, tobacco and  dried fruit. Now the Vintage of a wine   also contributes to its ageability. All wines, even  wines from extraordinary Vintages, eventually peak and later decline.

The finest Vintages can be aged  for up to a hundred years in the right conditions, all the while appreciating in  its subtle and complex qualities.   How far back do the wines go in here? “Oh.. 1881” An interesting cellar within the Region lies at Château Batailley in the commune of Pauillac.

These bottles are a testament to the Region’s history and each year the Château will add four to  six thousand bottles for future generations.   This is quite the collection. “This is the library, this is the memory of Batailley. 1982…” Philippe Castéja is the Château owner and serves as chairman of the Médoc Classified Growth’s Organization.

What a library. “Oh yeah” That gives a new definition to libraries. “Yeah.. exactly Every vintage in Bordeaux is different, and  this climate, this adverse climate sometimes, has   made our consumers to be searching  this Vintage or that Vintage because  

They want a wine which is going to be  to be drunk younger or a little older”  So this is something that’s going to last”  “Yeah, it’s going to last for a century or so   and but I’m sure that in 20, 25 years, it’s going  to be excellent. Why don’t we make an appointment?”  

Okay. I’m going to get my calendar, I’m  going to put that in. “Okay, sold” Absolutely The Médoc offers all sorts of quality wines  including mid-level priced wine, called Cru Bourgeois. One of these is Château du Taillan, whose traditional approach is mitigated by some unique factors in its ownership.

“We are five girls owning the Château at the moment and we are very fond of this Château. And we really want to go far with this Cru Bourgeois and to do the best we can for this wonderful Château. So here we are in the old cellar from the 16th century..”

The Château itself was built in the 18th century and has  been in the Cruse Family for over 100 years. Today even the barrel cellars, or Chai, are classified as historical monuments. “The tradition is very important, especially in the Château du Taillan, as this Château belongs to a very  

Old family, the Cruse Family, my family and so we  try to keep this tradition but to modernize slowly   this tradition in order to keep the authenticity to the wine”. Cru Bourgeois producers have become very sensitive to the success of New World Wine. “The market has changed since five years in the Cru Bourgeois.

We know that nowadays many people produce wine in the world and the only secret for us, in Bordeaux, in the Cru Bourgeois, in the Médoc, is to produce quality wine”. Traveling a little further South we come  to the heartland of the Bordeaux Region.   Graves Graves is the French word for gravel  

And the best Châteaus here are located on  distinctive gravel outcrops, called ‘croupes’. Unlike most other areas of Bordeaux, Graves  produces both red and white wines. This is Château La Louvière, owned by André Lurton, one  of the most influential producers in the Region.

He has been a potent force in the  development and promotion of the Graves Region.   “Wine can be made well anywhere in the  world with sunshine and good soil,   what differs are the overall  characteristics of the terroir  

And we have our own special characteristics,  which comes from our soil but also from our blends” The Graves Region has a reputation for producing  the highest quality dry white wines of Bordeaux.   White wine production here combines the  traditional methods with modern techniques,  

The white wines of the Region use both Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. “These are the top dry white wines from the Region of Bordeaux, which these  days would all have been fermented in barrel   so the character tends to be a citrus character  in youth, a crispiness to them and an ageability”.  

Moving East and across the Garonne River,  we find Bordeaux’s second geographic zone   Entre-Deux-Mers, this is one of the largest  growing areas in Bordeaux and where the   négociants harvest most of their grapes. However  it’s only the white wines of the Region that can   be labeled with the Appellation Entre-Deux-Mers.

Entre-Deux-Mers literally means ‘between two seas’ but in this case it’s between two rivers, the ‘Dordogne’ and ‘la Garonne’ and this is where they meet. In between them, you’ll find the largest mass of vineyards in all of Bordeaux.

Since the 1970s, many growers have been planting the red grape varieties in response to the market demand, through advances in technology Entre-Deux-Mers has increased  both the quality and quantity of their yields.   “This is a bargain place to shop for white and  red wines, wines that come around quickly, that  

Are very good with food. And the whole thing  about Bordeaux is how well it matches food,   many of the big wines from the New World  that one enjoys drinking are overpower food”. Tthe ancient people thought it was a sea, that is  the reason why they called Entre-Deux-Mers, between two seas..”

Château Bonnet in Entre-Deux-Mers, is  another of André Lurton’s properties an state also serving as his family home.  He inherited this property in 1956 and has since elevated the Château’s  red and white wines to new heights.

“About 50 years ago we decided to transform it and make  a dry white wine and this is a dry wine, fruity  and friendly, easy to drink, easy to understand”. Now we leave the thriving vineyards of Entre-Deux-Mers and travel North across the river, to Bordeaux’s  third geographic zone, the Right Bank.

As we’ve seen on the Left, in the Médoc and Haut-Médoc, the soils are really gravelly and the blends from that side are   dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. Over here however,  the soils are more clay and limestone and Merlot   thrives in this Region and is the predominant  varietal in the blends from these areas.

The wines here have always been more forward in character  than their austere cousins across the river.   Now some may think that this is a newer region but you’d be wrong. “Saint-Émilion hallelujah! Saint-Émilion hallelujah! Saint-Émilion hallelujah!” Saint-Émilion, a beautiful medieval fortress  town, with hilly cobbled streets running  

Through ancient limestone buildings,  has been designated a world heritage site. With a history stretching back over 800 years Saint-Émilion was a wine region when  much of the Médoc was only swampland. “You could mistake a good Saint-Émilion for  a Pinot Noir, because they have that  

Sweetness of fruit and they’re  very accessible at a young age”. The largest wine estate here is Château Laroque,   producing Grand Cru and Grand Cru Classé wines, the blend consists broadly of Merlot   supported by Cabernet Franc with  just a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon.

“I believe that the styles of our wines is our history,   it’s our soils, it’s our characteristics  and our personality”. Bruno Sainson, the director at Château Laroque, is  completely involved in the winemaking process. “These are wines that are  going to express our terroir,  

They have a certain generosity of taste, with very  fine tannins and further refinement in barrel.   But this refining is done to enhance the wine’s quality not to mask or dominate”. The harvest reaps its bounty from the land, much as it has for hundreds of years

But there’s a constant revitalization in Bordeaux wine  adapting to the land, to the weather and even to the tastes of the marketplace. “Terroir is much more important than just the soil, it’s the situation, it’s for prevailing winds coming from the East,

It’s the work that we do throughout here to till the soil, to treat the vines. All that comes in the notion of terroir and the French believe that is more important than the grape variety”. This is Pomerol, a small Appellation on the Right Bank that has never been classified,

Yet produces some of the most expensive wines in the world. A small plateau with world-class Châteaus  making on average a thousand cases a year.   The clay, sand and pebbled soil is so variable  that vineyards only a few feet apart produce   wines that taste vastly different from one another.

“We’re standing on the edge of the most expensive lawn in the world, the lawn of Vieux Château Certan, but from the plateau where we are you can see really the jewels of the  Pomerol area. There’s La Conseillante, l’Evangile,  

Pétrus, Lefleur and behind the Vieux Château Certan,  which is this Château here, we have Trotanoy,   L’Église-Clinet, Le Pin. All surrounding the plateau. If you can see it’s quite pebbly, they’re lots of small pebbles..” It really is. The roots within each of the vineyards on this plateau burrow down into the clay-based soil,

Deriving distinct characteristics from a variety of mineral elements. “When people grow Merlot outside of France, they  look to Pomerol as the model and what they would   like to, what they’d like the wines to taste like”. “Pomerol’s wines are known for their very rich,

Almost overtly fruity flavors. We always talk about  Merlot having red fruit characters, raspberry, cherry, those flavors and there’s a spiciness that is  really known from Merlot from Pomerol”. At a typical Pomerol estate, the yields are kept  very low to enhance the quality of the grapes.  

The wine is fermented in cement vats,  each corresponding to a different parcel of the vineyard. Now why would you keep them separate? “Well here, for example, this is Merlot grown and sandy soil,  Merlot on clayey soil and the Cabernets”

And you ferment them separately for what reason?  “Because each wine grown on different soil reacts   differently, so perhaps it would take a longer  fermentation or would need to be pumped over   more often or it would be picked later, so it’s  good to keep them apart for as long as possible”.

The Right Bank has hidden, undiscovered gems   full of surprises, keeping that Bordeaux reputation  for quality and, at the same time, affordability.   “People really don’t know about the smaller regions in Bordeaux. The Côtes.

The Côtes de Blaye, the Côtes de Bourg, the Côtes de Franc, the Côtes de Castillon, the Premiere Côtes de Bordeaux. We’re going to learn more about them because these guys are making  very good wines indeed and very inexpensively”.  

Located in the Northern part of the Right Bank  the Appellations, collectively known as the Côtes,   including Côtes de Blaye, Côtes de Bourg and Côtes de Castillon,  generally consist of smaller wineries   making unique offerings on an affordable basis.  Unknown for the most part outside of wine circles  

These wines may well become much  more celebrated in the future. Bordeaux as a Region, is certainly known for  producing fine dry wines but the area of Sauternes,  South of the Graves Region, is renowned  the world over for its sweet white wine  

A varietal blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon  and Muscatel grapes is only the beginning,   the essential ingredient here is called  Botrytis or ‘noble rot’, nature’s gift to the area.   “The Botrytis breaks down the grape and helps  concentrate, both sugar and acidity”

Botrytis comes about, when the warm tidal waters  of the Garonne meet the cooler Gironde river, creating a fog that envelops the vineyards in its  proximity causing the fungus, known as Botrytis.   When conditions are right, harvesters work  painstakingly through successive pickings  

To select only individual berries that have  been properly affected by the noble rot.   We spoke to Corrine Reulet,  from Château La Tour Blanche,   about the selection process for these grapes. “So, I will show you a very good example

Of the different stages of Botrytis.  First you have a berry like this, with   maturity. After you have this kind of berry,  which turn brown and the last stage is this   kind of berry, which is very dry, very concentrated  with high sugar, high acidity and special flowers”.  

When the grapes have been harvested they’re  sorted and scrutinized by the Cellar Master,  because the degree of Botrytis will  determine the quality of the finished wine.   The grapes are gently pressed, resulting in  an elegant and voluptuous wine with flavors  

Of honey and exotic fruits. Good Sauternes will  continue to evolve with age for 50 years or more   with the fruit and acidity giving way to honey and vanilla character.

The first time I get the try Sauternes right from the cast, this is a real treat. How long do you leave it in the barrel? “It’s fermented for two or three weeks and after that, it’s aging on, at least, for 16-18 months” This is great

Look at the color. ‘”It has a very nice color, uh?” For many people, when they think of Sauternes they think of it only as a dessert wine but when else would  you serve this?

“It’s very good by itself, as an Apéritif and it’s very famous on a with a Foie gras as well and it goes very well with white meats, like chicken or veal and it’s very, very good with some cheeses, like Roquefort or Blue.   My favorite is my, is with Roquefort”.

Excellent, this is beautiful. “Yes, it is” Bordeaux is a Region steeped in history. Quiet, stately and seemingly unchanged for centuries. But here, where tradition is the  foundation of their industry,   progress and revitalization are occurring as they never have before.

“Certainly the 1980s probably saw improvements in vinification, the 1990s have been improvements in viticulture”.   “I think there has been a style change in all  the years that I’ve been drinking Bordeaux   and I can see it particularly now, that the French  Vintners are aware of the International Market.  

They see what their competition is and they’re no  longer ‘resting on their laurels'”. “We have adapted all the time, it’s an old tradition to change, in  every single gesture there is a margin of progress”. Bordeaux has long been recognized as the benchmark  many winemakers strive for. Although its popularity  

May seem overshadowed by New World Wines labeled  by varietal, the area is rich with tradition and   continues to produce an exciting range of products,  that are sure to satisfy any palate or occasion. We hope you’ve enjoyed this episode. If you  have comments, we’d like to hear from you.  

Our email address is: discover@lcbo.com