Bordeaux
Bordeaux wine, refers to all wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Bordeaux is the second largest wine region in the world with over 284,320 acres under vine, 57 appellations, 9,000 wine-producing châteaux, and 13,000 grape growers (The largest being the Languedoc wine region with 617,750 acres under vine.)
With an annual production of over 700 million bottles, Bordeaux produces large quantities of everyday wine as well as expensive wines. Although the reputation of Bordeaux is based on its few prestigious red wines and the sweet white wines from Sauternes, Bordeaux also produces large quantities of ordinary table wines, including white wines, rosé wines, and a sparkling wine, called Crémant de Bordeaux.
Red Bordeaux, which is traditionally known as claret in the United Kingdom, is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Carmenere although the Malbec is very seldom used and Carmenere is now virtually absent in Bordeaux. White Bordeaux is made from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle.
The Bordeaux region has an excellent environment for growing vines. The ecological foundation of the region is limestone, meaning that the soil is full of calcium, and the natural paths of the Garonne and the Dordogne irrigate the land. Combined with the oceanic climate, giving humidity to the atmosphere, this creates a desirable environment for grapes to flourish.
The Bordeaux wine region is divided into subregions including Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Médoc, and Graves. In 1855, a classification system, known as The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, ranked the wines into five categories according to price. The first growth red wines (four from Médoc and one, Château Haut-Brion, from Graves), are among the most expensive wines in the world, although in wine competitions they tend to be beaten by less expensive wines from various countries in blind taste tests. See, for example, the St. Catharines Wine Tasting of 2005, the Berlin Wine Tasting of 2004 and The Wine Rematch of the Century.
The first growths are:
* Château Lafite-Rothschild
* Château Margaux
* Château Latour
* Château Haut-Brion
* Château Mouton-Rothschild
In 1955, St. Émilion AOC were classified, adding an additional two Premier Crus (Class A):
* Château Ausone
* Château Cheval Blanc
Pomerol has never been officially classified, but its best estates, such Château Pétrus and Château Le Pin, fetch very high prices that often exceed even the prices of the first growths.
Sauternes is a subregion of Graves known for its intensely sweet, white, dessert wines such as Château d\\\'Yquem. The intense sweetness is the result of the grapes being affected by Botrytis cinerea, a fungus that is commonly known as noble rot.
Many critics, including Robert M. Parker, Jr., believe that the 1855 classification is out of date and that a reclassification would be in the interests of consumers. Apart from being out of date, the 1855 classification was based entirely on wine prices. Since 1855, châteaux have bought and sold vineyards; prestigious winemakers have died; and many other important changes have occurred. In 1961, the French government decided to review the classification and delete 17 châteaux. In the end, the proposed reclassification never happened because the government finally yielded to political pressure applied by owners of the affected châteaux, who feared that a demotion would mean that they would need to reduce their prices. Certainly, there are some wines that are not as good as their classification would lead the average consumer to believe, and there are many producers that make excellent wine despite little or no recognition according to the 1855 classification. Nevertheless, it is generally agreed that all the first growths are among the finest wines available.
This article is based entirely or in part on the
Bordeaux wikipedia article
and is licenced under the terms of the
GNU Free Documentation Licence.
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In this categoryChâteau de Marchesseau 2006
Classic Bordeaux blend of 70% Merlot 15% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon has produced an elegant wine, with a deep mahogany colour, fresh bouquet with ripe dark fruits and tobacco notes following onto the palate. Silky and round in the mouth it has a long fruity farewell. [read on...]
A B V: 13% Vintage: 2006 Color: red Country: France Code: 72894
Château les Faures Futs de Eleve 2004
This claret is consistently good, vintage after vintage. Red fruit abound on the nose and in the mouth, which is persistant and warm. The oak adds signicantly to its texture and complexity and four years bottle age has allowed this wine to develope its early potential. [read on...]
A B V: 13% Vintage: 2004 Color: unspecifie Country: France Code: 72824
Chateau Les Faures Rouge 2005
The wine from this Château has become a very favourite with customers of ours. This is an excellent vintage producing a classic sincere claret style with fine balance and a very good complexity and flavour for such an inexpensively priced red Bordeaux [read on...]
A B V: 13.5% Vintage: 2005 Color: red Country: France Code: 67699
Château Mayne Blanc Cuvèe Tradition 04
The 2004 vintage proved very welcome, producing wines of real character for early drinking. Cuvèe Tradition is the "second" wine of this fine Château with a good colour, and a complex flavour of prunes, stewed fruit and a hint of mushrooms and soft refined sipple elegant structure with very refined oak. [read on...]
A B V: 13% Vintage: 2004 Color: red Country: France Code: 72841
Château Mayne Blanc Cuvèe Tradition 05
Cuvée St Vincent is produced from grapes grown on 40 to 60 year vines and marured in the finest French oak barrels. Superrbe with an intense ruby colour with just a hint of bricj red around the glass rim, a complex nose of black fruits - blackberries and cassis which follow onto the palate with just a hint of spice, coffe, chocolate and vanilla. This fine St Emilion exudes sheer elegance. [read on...]
A B V: 13.5% Vintage: 2005 Color: red Country: France Code: 72850
Château Sainte Barbe 2006
Made up of 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, 9 to 12 months in French oak and three years bottle maturity this splendid Bordeaux Superieur produced by Antonie Touton whose family have a holiday home on Alderney has fulfilled its early promise. It has complexity with an aroma of blackberries, blackcurrants and vanilla (contributed from ageing in oak casks). [read on...]
A B V: 14% Vintage: 2006 Color: red Country: France Code: 72799
Château Sainte Barbe Reserve Privé 2006
[read on...]
A B V: 14.5% Vintage: 2006 Color: red Country: France Code: 72807
Domaine du Grand Ormeau 2006
This Merlot dominated red Bordeaux received a Gold Medal Vinalies Internationales for excellence. A harmonious wine with a soft supple, velvety texture thanks to the Merlot red brick colour with tawny tints, an open bouquet with fine dark fruit notes and fascinating complex flavour with hints of blueberries, mulberries, mocha and chocolate. [read on...]
A B V: 13% Vintage: 2006 Color: red Code: 72902
Lurton Sauvignon Bordeaux Blanc 2008
[read on...]
A B V: 12% Vintage: 2008 Color: white Country: France Code: 72946
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