Weekly wine update: Bordeaux
Today we covered the wines of Bordeaux with a wonderful guest speaker, M. Jean-Michel CAZES (I like the French method of spelling names), who brought us thick Bordeaux guide books and enough expensive wine to give the class quite a treat.
Anyhow, Bordeaux is a wonderful region for wine. The fine wines can be very fine and extremely age worthy (some have aged over 100 years and still been excellent), but the simpler wines are affordable, enjoyable, and capable of being consumed young. Bordeaux itself is a very large region with 57 different AOCs, most of which are difficult to remember. The region can be divided into the left bank and the right bank, just like Paris. Wines of the left bank typically have more prestige than those on the right bank. Left bank red bordeaux have cabernet sauvignon as their primary grape, because it flourishes in this area's gravelly soil, while the right bank specializes in merlot and cabernet franc.
Bordeaux wines were classified in 1855 using a system of growths. The first growth (premier cru) wines are best, followed by four other growth classes (2eme-5eme cru). These are all expensive but quite good. You can find good deals in Bordeaux, so don't fear too much! There's even a cru bourgeois ($15-$30) that you can count on as a good value.
While 85-90% of Bordeaux's production is red wine, Bordeaux does make some great white wines as well. The typical white bordeaux is a blend of semillon and sauvignon blanc and is crisp and delicious. One region in Bordeaux, Sauternes, makes a great dessert (read: sweet) white wine. Sauternes is affected by the same disease that makes the special late-harvest German riesling so special, noble rot. The grapes used are a blend of semillon, sauvignon blanc, and muscadelle, which, under the influence of noble rot, produces a wine with flavors of honey, apricot, and orange. The labor intensive process leads to expensive wines ($30-$300). Fortunately, half bottles are available, and neighboring regions make similar wines for a reasonable $15-$25. For these, look for Barsac, Cadillac, Loupiac, or Sainte-Croix-du-Mont.
So here's what we tried. Prepare for sticker-shock.
Anyhow, Bordeaux is a wonderful region for wine. The fine wines can be very fine and extremely age worthy (some have aged over 100 years and still been excellent), but the simpler wines are affordable, enjoyable, and capable of being consumed young. Bordeaux itself is a very large region with 57 different AOCs, most of which are difficult to remember. The region can be divided into the left bank and the right bank, just like Paris. Wines of the left bank typically have more prestige than those on the right bank. Left bank red bordeaux have cabernet sauvignon as their primary grape, because it flourishes in this area's gravelly soil, while the right bank specializes in merlot and cabernet franc.
Bordeaux wines were classified in 1855 using a system of growths. The first growth (premier cru) wines are best, followed by four other growth classes (2eme-5eme cru). These are all expensive but quite good. You can find good deals in Bordeaux, so don't fear too much! There's even a cru bourgeois ($15-$30) that you can count on as a good value.
While 85-90% of Bordeaux's production is red wine, Bordeaux does make some great white wines as well. The typical white bordeaux is a blend of semillon and sauvignon blanc and is crisp and delicious. One region in Bordeaux, Sauternes, makes a great dessert (read: sweet) white wine. Sauternes is affected by the same disease that makes the special late-harvest German riesling so special, noble rot. The grapes used are a blend of semillon, sauvignon blanc, and muscadelle, which, under the influence of noble rot, produces a wine with flavors of honey, apricot, and orange. The labor intensive process leads to expensive wines ($30-$300). Fortunately, half bottles are available, and neighboring regions make similar wines for a reasonable $15-$25. For these, look for Barsac, Cadillac, Loupiac, or Sainte-Croix-du-Mont.
So here's what we tried. Prepare for sticker-shock.
- Sauvignon Blanc, Lurton, AOC Bordeaux, France, 2002 ($8)
- Chateau La Chapelle Despagnet, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France, 2000 ($20)
- Chateau La Lagune, Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France, 2001 (3eme GCC) ($32.50)
- Chateau Lascombes, Margaux, Bordeaux, France, 2001 (2eme GCC) ($56)
- Chateau Beychevelle, Saint Julien, Bordeaux, France, 2001 (4eme GCC) ($37.50)
- Chateau Rieussec, Sauternes, 1999, (1er GCC) ($50)
posted by megan at
6:57 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home