AOC Haut-Médoc Cru BourgeoisA relative newcomer that has quickly developed a cult following. The grapes are machine harvested, and the wine is matured in wood for 12 months, with 35 percentnew oak.RED...
BORDEAUX SUPÉRIEUR ROSÉ AOC
This appellation has a small cast—and Château Lascombe’s Rosé de Lascombes still tops the bill. ROSÉ As few examples of these medium-dry, medium-bodied wines exist, it is possible togeneralize and describe them as fuller, richer, and having more class than any Bordeaux Rosé AOC wines. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carmenère, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot1–2 ye...
Types of Grape: VIOGNIER
This individual, shybearing variety was until relatively recently confined to a tiny part ofthe Rhône Valley, where it produced the famous wines of Condrieu and Château Grillet. Although this variety...
CHÂTEAU D’AGASSAC
AOC Haut-MédocCru Bourgeois SupérieurThis is one of the best unclassified wines in the Haut-Médoc. The wine is matured in wood for 15 months, with one-third new oak.RED Dark-colored, plummy wine, with...
BORDEAUX SUPÉRIEUR AOC
Technically superior to Bordeaux AOC by only half a degree of alcohol, yet most of these wines do seem to have a greater consistency of quality, and, therefore, value. All generics are variable, but this...
THE CLASSIC GRAPE VARIETIES OF BORDEAUX
Contrary to what one might expect, it is Merlot, not Cabernet Sauvignon, that is the most important grape variety in Bordeaux. Cabernet Sauvignon represents only 27 percent of black grapes cultivated in Bordeaux, whereas Merlot accounts for more than 58 percent. It is nearer the truth, therefore, to say that Cabernet Sauvignon gives backbone to Merlot, rather than to suggest that Merlot softens Cabernet Sauvignon (which is the...
Types of Grape: SYLVANER
Originally from Austria, this variety is widely planted throughout Central Europe. It isprolific, early maturing, and yields the dry wines of Franken and Alsace. It is also widely believed to be the Zierfandler...
BORDEAUX CLAIRET AOC
“Clairet” is a term that refers to a red wine that is light in body and color. It derives from vin claret in Old French, a term of respect; this suggests that Bordeaux achieved a reputation for limpidity...
THE CLASSIFICATION OF BORDEAUX WINES
Of all the Bordeaux classifications that exist, it is the 1855 Classification that is meant whenever anyone refers to “The Classification.” It was commissioned by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, which was required by the government of the Second Empire to present a selection of its wines at the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris. For their own ends, the brokers of the Bordeaux Stock Exchange traditionally categorized the most...
ST-ESTÈPHE AOC
The potential of St-Estèphe is exemplified by Cos d’Estournel, which is one of the best deuxièmes crus in the Médoc, but the strength of this appellation lies in its range of crus bourgeois. The area under vine is slightly less than that of Margaux, which has the largest area, but St.-Estèphe has far more unclassified châteaux, and even the best wines are wonderfully cheap.RED If Pauillac is the stallion of the four famous appellations,...
ST-JULIEN AOC
St-Julien is the smallest of the four famous appellations and the most intensivelycultivated, with almost 50 percent of the commune under vine. There are no firstgrowths, but there are as many as five seconds, and the standard and consistency of style is very high. This AOC overlaps part of the commune of Pauillac, and, historically, châteaux Latour and Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande could as easily have become St-Julien...
PAUILLAC AOC
This commune vies with Margaux as the most famous appellation, but is without doubt the most rock solid and consistent of Bordeaux AOCs, while its premiers crus of Latour, Lafite, and Mouton make it the most important. RED Dark and virtually opaque, great Pauillac is a dry, powerfully constructed wine, typically redolent of blackcurrants and new oak. It might be unapproachable when young, but is always rich with fruit when mature....
MOULIS-EN-MÉDOC AOC
MOULIS AOC OROne of the two communal appellations located on the Atlantic side of the Médoc, Moulis-en-Médoc is smaller and potentially more interesting than its neighbor Listrac. LikeListrac, it has no cru classé châteaux, despite adjoining Margaux, the appellation thathas the highest number of such properties in the Médoc.RED These dry, medium-bodied, sometimes full-bodied, wines have more power than those of Margaux, but far...
MÉDOC AOC
Technically, this appellation covers the entire Médoc, but most wines actually come fromnorth of the Haut-Médoc in the area that was formerly called the Bas-Médoc. Its vineyardshave undergone a rapid and extensive expansion since the mid-1970s.RED The best of these dry, mediumbodied wines are similar in style to good Haut-Médocs, although the style is less sophisticated.Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carmenère, Merlot, Malbec,...
BORDEAUX AOC
As with any large, and thus variable, appellation, the generic Bordeaux AOC is responsible for the good, bad, and ugly wines of the region. Overall, quality is of a decent standard, although the best...
MARGAUX AOC
The best Margaux are potentially the greatest wines in the whole of Bordeaux, but this is an appellation that covers five communes encompassing a great diversity of soil and some of its wines not unnaturally...
LISTRAC-MÉDOC AOC
Significant funds have been invested in a number of high-performance châteaux in this commune, although its heavy clay soil does not have anything like as much potential as the gravel ridges found in...
HAUT-MÉDOC AOC
This AOC encompasses the Médoc’s four finest communes—Margaux, St.-Julien, Pauillac, and St.-Estèphe—as well as the less well-known Listrac and Moulis communes. Wines produced outside these six appellations...
Factors affecting taste and quality of Médoc wine
LOCATIONThe Médoc lies on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, stretching northwest from Bordeaux in the south to Soulac in the north.CLIMATETwo large masses of water on each side of the Médoc—the Atlantic...
RECENT BORDEAUX VINTAGES
2003 Unlike in the rest of France, this was not a drought year. In fact, precipitation levels were slightly above average. However, as in other French wine regions, 2003 was a very hot and sunny vintage,...
LADOIX PREMIER CRU AOC
Premiers crus: Basses Mourottes, Bois Roussot, Les Buis, Le Clou d’Orge, La Corvée, Les Gréchons, Hautes Mourottes, Les Joyeuses,La Micaude, En Naget, Rognet et Corton. These premiers cru vineyards were...
BORDEAUX’S BEST GENERIC BRANDS
Bordeaux has the greatest reputation for red wine in the world, but as in all regions, ordinary wines do exist. In fact, the majority of wines produced in any region is very ordinary, and Bordeaux is...
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