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Bordeaux wine
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A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, although in good vintages, this total can exceed over 900 million, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world. 88% of wine produced in Bordeaux is red (usually referred to as claret), with notable sweet white wines such as Chateau d'Yquem, dry whites, rosé and sparkling wines (Crémant de Bordeaux) all making up the remainder.
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Encyclopedia
A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, although in good vintages, this total can exceed over 900 million, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world. 88% of wine produced in Bordeaux is red (usually referred to as claret), with notable sweet white wines such as Chateau d'Yquem, dry whites, rosé and sparkling wines (Crémant de Bordeaux) all making up the remainder. Bordeaux wine is made by 10,000 producers or châteaux from the grapes of 13,000 grape growers. There are 57 appellations of Bordeaux wine.
History
The history of wine production seems to have begun sometime after 48 AD, during the Roman occupation of St. Émilion, when the Romans established vineyards to cultivate wine for the soldiers. However, it is only in 71 AD that Pliny recorded the first real evidence of vineyards in Bordeaux. France's first extensive vineyards were established by Rome in around 122 BC in today's Languedoc, the better part of two hundred years earlier.
Although domestically popular, French wine was seldom exported, as the areas covered by vineyards and the volume of wine produced was low. In the 12th century however, the popularity of Bordeaux wines increased dramatically following the marriage of Henry Plantagenet and Aliénor d’Aquitaine. The marriage made the province of Aquitaine English territory, and thenceforth the majority of Bordeaux was then exported This accounts for the ubiquity of claret in England.
As the popularity of Bordeaux wine increased, the vineyards expanded to accommodate the demands from abroad. Being the land tax beneficiary, Henry II was in favor of this industry, and to increase it further, abolished export taxes to England from the Aquitaine region. In the 13th and 14th century, a code of business practices called the police des vins emerged to give Bordeaux wine a distinct trade advantage over its neighboring regions.
The export of Bordeaux was effectively halted by the outbreak of The Hundred Years' War between France and England in 1337. By the end of the conflict in 1453 France had repossessed the province, thus taking control of wine production in the region.
In 1725, the spread of vineyards throughout Bordeaux was so vast that it was divided into specific areas so that the consumer could tell exactly where each wine was from. The collection of districts was known as the Vignoble de Bordeaux, and bottles were labeled with both the region and the area from which they originated.
From 1875-1892 almost all Bordeaux vineyards were ruined by Phylloxera infestations. The region's wine industry was rescued by grafting native vines on to pest-resistant American rootstock and all Bordeaux vines that survive to this day are a product of this action. This is not to say that all contemporary Bordeaux wines are truly American wines, as rootstock does not affect the production of grapes.
Due to the lucrative nature of this business, other areas in France began growing their own wines and labeling them as Bordeaux products. As profits in the Aquitaine region declined, the vignerons demanded that the government impose a law declaring that only produce from Bordeaux could be labeled with this name. The Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO) was created for this purpose.
In 1936, the government responded to the appeals from the winemakers and stated that all regions in France had to name their wines by the place in which they had been produced. Labeled with the AOC approved stamp, products were officially confirmed to be from the region that it stated. This law later extended to other goods such as cheese, poultry and vegetables.
The economic problems in the 1970s, in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis marked a difficult period for Bordeaux. A series af scandals coincided with a commercial crisis in Bordeaux. The vintage of 1972 had been overpriced as was 1973 and 1974. And when the market crashed the negociants were stuck with overpriced wine that they could not sell. The early 1980's saw a new trend. Inheritance taxes was doubled in 1981 and on top of the crisis in the 1970s, many families found it increasingly difficult to hang on to their châteaux. Enter domestic and foreign insurance companies, banks and other corporate giants. Some of these companies were looking for a quick profit, others were in it as a long term investment. But the 1980 wasn't all bad. It also saw more great vintages in a single decade than ever before and and a new era in other respects. First, wine critics (rather than just official classifications) started to have an influence on demand and prices. The enthusiastic US wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. reviewed the 1982 Bordeaux vintage as the most sumptuous vintage in decades. Not only was this a turning point for Bordeaux wine economically, it also represented the beginning of an american domination of the reviewing of wine, especially Bordeaux.. The result was a broader appeal of Bordeaux wine where the presence of fruit became a much more important factor than previously. It has been claimed that this is the style of wine that Parker prefers and gives high scores to (and they are therefore sometimes called "Parkerized"), while the Pomerol-based winemaking consultant Michel Rolland writes the recipe for how to make these wines.
This critical selection of grapes also resulted in many chateaux introducing second wines, so not to waste good but not optimum quality grapes. It was also the introduction of the en primeur concept where traders alongside critics are invited to Bordeaux six months after harvest, to sample the new wine.
Bordeaux used to have a significant production of white wines, with Entre-deux-Mers, a primarily white wine area. Unlike the style of dry white Bordeaux favoured today, with almost 100% Sauvignon Blanc and a heavy influence of new oak, the traditional Entre-deux-Mers whites had a high proportion of Semillion and were either made in old oak barrels or in steel tanks. Starting in the 1960s and 1970s, these vineyards were converted to red wine production (of Bordeaux AOC and Bordeaux Superieur AOC), and the production of white wine has decreased ever since. Today production of white wine has shrunk to about one tenth of Bordeaux's total production.
Climate and geography
The Bordeaux region of France is the second largest wine-growing area in the world with or 116,160 ha's under vine. Only the Languedoc wine region with under vine is larger. Located halfway between the North pole and the equator, there is more vineyard land planted in Bordeaux than in all of Germany and ten times the amount planted in New Zealand.
The major reason for the success of winemaking in the Bordeaux region is the excellent environment for growing vines. The geological foundation of the region is limestone, leading to a soil structure that is heavy in calcium. The Gironde estuary dominates the regions along with its tributaries, the Garonne and the Dordogne rivers, and together irrigate the land and provide with an Atlantic Climate, (or in American rather than plain English) oceanic climate for the region.
These rivers define the main geographical subdivisions of the region:
- "The right bank", situated on the right bank of Dordogne, in the northern parts of the region, around the city of Libourne.
- Entre-deux-mers, French for "between two waters", the area between the rivers Dordogne and Garonne, in the centre of the region.
- "The left bank", situated on the left bank of Garonne, in the west and south of the region, around the city of Bordeaux itself. The left bank is further subdivided into:
- Graves, the area upstream of the city Bordeaux.
- Médoc, the area downstream of the city Bordeaux, situated on a peninsula between Gironde and the Atlantic.
In Bordeaux the concept of terroir plays a pivotal role in wine production with the top estates aiming to make terroir driven wines that reflect the place they are from, often from grapes collected from a single vineyard. The soil of Bordeaux is composed of gravel, sandy stone, and clay. The region's best vineyards are located on the well drained gravel soils that are frequently found near the Gironde river. An old adage in Bordeaux is the best estates can "see the river" from their vineyard and majority of land that face riverside are occupied by classified estates.
Grapes
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. Today Malbec and Carmenere are rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carmenere vines.
As a very broad generalization, Cabernet Sauvignon (Bordeaux's second-most planted grape variety) dominates the blend in red wines produced in the Médoc and the rest of the left bank of the Gironde estuary. Typical top-quality Chateaux blends are 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc & 15% Merlot. Merlot (Bordeaux's most-planted grape variety) and to a lesser extent Cabernet Franc (Third most planted variety) tend to predominate in Saint Emilion, Pomerol and the other right bank appellations. These Right Bank blends from top-quality Chateaux are typically 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc & 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.
White Bordeaux is predominantly, and exclusively in the case of the sweet Sauternes, made from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle - Typical blends are usually 80% Sémillon, 20% Sauvignon Blanc. As with the reds, white Bordeaux wines are usually blends, most commonly of Sémillon and a smaller proportion of Sauvignon Blanc. Other permitted grape varieties are Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Merlot Blanc, Ondenc and Mauzac.
In the late 1960s Sémillon was the most planted grape in Bordeaux. Since then it has been in constant decline although it still is the most common of Bordeaux's white grapes. Sauvignon Blanc's popularity on the other hand has been rising, overtaking Ugni Blanc as the second most planted white Bordeaux grape in the late 1980s and now being grown in an area more than half the size of that of the lower yielding Sémillon.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.
Viticulture and Winemaking
Viticulture
Bordeaux is a relatively humid region. Thus it is a place rife with disease and other problems, compared with many of the worlds other wine regions, such as dry Chile or Australia. Oïdium, mildew, coulure (faliure of the flowers), millerandage (irregular ripening of the grapes), Eutypiose, Esca, Vers de la grappe and Botrytis (can be beneficial - see Sauternes) are the most common diseases or problems that occur.
In Bordeaux, the pruning of the vine happens almost always as cane-pruning (as opposed to spur-pruning). There are two types of cane-pruning: guyot simple and guyot double. The simple way is seen on the right bank, double most often on the left. Related to pruning is the trellising, where vines are dispersed along wires. It has become increasingly popular to raise the height of the trellis to the benefit of the grapes but to the discomfort for the vigneron.
The use of chemicals and fertilizers has dropped in the later decades in Bordeaux. 40 years ago, using fertilizers and different herb- and fungicides was common and made life easier for the manager. However, it also lowered the quality of the grapes. This practice is still taking place in Bordeaux - but less and less so. Chemical fertilizers are now replaced by compost - some don't use any at all - ploughing has replaced many pesticides and deleafing is used instead of fungicides. While a healthier approach to agriculture has certainly come to Bordeaux, the châteaux hasn't adopted the biodynamic trend so popular in many other wine regions though Bordeaux is not entirely unfamiliar with the concept. Instead the lutte raisonnée method is gaining ground.
Bordeaux has seen a rise in the use of green harvesting, where unripe bunches are cut off in the summer in order to channel more sugar etc. into the remaining bunches. While it is a popular process it also has it's opponents such as Jean Gautreau of Château Sociando-Mallet, Gonzague Lurton of Château Durfort-Vivens and Olivier Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier, claiming that the remaining berries simply grow bigger, the labour that has to do the green harvesting has to be cheap and thus ignorant towards cutting vines and pointing to vintages 1929 and 1947 that were of great yield and great quality and made entirely without green harvest.
Yields in Bordeaux, as is the case in all other french AOC's, are capped by administrative rules. In Bordeaux this cap is 60 hl/ha with the option to raise yields by 20% by permission from the INAO. Any excess wine is sent for destillation. The yield is essential for the quality of the wine along with many other factors such as terroir. When making wine from a mediocre terroir, the producer has to lower his yields more than if it came from a superiour terroir if he wants the wine to be of similar quality. In Bordeaux the recent decades has seen more and more focus on low yields. In the 1980s it was common, even for prestigious châteaux, to harvest the legal maximum. The logic is clear - if you have a good (expensive) label it is tempting to harvest 40, 50 or 60 hl/ha rather than 30 hl/ha as it means more money. But hl/ha isn't everything: as Michel Cazes of Château Lynch-Bages says:
"When people talk about yields they forget about density. Here in the Médoc we have 10,000 vines per hectare. The crop expressed in hectolitres tells you nothing. Here in Pauillac and St-Julien and St-Estèphe I am sure that fifty to sixty is about right. Latour always had some of the highest yields in the region, but that was because none of their vines were missing"
When harvest time approaches the Bordeaux wine producers start getting anxious. Unlike many other wine regions, weather in Bordeaux is relatively unstable and sudden changes in weather can delay a harvest, force a harvest in bad weather (diluting the wine) or severely damage the harvest. The appellations around Sauternes are even more vulnerable as certain micro-climactic conditions has to arrive plus they are forced to harvest late, risking the entire harvest to bad weather. Today the Bordelais Châteaux focus increasingly on the right time of harvest related to ripeness of the grapes. Cabernet grapes doesn't mature at the same rate as Merlot and thus picking both grapes at the same time rarely makes sense if optimal ripeness is sought. Thierry Manoncourt (Château Figeac) recollects: "In the past the whole vineyard would have been picked in eight days. Today it takes us twenty to thirty days."
In Bordeaux, Hand picking is now common with the more prestigeoux châteaux. But while hand-picking is prefers, some classified châteaux still harvest by machine. Mechanical harvesting also has its advantages such as flexibility, which makes harvesting at night possible; preferable during hot weather. While the harvesting machines today have advanced in technology making it still more interesting, the delicate and selective process of harvesting by hand is still the best way to secure a maximum quality harvest. One thing talking against manual harvesting is the sheer size of vineyards in Bordeaux (not to mention the price of hand-picked harvest) with tens of thousands of hectares needing harvesting within a few weeks. The flatter geography of Bordeaux also allows for mechanical harvesting where the steep slopes of Côte-Rôtie makes machine harvest near-impossible.
Winemaking
In Bordeaux almost all wines are blended wines. Only a few producers make single-variety wines though the lack of vareital on lables makes that fact redundant. The typical blend consists of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (and/or Cabernet Franc) with small additions of Petit Verdot and Malbec. Merlot is favored on the right bank and Cabernet on the left though Merlot has been increasing on the left bank over the last decade or two. Today winemaking in Bordeaux is a highly controlled process with widespread use of stainless steel vats for fermentation, cooling apparatus and a high degree of hygienic discipline. In 1951 chaptalization became legal (it had likely taken place illegally prior to 1951). The use of chaptalization is common in Bordeaux except in the warmest of vintages and especially on the left bank where Cabernet Sauvignon dominates and ripens later than Merlot.
Today, sorting and destemming are common techniques in Bordeaux and have been for some time. Great lengths are made to advance technology that improves these processes. Technology has also impacted on the crushing on the grapes. From ancient times this process was done by treading the grapes by foot, later with machines that were cheaper and safer, but less gentle with the grapes where breaking the pips was a problem as they release unwanted tannins into the must. Today some châteaux such as Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte simply don't crush the grapes and let the fermentation begin within each grape (a process widely used in the Beaujolais region).
After the crushing a number of wineries have stopped using pumps and instead raise the grapes by conveyor-belt. This is a more gentle process as it uses gravity to move the grapes rather than a pumping system.
The fermentation usually takes place in stainless steel vats—a technique introduced in the 1960s (lined cement vats were introduced already in the 1920s). The reason for the introduction was hygienics and (temperature) control over the fermentation process. During the 1980s some producers began reintroducing wooden fermentation vats. There are pros and cons with all types of vats, and their role in winemaking seems less important than other elements in the process.
There is a widespread use of concentrators in Bordeaux, where a winemaker can remove water from the must. Some producers are opposed to concentration (Christian Moueix of Pétrus, Anthony Barton of Château Leoville-Barton, Philippe Dhalluin of Château Mouton-Rothschild) and others are big fans (Château Pomeaux). While this process can certainly improve a wine in mediocre vintages it is also open to abuse with the result being an over-concentrated and poorly balanced wine.
After fermentation comes the pressing. Bordeaux, along with other regions, have switched from traditional horizontal presses to the pneumatic press, where a bladder is filled with air thus resulting in a more gentle pressing of the wine. A third type of press is the vertical or hydraulic press. This is the most traditional and also a gentle type of press but is a very labour-intensive process.
The modern and very popular method of micro-oxygenation, where the wine is added microscopic amounts of oxygen during fermentation in order to stabilize (green) tannins and anthocyanins, has also caught on in Bordeaux. The most prestigious châteaux avoid the procedure preferring to harvest grapes without green tannins. Micro-oxygenation is also used later in the process, during élevage, as a way of avoiding racking and controlling the amount of oxygen applied to the wine (racking leaves for no such control). In this stage however, the prestigious châteaux has fewer reservations. Not all producers are fans of micro-oxygenation during élevage.
In Bordeaux most serious wines undergo barrel-ageing (White wines can be an exception). Usually six months of in barrel is required but some (prestigious) châteaux barrel-age for as much as 18–20 months. The amount of new barrels (usually considered the best) can vary from vintage to vintage, just as the duration of barrel-ageing. Only recently, addition of oak chips (to add an oaky flavor to the wine) has been legalized in Bordeaux. During barrel-ageing the wine needs to be racked in order to clear the wine of the lees. This process is being challenged by some producers as mentioned above. But ageing on the lees can also add some richness to the wine (ageing on lees are common for white wines). This new attitude is also being challenged.
Once the producer decides the wine has aged for the right amount of time the selection begins. The winemaker (or his/her team) find the right blend for the vintage. This is released as the châteaux grand vin. Inevitably there will be some wine left—either of inferiour quality or leftovers from the blending. This is usually released as a second-wine (or in some cases even a third-wine). While in theory inferiour wine, some châteaux second-wine is of superiour quality to other chateaux grand vin and fetches high prices. Increasing the amount of second-wine can be a very conscious decision on the part of a winemaker, as a way of making a more and more superiour grand vin - able to compete with the most prestigious wines in tastings.
In Bordeaux the oenologists play a huge role. Many oenologists work as consultants to different châteaux and carry much weight in major decisions regarding the wine. Amongst the most famous oenologists are Emile Peynaud, Jacques Boissenot, Pascal Chantonnet, Olivier Dauga, Stéphane Derenoncourt, Denis Dubourdieu, Jean-Philippe Fort, Gilles Pauquet, Michel Rolland, Stéphane Toutoundji and Christian Veyry.
Wine styles
The Bordeaux wine region is divided into subregions including Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Médoc, and Graves. The 57 Bordeaux appellations and the wine styles they represent are usually categorized into six main families, four red based on the subregions and two white based on sweetness:
- Red Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur. These are the "basic" red Bordeaux wines which are allowed to be produced all over the region, and represent the cheapeast Bordeaux wines. Some are sold by wine merchants under commercial brand names rather than as classical "Châteaux" wines. These wines tend to be fruity, with a rather marginal influence of oak in comparison to "classical" Bordeaux, and produced in a style meant to be drunk young. On about half of the region's surface, this is the only appellation that may be used. Some producers in these locations do however produce Bordeaux Superieur in a style more similar to the other red families.
- Red Côtes de Bordeaux. Eight appellations are located in the hilly outskirts of the region, and produce wines where the blend usually is dominated by Merlot. These wines tend to be intermediate between basic red Bordeaux and the more famous appellations of the left and right bank in both style and quality. However, since none of Bordeaux's stellar names are situated in Côtes de Bordeaux, prices tend to be moderate. There is no official classification in Côtes de Bordeaux.
- Red Libourne, or "Right Bank" wines. Around the city of Libourne, 10 appellations produce wines dominated by Merlot with very little Cabernet Sauvignon, the two most famous being Saint Emilion and Pomerol. These wines often have great fruit concentration, softer tannins and are long-lived. Saint-Emilion has an official classification.
- Red Graves and Médoc or "Left Bank" wines. North and south of the city of Bordeaux, which are the classic areas, produce wines dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, but often with a significant portion of Merlot. These wines are concentrated, tannic, long-lived and most of them meant to be cellared before drinking. The five First Growths are situated here. There are official classifications for both Médoc and Graves.
- Dry white wines. Dry white wines are made throughout the region, from a blend dominated by Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, with those from Graves being the most well-known and the only subregion with a classification for dry white wines. The better versions tend to have a significant oak influence.
- Sweet white wines. In several locations and appellations throughout the region, sweet white wine is made from Semillon, Savignon Blanc and Muscadelle grapes affected by noble rot. The best-known of these appellations is Sauternes, which also have an official classification, and where some of the world's most famous sweet wines are produced. There are also appellations neighbouring Sauternes, on both sides of the Garonne river, where similar wines are made.
The vast majority of Bordeaux wine is red, with red wine production out numbering white wine production six to one.
Wine classification
There are four different classifications of Bordeaux, covering different parts of the region:
- The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, covering (with one exception) red wines of Médoc, and sweet wines of Sauternes-Barsac.
- The 1955 Official Classification of St.-Émilion, which is updated approximately once every ten years, and last in 2006.
- The 1959 Official Classification of Graves, initially classified in 1953 and revised in 1959.
- The Cru Bourgeois Classification, which began as an unofficial classification, but came to enjoy official status and was last updated in 2003. However, after various legal turns, the classification was annulled in 2007. As of 2007, plans exist to revive it as an unofficial classification.
The 1855 classification system was made at the request of Emperor Napoleon III for the Exposition Universelle de Paris. This came to be known as the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, which 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.
The first growths are:
At the same time, the sweet white wines of Sauternes and Barsac were classified into three categories, with only Château d'Yquem being classified as a superior first growth.
In 1955, St. Émilion AOC were classified into three categories, the highest being Premier Grand Cru Classé A with two members:
There is no official classification applied to Pomerol. However some Pomerol wines, notably Château Pétrus and Château Le Pin, are often considered as being equivalent to the first growths of the 1855 classification, and often sell for even higher prices.
Commercial aspects
Many of the top Bordeaux wines are primarily sold as futures contracts, called selling en primeur. Because of the combination of longevity, fairly large production, and an established reputation, Bordeaux wines tend to be the most common wines at wine auctions.
Wine label
Bordeaux wine labels generally include -
- The name of estate -(Image example: Château Haut-Batailley)
- The estate's classification -(Image example: Grand Cru Classé en 1855) This can be in reference to the 1855 Bordeaux classification or one of the Cru Bourgeois.
- The appellation -(Image example: Pauillac) Appellation d'origine contrôlée laws dictate that all grapes must be harvested from a particular appellation in order for that appellation to appear on the label. The appellation is a key indicator of the type of wine in the bottle. With the image example, Pauillac wines are always red, and usually Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant grape.
- Whether or not the wine is bottled at the chateau (Image example: Mis en Bouteille au Chateau) or assembled by a Négociant.
- The vintage -(Image example: 2000)
- Alcohol content - (Image example: 13% vol)
See also
External links
Further reading
- Echikson, William. Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution. NY: Norton, 2004.
- Teichgraeber. Bordeaux for less dough. San Francisco chronicle, June 8, 2006
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