Bordeaux Wines

What is a Bordeaux?

Bor­deaux is prob­a­bly most rec­og­nized wine region in the world. It is the arche­typal ‘com­plex’ wine, usu­ally defined by, and known for using a blend of a cou­ple dif­fer­ent grapes from the region of the same name. There are many grape vari­eties grown in Bor­deaux, but the fol­low­ing are the noble (a clas­si­cal term used to describe the grapes tra­di­tion­ally asso­ci­ated with the high­est qual­ity wines) grapes of this area:

• Caber­net Sauvi­gnon – With finest wines being pro­duced in Medoc
• Caber­net Franc – Mostly grown in Saint Emil­lion, but also avail­able in Medoc and Graves.
• Mer­lot – Grows well in Saint Emil­lion and Pomerol.
• Mal­bec – Is grown mostly in Bourg and Blaye.
• Petit Ver­dot –  Widely planted in many regions of Bordeaux.
• Semi­l­lon – White wine that is widely planted through­out the region.
• Sauvi­gnon Blanc – Is planted in many regions of Bordeaux.
• Mus­cadelle – Used for sweet wines found in many regions of Bordeaux.

So with that said, how do you dif­fer­en­ti­ate between the dif­fer­ent types of French Bor­deaux? The regions will tell the tale. For exam­ple, if you pick a Bor­deaux off the shelf and it says,

• Medoc – Most likely will have more Caber­net Sauvi­gnon in the blend, as Caber­net Sauvi­gnon is best pro­duced in the Medoc region.
• Saint Emil­lion – This blend will be mostly Merlot.
• Left/Right Bank – To the left of the Gironde River is where Caber­net usu­ally grows, and on the right bank is where you’ll mostly find Merlot.

Clas­si­fi­ca­tions

For the dif­fer­ent regions, dif­fer­ent clas­si­fi­ca­tions exist; the higher the clas­si­fi­ca­tion, the higher the demand and price. For exam­ple, the Medoc and Sauternes regions have dif­fer­ent growths; first growths (Pre­mier Crus), are very expen­sive and are made for age­ing and cellaring—some exam­ples would be,

• Chateau Haut-Brion
• Chateau Latour
• Chateau Mou­ton – Rothschild

The Saint-Emillion region, for exam­ple, would have three classifications:

• Grand Cru
• Grand Cru Classe
• Pre­mier Grand Cru Classe  (high­est classification)

The Graves and Passac-Leognan have no rank­ing other than ‘Cru Classe.’

Whites Blends, and Others

Bor­deaux is not only known for hav­ing some of the best red wines in the world, it is also home to some utterly sub­lime whites as well. These white blends are usu­ally Semi­l­lon and Sauvi­gnon Blanc grapes. In addi­tion to the white blends, some desert whites, usu­ally made from the Mus­cadelle grape, are pro­duced in the area as well.

That’s About It!

Armed with the knowl­edge to make you feel and sound like you just got off the plane from France, the next time  you go to the win­ery or wine store, check out the full selec­tion of Bor­deaux avail­able, and treat your palate to that ‘je ne sais quoi’ only found in that French Bordeaux.