Bordeaux wine

Bordeaux with sub-wine regions

A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine are produced every year, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world. Bordeaux wine is made in 9,000 wineries called châteaux from the grapes of 13,000 grape growers. There are 57 appellations of Bordeaux wine.

Climate and geography

The Bordeaux region of France is the second largest wine-growing area in the world with 284,320 acres under vine. Only the Languedoc wine region with 617,750 acres under vine is larger.^[1]. 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.^[2]

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 a maritime climate for the region.^[2]

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. ^[3] 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.^[4]

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the Medoc

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 is very seldom used, and Carmenere is used in tiny quantities. An example of a famous château that uses Carmenere is Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux.

White Bordeaux, including the sweet Sauternes, is made from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle.

As a very broad generalization, Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the blend in red wines produced in the Médoc and the rest of the left bank of the Gironde estuary. Merlot and to a lesser extent Cabernet Franc tend to predominate in Saint Emilion, Pomerol and the other right bank appellations. ^{[citation needed]}

Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style by blending these grapes. 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.

Wine regions and classification

Main articles: Bordeaux wine regions and Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855

The Bordeaux wine region is divided into subregions including Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Médoc, and Graves. In 1855 a 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:

• 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):^{[citation needed]}

• Château Ausone
• Château Cheval Blanc

There is no official classification applied to Pomerol. However some Pomerol wines, notably Château Pétrus and Château Le Pin, are unofficially rated as being equivalent to the first growths, and often sell for even higher prices.

History

Main article: History of Bordeaux wine

Map of the French provinces (including Bordeaux) assimilated by the Plantagenet-Aquitaine union

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.^[5] However, it is only in 71 AD that Pliny recorded the first real evidence of vineyards in Bordeaux.^[6] 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.^[7]

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^[8]. The marriage made the province of Aquitaine English territory, and thenceforth the majority of Bordeaux was then exported^[8]. 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.^[9]

The export of Bordeaux was effectively halted by the outbreak of The Hundred Years' War between France and England in 1337^[8]. By the end of the conflict in 1453 France had repossessed the province, thus taking control of wine production in the region^[8].

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^[8]. The region's wine industry was rescued by grafting native vines on to pest-resistant American rootstock^[8]. All Bordeaux vines that survive to this day are a product of this action^[8]. 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 that name. The INAO or Institut National des Appellations d'Origine was created for this purpose^[8].

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^[8].

Problems and prospects

Despite its worldwide reputation for producing premium wines - according to Forbes.com, a bottle of Château Margaux 1787 holds the record as the most expensive bottle of wine ever broken, insured at $225,000 - the large number of vignerons and producers in Bordeaux means that quality is highly variable. The area is also susceptible to climate changes and during unfavorable seasons where the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes don't fully ripen, Bordeauxs will have difficulties in comparison to some of the fuller ripening New World Cabernets. ^[10]

While the most exclusive wines sell for increasingly high prices, the Bordeaux wine industry as a whole is facing problems. Consumption of wine in France has been declining, New World wines present strong competition in major export markets, increasing consumer preference for brand names and varietal labels create marketing challenges, high production costs reduce competitiveness, along with other problems have created economic difficulties. ^{[citation needed]}

France has an unsurpassed wine infrastructure, a long tradition of making wine, and a strong international reputation. Proposals such as Plan Bordeaux and actions such as vine pull schemes are designed to build on the region's strengths and bring about a return to prosperity. ^{[citation needed]}

Wine style

The vast majority of Bordeaux wine is red, with red wine production out numbering white wine production six to one. ^[10] But Bordeaux also produces dry white wines, sweet white Sauternes, rosé wines and even the sparkling Crémant de Bordeaux.

Wine label

A wine label from Château Haut-Batailley.

Bordeaux wine labels generally include ^[11]-

1. The name of estate -(Image example: Château Haut-Batailley)
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Whether or not the wine is bottled at the chateau (Image example: Mis en Bouteille au Chateau) or assembled by a Négociant.
5. The vintage -(Image example: 2000)
6. Alcohol content - (Image example: 13% vol)

See also

• Comité Régional d'Action Viticole Radical terrorist group of growers.
• Garagistes
• Globalization of wine
• Jacques Hemmer
• Judgment of Paris

External links

• Official Bordeaux Wine website (CIVB)
• Official Bordeaux Classifications
• "The Judgment of Paris: What the French didn't learn from the legendary wine-tasting."
• Wine war: Savy New World marketers are devastating the French wine industry
• Robert Parker's Bordeaux vintage chart

References

Further reading

• Echikson, William. Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution. NY: Norton, 2004.
• EU Attacking French AOC System. Chez Mistral [1]
• Teichgraeber. Bordeaux for less dough. San Francisco chronicle, June 8, 2006 [2]

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