Bordeaux 101
Wine is increasingly becoming more and more a part of everyday American life. All across the US there are vineyards being planted and grapes of all varieties being grown. At some point in every wine drinkers life there comes the interest of wines from Bordeaux. The best way to learn is with a corkscrew in one hand and Hugh Johnson’s Wine Atlas in the other. Be prepared to read maps because, like any other region in France, wine has its’ roots and geography. It’s easy to take a trip without leaving the comfort of your own home. So, for those who are just learning about Bordeaux, grab your glass and map and read on.
Bordeaux (meaning ‘next to the water) is located in the southwestern region of France in the ‘department’ of Gironde and is divided into regions and sub-regions. The city of Bordeaux was a major port that literally became the launching point for wines headed to Great Britain and beyond. The river spilling out into the Atlantic is the Gironde, hence the department name. The river cuts through the region creating a peninsula of sorts and forms the Medoc region on the western side. Within the Medoc peninsula are the following areas, referred to as ‘appellations’: St. Estephe, St. Julien, Pauillac, Margaux , Listrac, and Moulis. On the eastern side of the Gironde lie the regions of Blaye and Cote de Bourg. Directly between Margaux and the Cotes de Bourg the river divides into the Garonne and the Gironde. As the Garonne comes from south and the Gironde from the east, the region between is called ‘Entre-Duex-Mers’ meaning ‘between two seas’. Heading east on the Gironde takes the traveler to Libourne and the first viewing of the famous region of St. Emilion and the surrounding ‘satellites’: Lussac, Montagne, St George, Parsac and Puisseguin. Just to the north and west of St. Emilion are Pomerol, Lalande de Pomerol, and Fronsac and to the east are Cotes de Castillion and Cotes de Francs. South of the city of Bordeaux and on the west side of the Garonne lie the regions of Graves and Pessac-Leognan. South of Graves lies the famous region of Sauternes where sweet white wine is made from grapes shriveled from ‘noble rot’.
Now that you have a better understanding of the layout of the region we can begin to look at specific wines. In 1855 after two centuries of record-keeping of growing seasons, harvest conditions and the resulting wines, the ‘chamber of commerce’ in the Medoc area formed a classification system of five levels or ‘Crus’ in order to maintain quality as well as profits. There has only been one change to that system and that was when Mouton-Rothschild was moved from its second cru status to join the first cru along with Chateaux Margaux, Lafite, Latour, and Haut Brion. It should be noted that the Graves property of Chateau Haut Brion is the only property outside the Medoc to be included in the 1855 classification system. St. Emilion has its own hierarchy that is completely separate from the Medoc with Chateaux Ausone and Cheval Blanc denoted as First Growth. Pomerol does not have a classification system as such but Chateau Petrus and Chateau Le Pin are certainly considered as First Growths.
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