Bordeaux Basics - The Region Behind the Famous Name
– B is for Bordeaux is a BIG deal
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This spring, we started a letter “B” themed series that some of you are familiar with. It started with Italy.
We last left this series in Burgundy France. Today, let’s head southwest to Bordeaux on the Atlantic side of France. We have been here before with two articles - one each for white Bordeaux and red Bordeaux wines. There we discussed the Bordeaux grape varieties – but none of these varieties start with B!
Phew, this is already less confusing than the Italian part of the series!
B is for Bordeaux is a BIG deal.
Everybody has heard about Bordeaux. But many do not really know what it is about!
Firstly, Bordeaux is a wine region, and its main city goes by the same name.
It is a big deal in the wine world AND it is BIG physically! Therefore, there will be more than one B post on Bordeaux!
Fun fact, Bordeaux is the largest wine region in France with about 110,000 ha under vine and 60 sub-regions. Every second of the day, 18 Bordeaux bottles are sold globally!
B is for bottles … 18, 36, 54, 72 bottles sold in 4 seconds
The great majority of Bordeaux wine is red. In terms of quality, they range from inexpensive mass-produced wines (which typically do not leave France) to age worthy wines of the highest quality in the world.
B is for the Banks
We cannot talk about red Bordeaux without discussing the Right Bank and Left Bank.
The rivers are very important in Bordeaux. The largest is the Gironde River which flows into the Atlantic. Refer to the map. The two rivers that feed the Gironde River are the Dordogne River to the Northeast and the Garonne River to the Southwest.
If you stood in the rivers facing the Atlantic, the Left Bank is on the left-hand side of the Garonne and Gironde rivers. On the right-hand side of the Dordogne and Gironde is Right Bank. Between the Dordogne and Garonne is the portion called Entre-Deux-Mers, which is translates to between two seas, but in this case… two tide influenced rivers.
The left bank predominantly has gravelly soils, while the right bank has soils with more clay. The left bank is Cabernet Sauvignon dominant as it benefits from the heat retaining gravelly soil which helps Cab Sauv to ripen fully. The right bank is dominated by Merlot grapes with Cabernet Franc as the second most common, as they can both tolerate the cooler clay in this climate - clay retains water which cools the ground. Merlot benefits from the slower ripening, allowing it to develop more complex flavors and retain acidity.
B is for blends
Note most Bordeaux wines are blends, hence the emphasis of wines being either Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon dominant. Rarely will Bordeaux red wines be 100% of one grape variety
Is this where you tell them the fun piece of Bordeaux history trivia?
There were no left bank vineyards at one point in history as that side was very marshy. In the 17th and 18th century Dutch residents decided to do what the Dutch do best …. Drain the marsh lands! This exposed the lands that still produce grapes today!
B is also for Blue (again, see the map above)
The featured wine come from the blue Northeast portion on the map with its many B sub-regions. These are on the right bank, so they are Merlot dominant. Côtes de Bourg is also notable for being the sub-region with the highest percentage of Malbec planted in Bordeaux.
In general, wines from these sub-regions are more affordable than from the more prestigious sub-regions. Prestigious left bank sub-regions are Margaux, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien, and Péssac-Léognan. On the right bank, the high-flying sub-regions are St-Emilion and Pomérol. It is harder to find good value in any of these because they have an incredibly high reputation since the 1800s, (albeit well-deserved!) which means they can command higher prices.
Before you go into the featured wine can you recap, you covered a lot today!
Recap:
Bordeaux: Wine Region.
Bordeaux : City.
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot: Black Grape Varieties.
Sauvignon Blanc, and Sémillon (and sometimes Muscadelle): White Grape Varieties.
Blaye, Cotes de Blaye, Blaye - Côtes de Bordeaux, Côtes de Bordeaux, Côtes de Bourg: Wine Sub-regions (to name a few).
B is for Bordeaux in my glass!
Château Falfas 2019 from Côtes de Bourg, Bordeaux, France
Style: Old World Full Body Red
Varieties: 55% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec
This beguiling wine has notes of blueberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, and black plum and the complexity of toast, vanilla, chocolate, mocha, malt, forest floor, orange pekoe tea, old leather, and sweet tobacco flavors. It also offers high quality tannins and a long finish.
Best pairings: Red Bordeaux begs for red meats such as beef, lamb, duck, or game (either grilled, roasted or stewed), Mushroom dishes, Aged cheeses like cheddar or blue cheese.
Serving Temperature: 16-18 degrees Celsius
Serving Tips: Decant 1 hour minimum as initially the flavor intensity is muted and the tannins are grippy. See article below for more on decanting.
Cost: ~$48 Canadian
I have compiled all my wine recommendations in one place. I will do my best to keep this up to date. I also include the link(s) to the article in which the wine was featured.
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SOURCES:
Notre terroir (2021) Site Officiel Bordeaux.com. Available at: https://www.bordeaux.com/fr/Notre-Terroir (Accessed: 03 July 2024).
Wpdev (2024) Appellations - Syndicat des Vins de Bordeaux, Planète Bordeaux. Available at: https://www.planete-bordeaux.fr/syndicat/nos-appellations (Accessed: 03 July 2024).
Robinson, J. (2015) The oxford companion to wine. 4th rev. ed. Corby: Oxford University Press.
Wine & Spirit Education Trust (2021) D3: Wines of the World - An accompaniment to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. Version 1.2. London: Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
A great intro for us into the big B! Love the B's x