Bordeaux's 1956 Frosty History: How Bordeaux's White Grapes Got Left in the Cold!

– and the Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc vineyard romance

Jan 16, 2024

Barrel room at Château Smith Haut Lafitte - Photo credit: Eric Malcolm

As in a healthy marriage where individuals can shine equally both together and alone, so can the dry white wine varieties of Bordeaux.

OK I am going to interrupt you earlier than usual. This is your first official Bordeaux story, and you are writing about whites? Bordeaux is all about red wines, no?

Prior to the devastating frost of 1956, 60% of Bordeaux vines grew white grapes, mostly destined to make sweet and semi-sweet whites. After several consecutive days below -20C, a very significant number of vines were killed due to winter freeze. In Bordeaux’s sub-region of Pomerol, 90% of the vines died.

The extensive damage resulted in the nurseries that provided new planting material having difficulty keeping up with demand. The timing was also extremely poor as the Bordeaux region was just recovering economically from the Great Depression and the 2 World Wars. This led the French agricultural department to develop an economic recovery rescue plan that only allowed replanting of higher yielding and easier to grow grapes and clones. The Right Bank of the Gironde River was prescribed a Merlot clone, and the Left Bank, Cabernet Sauvignon.

The impact of the rescue plan’s restructuring? A very different landscape overall. Many grapes were never replanted, such as white varieties and black grape varieties such as Malbec and a Cabernet Franc clone.

Bordeaux frost prevention via “bougie” (paraffin wax candles in pots) to warm surrounding air - Photo credit: Eric Malcolm

Bordeaux’s current production breakdown is about 85% red wines, 10% dry whites, 1% sweet whites, and 4% rosés. The region is very large, so even though the white wine proportion is small, there are still about 70 million bottles of white Bordeaux produced yearly! And as Sidra, Jerry Seinfeld’s girlfriend played by Teri Hatcher’s on the Seinfeld sitcom would say:

“They’re real, and they’re spectacular!”

These dry white wines are predominantly Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc blends, as they make good partners. Why such a great partnership?

Back to the marriage analogy – opposites attract!

Sauvignon Blanc tends to have high aromatic intensity (think high volume of aromas). In Bordeaux, it contributes high acidity and flavors of grass, passion fruit, and gooseberry to the blend. It does not lend to ageing as its flavors do not evolve with age.

In comparison, Semillon has low to medium aromatic intensity (its aromas are more elegant, speaking more quietly) and contributes moderate acidity, body, and flavors of apple and lemon to the blend. In addition, it has an affinity for oak, capturing its vanilla, sweet spices and toasty flavors. Lastly, it is capable of bottle ageing beautifully by developing additional complexity of nutty, honey, and ginger notes.

Like puzzle pieces, the two grapes interweave into a beautiful mosaic, each tile contributing to the complexity of a winemaking masterpiece!

But the story doesn’t end here, these players can act independently and also shine brightly.

Due to the worldwide popularity of the Sauvignon Blanc grape led by the wines of New Zealand, the Bordeaux region now also makes more Sauvignon Blanc dominant wines, though in a very different style from those from the Southern Hemisphere. The Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc offers riper fruit flavors and often sees oak, giving it a rounder mouthfeel, while the New Zealand wines have herbal notes with zingy citrus and gooseberry flavors, and are unoaked offering a lighter body.

This results in more Semillon dominant whites from Bordeaux, as there are fewer Sauvignon Blanc grapes available to blend with it, adding more diversity to the Bordeaux white wine ecology.

Regardless of grape composition, most of the exported Bordeaux dry white wines fall under the full-bodied white style, which is oaked to increase texture and complexity. They are blocked from undergoing malolactic fermentation, preventing the development of buttery note of many oaked whites.

Let’s talk style –wine styles!

Eveline Chartier

October 11, 2023

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This brings us to my recommendation, which unfortunately is no longer available on the Alberta market, but may return in June 2024. The last bottle was sold last Friday after I wrote this story. I hope that other markets can find it as this is truly an outstanding wine! (or perhaps other wines from this producer.)

Château Thieuley Cuvée Francis Courselle 2012 from Bordeaux, France

Style: Dry Full Body White Wine

Varieties: 50% Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Sémillon

This expressive wine has a supple texture and floral aromas and flavors of lemon, apricot, sweet orange, and cantaloupe, with the complexity of vanilla, butterscotch, coconut, cheese, cream, and graham cracker, plus bottle ageing characteristics of ginger, dried apricot, and honey. The aroma and flavor intensity are pronounced, and the finish is long with very precise defined flavors.

Best pairings: Grilled meat (pork, duck, & chicken), veal chops, asparagus risotto, creamy pasta dishes, seafood (crab, shrimp, lobster), salmon.

Serving Temperature: 10 degrees Celsius

Price: ~$34 (incl. Shades of Grape 15% discount & 5% gst)

Serving Tips: No decant necessary

I have compiled all my relevant wine recommendations in one place including today’s wines. I will do my best to keep this up to date. That version also has links on where to find the wines in Alberta.

Compilation: Shades of Grape Wine Recommendations

Eveline Chartier

November 21, 2023

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Let’s talk style –wine styles!

Compilation: Shades of Grape Wine Recommendations

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