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Map of the Bordeaux regions with most of its appellations shown. The rivers Garonne and Dordogne, and the Gironde estuary are important in defining the various parts of the region.
Map of the Bordeaux regions with most of its appellations shown. The rivers Garonne and Dordogne, and the Gironde estuary are important in defining the various parts of the region.

A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice ( Gascon: Bordèu) is a port city in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine are produced every year, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world. In the United States table wine is used as a legal definition to differentiate standard Wine from stronger (higher alcohol content Fortified wine or Most Bordeaux wine is red, but sweet white wines have also contributed to the region's reputation, and dry white, rosé and sparkling wines (Crémant de Bordeaux) are also produced. Bordeaux wine is made in 9,000 wineries usually called châteaux from the grapes of 13,000 grape growers. For other senses of this word see Château (disambiguation. A château (plural châteaux) is a Manor house or residence There are 57 appellations of Bordeaux wine. Appellation d’origine contrôlée ( AOC) which translates as "controlled term of origin" is the French certification granted to certain French

Contents

History

Main article: History of Bordeaux wine
Map of the French provinces (including Bordeaux) assimilated by the Plantagenet-Aquitaine union
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. The history of Bordeaux wine spans almost 2000 years to Roman times when the first vineyards were planted Saint-Émilion is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial [1] However, it is only in 71 AD that Pliny recorded the first real evidence of vineyards in Bordeaux. Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author [2] 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. [3]

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[4]. For other Eleanors of England see Eleanor of England (disambiguation Eleanor Duchess of Aquitaine (1122&ndash1 April 1204 The marriage made the province of Aquitaine English territory, and thenceforth the majority of Bordeaux was then exported[4]. This accounts for the ubiquity of claret in England. Claret is a name used in English, primarily in Britain, for red Wine from the Bordeaux region of France.

As the popularity of Bordeaux wine increased, the vineyards expanded to accommodate the demands from abroad. A vineyard is a Plantation of Grape -bearing Vines grown mainly for Winemaking, but also Raisins Table grapes and non-alcoholic 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. The police des vins were a set of codes and business practices set up in the 13th and 14th century that govern the Wine trade within the region of Bordeaux and the [5]

The export of Bordeaux was effectively halted by the outbreak of The Hundred Years' War between France and England in 1337[4]. The Hundred Years' War (Guerre de Cent Ans was a prolonged conflict lasting from 1337 to 1453 between two royal houses for the French throne vacant with the extinction of the senior By the end of the conflict in 1453 France had repossessed the province, thus taking control of wine production in the region[4].

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. Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine

From 1875-1892 almost all Bordeaux vineyards were ruined by Phylloxera infestations[4]. This article is about the grape phylloxera For the Genus, see Phylloxera (genus. The region's wine industry was rescued by grafting native vines on to pest-resistant American rootstock[4]. Grafting is a method of asexual Plant propagation widely used in Agriculture and Horticulture where the tissues of one Plant are encouraged to A rootstock is a Plant, and sometimes just the Stump, which already has an established healthy root system, used for Grafting a cutting or All Bordeaux vines that survive to this day are a product of this action[4]. This is not to say that all contemporary Bordeaux wines are truly American wines, as rootstock does not affect the production of grapes. American wine has been produced for over 300 years Today Wine production is performed in all fifty states with California leading the way in wine production followed

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. Aquitaine (Aquitània Akitania archaic Guyenne / Guienne (Occitan Guiana) is one of the 26 Regions of France, in the south-western part of The INAO or Institut National des Appellations d'Origine was created for this purpose[4]. The Institut National des Appellations d'Origine is the French organization charged with regulating controlled place names The Institut National des Appellations d'Origine is the French organization charged with regulating controlled place names

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. Appellation d’origine contrôlée ( AOC) which translates as "controlled term of origin" is the French certification granted to certain French This law later extended to other goods such as cheese, poultry and vegetables[4].

The economic problems in 1970s, in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis marked a difficult period for Bordeaux. The 1973 oil crisis began on October 17 1973 when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC consisting of the Arab members of The 1980s was a period of recovery, and a new era in two respects. First, wine critics (rather than just official classifications) started to have an influence on demand and prices. US wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s review of the 1982 Bordeaux vintage has generally been considered to have started this trend, and Parker has remained the most influential Bordeaux critic ever since. TalkRobert M Parker Jr claims this is a licensed copy of http//www Second, the preferred style of high-quality red Bordeaux has gradually changed: the wines are more concentrated in flavour, have a heavier influence of new oak, are more approachable already when young, and are slightly higher in alcohol. It has been claimed that this is the style of wine that Parker prefers and gives high scores to (and they are therefore sometimes called "Parkerized"), while the Pomerol-based winemaking consultant Michel Rolland writes the recipe for how to make these wines. Michel Rolland (born December 24, 1947 in Libourne, France) is an influential Bordeaux -based oenologist, with hundreds

Bordeaux used to have a significant production of white wines, with Entre-deux-Mers a primarily white wine area. Unlike the style of dry white Bordeaux favoured today, with almost 100% Sauvignon Blanc and a heavy influence of new oak, the traditional Entre-deux-Mers whites had a high proportion of Semillion and were either made in old oak barrels or in steel tanks. Starting in the 1960s and 1970s, these vineyards were converted to red wine production (of Bordeaux AOC and Bordeaux Superieur AOC), and the production of white wine has decreased ever since. Today production of white wine has shrunk to about one tenth of Bordeaux's total production.

Climate and geography

The Bordeaux region of France is the second largest wine-growing area in the world with 284,320 acres under vine. The acre is a unit of Area in a number of different systems including the imperial and U Only the Languedoc wine region with 617,750 acres under vine is larger. Languedoc wine, including the Vin de pays labeled Vin de Pays d'Oc, is produced in southern France. [6]. 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. The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is subject to the caveats explained below defined as the point in the northern The equator (sometimes referred to colloquially as "the Line") is the intersection of the Earth 's surface with the plane perpendicular to the Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island [7]

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. The Gironde is a navigable Estuary (often falsely referred to as a River) in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne A tributary is a Stream or River which flows into a mainstem (or parent river The Garonne (Garonne in Occitan, Catalan and Spanish: Garona; Garumna is a River in southwest France and northern Dordogne (Dordonha is a department in central France named after the Dordogne River. An oceanic climate (also called marine west coast climate and maritime climate) is the Climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes [7]

These rivers define the main geographical subdivisions of the region:

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. Terroir (/t̪εʁwaʁ/ in French (terruño pago was originally a French term in Wine, Coffee and Tea used to denote the special characteristics [8] The soil of Bordeaux is composed of gravel, sandy stone, and clay. Gravel is rock that is of a specific Particle size range In Geology, gravel is any loose rock that is larger than two millimeters (2mm Sand is a naturally occurring Granular material composed of finely divided rock and Mineral particles 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. An adage (ˈædɪdʒ or adagium (Latin is a short but memorable saying that holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people or that For the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France 's best Bordeaux wines which were to be on [9]

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the Medoc
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. Claret is a name used in English, primarily in Britain, for red Wine from the Bordeaux region of France. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Carmenere. Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red Wine grape varieties. Cabernet Franc is one of the major varieties of red Wine Grape in Bordeaux Merlot ('MERL-oh' in British English mer-LOH in American English and standard French is a red Wine Grape that is used as both a blending grape and for Petit verdot is a variety of red Wine Grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends Malbec is a variety of Grape used in making Red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark colour and robust Tannins Long known as one of the The Carmenère grape is a Wine Grape variety originally planted in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France, where it was used to 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.

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. Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red Wine grape varieties. The Gironde is a navigable Estuary (often falsely referred to as a River) in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne Merlot and to a lesser extent Cabernet Franc tend to predominate in Saint Emilion, Pomerol and the other right bank appellations. Merlot ('MERL-oh' in British English mer-LOH in American English and standard French is a red Wine Grape that is used as both a blending grape and for Cabernet Franc is one of the major varieties of red Wine Grape in Bordeaux Saint-Émilion is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. Pomerol is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. [10]

White Bordeaux is predominantly, and exclusively in the case of the sweet Sauternes, made from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. Sauternes is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. Sémillon is a golden-skinned Grape used to make dry and sweet white Wines most notably in France and Australia. Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned Grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. Muscadelle is a white Wine Grape. It has a simple aroma of grape juice and raisins like grapes of the Muscat family of grapes but it is unrelated As with the reds, white Bordeaux wines are usually blends, most commonly of Sémillon and a smaller proportion of Sauvignon Blanc. Other permitted grape varieties are Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Merlot Blanc, Ondenc and Mauzac. Trebbiano is a Grape variety that probably makes more white wine in the world than any other Colombard is an early fruiting white variety of Wine Grape, better known as French Colombard in North America. Ondenc is a white French wine grape found predominately in the Gaillac region of southwest France.

In the late 1960s Sémillon was the most planted grape in Bordeaux. Since then it has been in constant decline although it still is the most common of Bordeaux's white grapes. Sauvignon Blanc's popularity on the other hand has been rising, overtaking Ugni Blanc as the second most planted white Bordeaux grape in the late 1980s and now being grown in an area more than half the size of that of the lower yielding Sémillon.

Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Meritage is a word used to distinguish Wines that are made in the style of red Bordeaux but without infringing on that region's legally Protected designation of 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 styles

The Bordeaux wine region is divided into subregions including Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Médoc, and Graves. This list of wine-producing regions catalogues significant Growing regions where Vineyards are planted Saint-Émilion is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. Pomerol is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. The Médoc ( Occitan: Medoc) is a region of France, well-known as a Wine growing region located in the département of Graves (ˈgrɑːv meaning ' Gravelly land' in French) is an important subregion of the Bordeaux Wine region The 57 Bordeaux appellations and the wine styles they represent are usually categorized into six main families, four red and two white, based on the subregions:[11]

The vast majority of Bordeaux wine is red, with red wine production out numbering white wine production six to one[17].

Wine classification

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

There are four different classifications of Bordeaux, covering different parts of the region:[18][19]

The 1855 classification system was made at the request of Emperor Napoleon III for the Exposition Universelle de Paris. Napoléon III, also known as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (full name Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte) (20 April 1808 9 January 1873 was the first President The Exposition Universelle of 1855 was an International Exhibition held on the Champ de Mars in Paris from May 15 to November 15, 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. First Growth (Premier Cru status refers to a classification of Wines primarily from the Bordeaux region of France

The five first growths
The five first growths

The first growths are:

At the same time, the sweet white wines of Sauternes and Barsac were classified into three categories, with only Château d'Yquem being classified as a superior first growth. Château d'Yquem is a Premier Cru Supérieur ( Fr "Great First Growth" or "Great First Vintage" Wine from the

In 1955, St. Émilion AOC were classified into three categories, the highest being Premier Grand Cru Classé A with two members:[18]

There is no official classification applied to Pomerol. Château Ausone is a Bordeaux wine from Saint-Émilion appellation, one of only two wines along with Château Cheval Blanc, to be ranked Château Cheval Blanc ( French for "Castle White Horse" is a Wine producer in Saint-Émilion in the Bordeaux wine region of France Pomerol is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. However some Pomerol wines, notably Château Pétrus and Château Le Pin, are often considered as being equivalent to the first growths of the 1855 classification, and often sell for even higher prices. Pétrus is a red Bordeaux wine of the Pomerol appellation made almost entirely from the Merlot Grape. Château Le Pin, or simply Le Pin, is an unclassed Bordeaux wine from the appellation Pomerol.

Commercial aspects

Many of the top Bordeaux wines are primarily sold as futures contracts, called selling en primeur. In Finance, a futures contract is a standardized Contract, traded on a Futures exchange, to buy or sell a certain Underlying instrument En Primeur or "Wine Futures " is a method of purchasing Wines early while a Vintage is still in a barrel offering the customer the opportunity Because of the combination of longevity, fairly large production, and an established reputation, Bordeaux wines tend to be the most common wines at wine auctions.

Wine label

A wine label from Château Haut-Batailley.
A wine label from Château Haut-Batailley. Château Haut-Batailley is a Winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France.

Bordeaux wine labels generally include [22]-

  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. Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine The Cru Bourgeois classification lists some of the high quality Wines from the Left Bank Bordeaux wine regions that were not included in the 1855 Classification
  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. Appellation d’origine contrôlée ( AOC) which translates as "controlled term of origin" is the French certification granted to certain French An appellation is a Geographical indication used to identify where the Grapes for a Wine were grown 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. A négociant is the French term for a Wine merchant who assembles the produce of smaller growers and winemakers and sells the result under its own name
  5. The vintage -(Image example: 2000)
  6. Alcohol content - (Image example: 13% vol)

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ Hugh Johnson, Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 50. The garagistes refers to a group of innovative winemakers in the Bordeaux region producing "Vins de garage", "Garage wine" History Wine has been traded internationally since ancient times The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 or the Judgment of Paris was a Wine competition organized in Paris on 24 May 1976 by Steven Spurrier, a British Simon and Schuster 1989
  2. ^ Hugh Johnson, Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 50. Simon and Schuster 1989
  3. ^ Hugh Johnson, Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 48. Simon and Schuster 1989
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Official Bordeaux website (April 18, 2007).
  5. ^ Hugh Johnson, Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 149. Simon and Schuster 1989
  6. ^ Jancis Robinson, "Oxford Companion to Wine", Second Edition pg 397. Oxford University Press 1999
  7. ^ a b K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 118 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1563054345
  8. ^ K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 120 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1563054345
  9. ^ K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 122 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1563054345
  10. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Clarke_pg_132
  11. ^ Bordeaux.com (CIVB): The 57 Appellations, read on January 3, 2008
  12. ^ Bordeaux.com (CIVB): The 57 Appellations - Côtes de Bordeaux, read on January 3, 2008
  13. ^ Bordeaux.com (CIVB): The 57 Appellations - Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, Fronsac, read on January 3, 2008
  14. ^ Bordeaux.com (CIVB): The 57 Appellations - Médoc and Graves, read on January 3, 2008
  15. ^ Bordeaux.com (CIVB): The 57 Appellations - Dry white wines, read on January 3, 2008
  16. ^ http://www.bordeaux.com/Tout-Vins/Les-Appellations.aspx?SelectedTabMenu=tabVinsBlancOr&culture=en-US&country=OTHERS#TabMenu Bordeaux. com (CIVB): The 57 Appellations - Dry white wines], read on January 3, 2008
  17. ^ Hugh Johnson, "The World Atlas of Wine"
  18. ^ a b J. Robinson (ed), "The Oxford Companion to Wine", Third Edition, p 175-177, Oxford University Press 2006, ISBN 0198609906
  19. ^ J. Robinson (ed), "The Oxford Companion to Wine", Third Edition, p 212-216, Oxford University Press 2006, ISBN 0198609906
  20. ^ Anson, Jane, Decanter (July 10, 2007). Cru Bourgeois classification officially over.
  21. ^ Anson, Jane, Decanter (July 27, 2007). Cru Bourgeois to rise again with new name.
  22. ^ B. Sanderson "A Master Class in Cabernet" pg 62 Wine Spectator May 15, 2007

Further reading

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