Perhaps the
most renowned of France’s wine regions, Bordeaux produces about
one-third of the top-quality French wine. In addition to the Bordeaux
appellation d’origine contrôlée, or AOC, about 60 of the region’s
sub-regions have their own AOCs. Bordeaux is by the Atlantic Ocean in
south-western France. Its more than 8,500 chateaux produce approximately
850 million bottles of wine annually, or about a quarter of all AOC
French wine, in about 120,000 ha of vineyards. Approximately 89% of the
wine Bordeaux produces is now red. In addition to enormous amounts of
everyday table wine, Bordeaux wines include some of the most prestigious
– and expensive – in the world.
Terroir
Terroir refers to the special characteristics that a particular
place’s climate, soil, geography, geology, and other environmental
factors provide to such produce as wine grown there. The concept plays a
central role in Bordeaux wine production, as its premiere estates
endeavour to make terroir-driven wines that express their origins, often
using grapes harvested from a single vineyard. The region’s geological
base is limestone, resulting in soils rich in calcium. It centres on the
Gironde estuary and its tributaries, and its best vineyards are
situated on well-drained gravel soil close to one of these rivers. Its
proximity to the Atlantic provides it with an oceanic climate ideal for
viticulture.
The Black Grapes
Wine-makers usually blend red Bordeaux wine, often called claret in the
UK, from more than one grape variety. The Bordeaux appellation permits
the use of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot,
carménère, and malbec as black grapes. Cabernet sauvignon, which is
Bordeaux’s second-most common grape, tends to be predominant in blends
of Médoc and other appellations on the estuary’s left bank, with smaller
proportions of merlot, Bordeaux’s most common grape, and the region’s
third most common grape, cabernet franc. Merlot tends to dominate the
blends of the appellations on the right bank, although some are mostly
cabernet franc. The proportions for most red Bordeaux wine blends is
about 70-15-15.
The White Grapes
White Bordeaux wines, like their red counterparts, tend strongly to be
blends. The appellation permits the use of sémillon, muscadelle,
sauvignon blanc, and six other, rarely used, varieties of white grapes.
The most popular blends are about four-fifths sémillon and one-fifth
sauvignon blanc. Muscadelle, sauvignon blanc, and sémillon are the only
grapes used to make sauternes.
Overseas Roots
In the late nineteenth century a non-indigenous insect called phylloxera
devastated nearly all of Bordeaux’s vineyards. Since the pest was
originally from North America, viticulturalists saved the Bordeaux
French wine industry by grafting surviving local vines to American
rootstock resistant to the pest. All Bordeaux vines are now a product of
these grafts. Fortunately, rootstock does not affect grapes’ character
or flavour.
Wine Bordeaux Wine Bordeaux Wine Bordeaux