Bordeaux’s Other Grape----Sauv Blanc!

                                           White wine in Bordeaux is an oxymoron for many

White wine from Bordeaux?   Some of you may be surprised that Sauvignon Blanc-based wines are produced in Bordeaux.  Those who aren’t, have either been on a Wine-Knows’ trip to Bordeaux, or are very savvy wine connoisseurs.   White Bordeaux wines account for only 7% of the area’s production and very little of it ever make it across the Atlantic.   Indeed, Sauvignon Blanc (Sauv Blanc) is Bordeaux’s secret grape.  

      The majority of Bordeaux's white wines come from Entre Deux Mers to the east of Bordeaux city

Sauv Blanc has its origin in France.  DNA researchers have actually traced its birthplace to the Bordeaux area.   Furthermore, DNA evidence has proven Sauv Blanc to be one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux’s Hail Mary red grape.  Centuries ago vineyards in France were all planted with a mixture of different red and white varietals in the same row.  Crossings between these different grapes in close proximity occurred in French vineyards and birthed new varietals.

   Chateau Roquefort expansive Sauv Blanc vineyards produce 4 different whites, including one that is                                                                        100% Sauv Blanc

Bordeaux’s Sauv Blanc in often mixed with Semillon, another white varietal, to create a blended wine known as Bordeaux Blanc (white).   Sauv Blanc is typically the majority of this blend.  Most wine aficionados know Sauv Blanc as an aromatic varietal. Depending on where it is grown, the varietal can offer different flavor profiles.   The cooler climate of Bordeaux, for example, serves up a palate of lemon & lime along with green apples.  With global warming, however, Sauv Blanc in Bordeaux is moving towards stone fruits and even tropical nuances.

Shrimp fishermen cast large nets from cranes throughout Bordeaux  

Last, Sauv Blanc-centric whites work well with Bordeaux’s local maritime food products.   Shellfish is a natural pairing with a white Bordeaux as the high acidity of a Bordeaux Blanc cuts through the fattiness of seafood (many of which are served with a cream sauce).  Lighter foods such as simple grilled fish also work with the area’s Sauv Blanc.

If you’re coming on the harvest trip to Bordeaux with Wine-Knows in September (sorry, but we’re sold out with a waiting list), you will have the opportunity to try Sauv Blanc at its birthplace.   In the meanwhile, why not pick up a bottle (either online or at a wine shop that has a great Bordeaux collection)?

 

Two Perfect Scoring 1982 Bordeaux

          Chateau Haut-Brion & Chateau Latour---don't wait too long to open your special bottles 

Recently we hosted a Bordeaux dinner in our home with some significant wines.  There were two piece de resistance Grand Crus from the 1982 vintage:  Chateau Latour & Chateau Haut-Brion.  Both of these wines were given 100 point scores by Robert Parker.  If you can find them, the Latour sells for >$2,600 a bottle, the Haut-Brion north of $1,500.  Accompanying these First Growth wines was a Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne and a Chateau Suduiraut 2000.   It was a hedonistic evening.

 Haut-Brion, one of Bordeaux's 5 Premier Grand Cru wineries, is a usual stop on Wine-Knows trips

The Haut-Brion had been brought by dear friends (merci, Carrol & Steve).  Their bottle had been purchased on futures in the late 1970’s.   After bottling, it had carefully been stored in a cool, dark area for the first twenty years, and in a wine refrigerator for the last twenty.  Our Latour had been stored in a refrigerated wine case for over 20 years, and in a temperature-controlled/humidified wine cellar for nearly fifteen years.   We weren’t anticipating any storage problems with either.

               Wine-Knows visits Chateau Latour, another of Bordeaux's 5 Premier Grand Cru 

There was a great deal of thought given by both parties regarding preparing the wine for its ceremonious uncorking.  Typically, a ten or twenty year old powerful Cabernet requires an hour or two of contact with the air to soften its bold tannins.  As tannins and fruit both dissipate with age, however, there was concern of how long these forty year old Cabernet-centric wines should be opened in advance:  too early could mean loss of fruit flavors which were already on a downward trajectory.   Online sleuthing yielded a mixed bag for when the wine should be opened.  Expert suggestions for length of time to open the wines were very outdated (nothing had been written since the early 2000’s).   We were on our own to trust our best guess based on the evolution of both tannins and fruit.

                 Chateau Latour's tasting for Wine-Knows featured 5 wines from 3 different vintages

My husband and I finally agreed to open our Latour ninety minutes prior to serving and then decanted it.   Our initial taste and smell, thankfully, showed that the wine had no flaws.  Our friends opened their Haut Brion two hours prior to dinner, decanted it, and then placed it back in the bottle to bring to our home where it remained corked until shortly before serving.  Thankfully, their Haut Brion had also weathered the forty year storm with no flaws. 

                              Chateau Haut-Brion is surprisingly owned by an American family

Each wine was served in identical large Bordeaux glasses by Riedel, side by side.  Beef short ribs cooked in a Cabernet sauce was paired with the wines.  The structure of both the Latour & Haut Brion was intact, although the two wines were beginning to head on a downward course for both tannins and acids.  Experts had predicted that both wines would be drinkable through 2030, however, both bottles should have probably been consumed five to ten years earlier for a maximum tasting experiences.   The two wines’ flavor profiles were all earth-centric---very little fruit, if any, remained in either wine.  While pleasant, both wines lacked a certain je ne sai quoi for complexity. 

The experience of these two 1982 Grand Cru Bordeaux reinforced the following lessons:

         1.  Keep your wines well cellared.

         2.  Consult the experts, but trust your gut based upon knowledge of a wine’s 

                    structural components & evolution.

                             3.  Before opening an older wine consider both structure (tannins & acids), as well

                  as fruit in determining the optimal open date. 

Important Changes in Bordeaux

                           Old world Bordeaux chateaux are preparing for global warming 

This is the second article in a four-part series on Bordeaux.  Today's article addresses what’s new in Bordeaux?   In many ways that’s an oxymoron as typically there is nothing new in this tradition-centric wine district.   For example, there’s only been one change in the Classification System of the Left Bank in the last 167 years, and that was when Mouton Rothschild was elevated to a First Growth in 1973.   But, there’s been a mammoth change recently.

French law has always dictated which exact grapes can be grown in Bordeaux---if it’s not on the approved list it’s against the law.  Up until last year, the only red grapes that were allowed to be grown for >100 years were the following five:

1.     Cabernet Sauvignon

2.     Merlot

3.     Cabernet Franc

4.     Malbec

5.     Petite Verdot

Similarly, white grapes grown in Bordeaux have legally been restricted for over a century to the following three:

1.     Sauvignon Blanc

2.     Semillon

3.     Muscadelle

                 Bordeaux's grapes are now ripening weeks earlier than they did a few decades ago

Bordeaux has long been worried about global warming’s effect on grapes.  For the past ten years, the wine industry has invested beaucoup Euros in research to investigate potential new varietals that will fare better in higher temperatures.  Based upon this research, Bordeaux’s wine laws were recently changed to include the following grapes---all of these reds and whites have demonstrated to be more heat tolerant.

 

• Touriga Nacional:  (Red)  native to the Iberian peninsula where summer temperatures often soar beyond 100 degrees
• Arinarnoa: (Red) a Bordeaux hybrid created from crossing Petite Verdot & Merlot
• Marselan:  (Red) another Bordeaux lab grape created by crossing Cabernet Sauv with Grenache
• Castets: (Red)  almost extinct varietal grown in France’s Southwest
• Alvarinho:  (White) Portugueese / Spanish varietal
• Liliorila:   (White) a crossing between Chardonnay and obscure French grape called Baroque

Currently, Bordeaux laws limit the above varietals to a maximum of 10% of the blend.  Those coming to Bordeaux for September's harvest tour may have a chance to barrel taste these new varietals.

Bordeaux’s Best Kept Secret

                       Most white Bordeaux comes from the sub-region called Entre Deux Mers

This article is the first in a four part series on Wine-Knows' September trip to Bordeaux.  

White Bordeaux?  That’s an oxymoron for many.   Production of white wine accounts for a mere 10% of Bordeaux’s total (and 3% of this is sweet wine from Sauternes), thus, it’s not surprising that a dry white Bordeaux is even less known.  Indeed, Bordeaux’s dry white is rare, with little of the miniscule amount produced ever making it across the Atlantic.  Dry white Bordeaux is definitely worth seeking out, and when you find it you’ll be astonished at the inexpensive price. 

                                     Entre-deux-Mers is just east of the city of Bordeaux
 

Most dry whites produced in Bordeaux come from the Entre Deux Mers sub-region of the wine district.   One of the top from this area is Chateau Marjosse which can be found online for about $15 a bottle (and the chateau’s owner is the managing director of Cheval Blanc and Yquem).    Other stars of Entre Deux Mers include Thieuley and Haut Garriga, both under twenty bucks.

                      Chateau Roqufort in Entre Deux Mers produces a stunning Bordeaux Blanc

Bordeaux’s dry white is a blended wine made from mainly two grape varietals,  Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.  Sauv Blanc is often the majority of the blend, which is not surprising since this grape originated in Bordeaux.  Contributing citrus notes and a mineral profile, Sauv Blanc forms a solid acid backbone for the area’s whites.   Semillon, on the other hand, is responsible for the unctuous texture of white Bordeaux.  Moreover, Semillon’s deep golden color also adds to the wine’s color by intensifying the hue. 

As dry white Bordeaux remains relatively unknown in the US, there is little demand and prices are downright a steal for the quality.  Why not have a Bordeaux Blanc party and spread the secret?

Wine on the Rocks

                                         Rocks can be instrumental in making a complex wine

This is not an article for novices on wine coolers or putting ice in your wine.  It is an article for serious wine lovers on the important role that rocks can have in a vineyard.  Rocks can be instrumental in the difference between a ho-hum wine, and some of the best wines on the planet.   Perhaps the most famous wine rocks are those of Bordeaux and the Rhone (especially Chateauneuf du Pape).   But, many other world-class wines owe part of their greatness to rocks.

                                     Galets can vary from pebble-sized to larger rocks

The French actually have a specific term for these vineyard rocks. They are called “galets.”   Galets can vary anywhere in size from several pounds to large pebbles.  Regardless of size, however, rocks are integral to the growth of vines and their fruit in several ways.  Rocks absorb heat from the daytime sunshine and then slowly release the heat back during the night.  During cold winters this is important so that vines don’t freeze.  During cool summer evenings, on the other hand, heat retention and heat transmission are critical for vine’s growth and fruit ripening.

 

Rocks can also be critical for drainage.  Vines need proper drainage in order to produce quality fruit.   Layers of pebbles or even smaller sized rocks can create a perfect drainage system and allow the vine to send its roots downward to seek water and nutrition for the plant.   In this search downward through the vineyard’s stratum, the plant also brings back nuances from the earth that create complexity in wine.

  

                                                   "Graves" is all about it's "gravel" soil

Rocks are an important part of the vineyard’s terroir.  In the case of Bordeaux’s left bank and Chateauneuf du Pape, both of these wine districts lie beside large rivers.  In Bordeaux, millenniums of granite from the Pyrenees have been washed downward and were deposited in vineyards when rivers overflowed their banks.  Graves, one of Bordeaux’s premium districts, actually takes its name from the word for “gravel.”  Graves' vineyards are littered with rocks that have been broken down by the water's churning action as the rivers carry rocks toward the Atlantic.      

     This Chateauneuf du Pape vineyard is located a croissant's toss from the Rhone River

The Rhone wine region lies beside the Rhone River.  Alpine rocks have been washed down via the Rhone for ages.  Chateauneuf du Pape is the flattest part of the region, hence, its vineyards are laden with galets from the Rhone’s flooding.   On the other side of the world in New Zealand, there’s the Gimblett Gravels wine district, an area known for its world-class red wines.  The Gimlett Gravels are located in an old river bed filled with rocks.  In this case, the river actually changed course and left in its wake a perfect terroir for growing wine grapes:  several feet of deep gravels.   

If you're looking for a novel idea for a wine-tasting, why not consider a "Wine on the Rocks" soiree?

 

France’s Quintessential Wine Village

                               Grand Cru vines surround the medieval village of St. Emilion

Out of the several hundreds of wine villages in France, the one I would pick to visit is o St. Emilion in the Bordeaux district.  Located <25 miles east of the city of Bordeaux, this village has it all:   enchanting history,  stunning hilltop location surrounded by a sea of vines, spectacular medieval architecture, and of course stellar wines.  I’m in St. Emilion today and this town of 2,000 feels like it may have doubled in size---it’s swarming with visitors from around the world who have come for the annual Ban Des Vendanges (wine harvest festival).    

St. Emilion is named after an 8^th Century monk who was traveling to the Holy Land.  As the legend goes, when the monk reached Bordeaux his gourd of water supposedly turned to wine.  He took this as a sign that he was supposed to stay there….and he did so until his death, taking care of the sick pilgrims who were also bound for the Holy Land.

       St. Emilion's limestone was used to build most of the grand buildings in the city of Bordeaux

The village of St. Emilion is legendary for its limestone.  Bordeaux's Opera House and its beautiful Stock Exchange buildings are just a few examples of stone from St. Emilion.  Quarrying has left St. Emilion with large underground areas from where the limestone blocks were removed.  Some of these subterranean parts are so large that they will fit hundreds of people.  Others are small chambers with secret passageways under St. Emilion.  

The limestone also serves an important purpose in the area's wines.  Grapes love limestone soil because it provides a perfect drainage system.   Many of St. Emilion's vineyards sit on top of subterranean caverns from where stone was quarried.   When touring these underground caves it’s normal to see vine roots cascading down through the ceiling from vineyards located 20-30 feet above.

Centuries-old ramparts still surround some of the hilltop St. Emilion

The village of St. Emilion is also a medieval architectural jewel-box.  It’s no wonder that several movies have been filmed here as the city appears much as it was > 500 years ago. The United Nation’s cultural arm now protects the entire village and its surrounding vineyards.  Under UNESCO, no changes can be made without approval of the World Heritage Council.     

Wine-Knows has several special events planned this weekend.  Tonight is a private dinner at Chateau Coutet with the owner/winemaker, and tomorrow is dinner at Chateau Guadet at the owner’s home.  Sunday Wine-Knows will breakfast with the Mayor of St. Emilion at City Hall, and then indulge in the festivities of the harvest festival:  the blessing of the wine at a formal mass, followed by a 3-4 hour lunch with the members of St. Emilion’s esteemed Jurade.

If you're ever in southwest France, St. Emilion is definitely worth a detour.  Plan to spend at least a couple of nights as there is much to soak in...wine included.

The World’s Oldest Wine Society

                             The Jurade harvest festivities are a wine-lovers' dream experience

The year was 1199.  England controlled the entire southwest of France, including the Bordeaux region.  King John (the brother of Richard the Lionheart), commissioned a brotherhood of wine to be formed in the medieval town of St Emilion located across the river from the city Bordeaux.  Known as the Jurade, this elite organization received special dispensation from the English Crown.  In return, England was given the first rights to St Emilion’s wine.

The freedom provided to the brotherhood of the Jurade (composed of the area’s top winemakers), allowed the Jurade to maintain rigorous quality control.  If the vintage was poor, winemakers were encouraged not to make wine that year.  Over 800 years later, the Jurade of St Emilion is still active.   Wine-Knows’ participants on the upcoming harvest festival tour to Bordeaux will be guests of the Jurade at their extravaganza private luncheon.

                        June Dunn, owner of Wine-Knows, became a member of the Jurade in 2016

On September 19, Wine-Knows will attend a private breakfast in St Emilion’s City Hall with the Mayor and members of the Jurade.  Dressed in long flowing theatrical red robes, the Jurade will depart city hall in unison and parade down the people-lined cobblestoned streets (with Wine-Knows marching right behind them in the procession).  This is one of the most important events in the Bordeaux wine district.  Photographers and television cameras will abound.

                        The Jurade's private lunch is one that would even impress Bacchus

The spectacle continues all the way to St Emilion’s church where a mass for the blessing of the harvest will be held.   After the mass, new members of the Jurade will be sworn in.  Then, the wine begins to flow as the Jurade and Wine-Knows will move to the city’s famous medieval Cloistures for a glass of Champagne to celebrate.   The coup de etat, however, will be the private luncheon in one of St Emilion’s ancient palaces.   At the last Jurade Wine Knows attended, lobster was the first course, foie gras the second, and the main was a tenderloin of beef.   Ten bottles of premier St Emilion adorned each table for 8 persons.  The lunch typically lasts for 3-4 hours.

A toast to the Jurade, s'il vous plait !

 

Bordeaux’s Unsung Hero: White Wine

                            A blend of Sauv Blanc & Semillon, this wine is a stunner

White wine in Bordeaux?  Surely that’s an oxymoron!   But, I’m here to tell you that it is not a contradiction.   Yes, many folks may know that Bordeaux produces white sweet wines (Sauternes), but that’s not what I’m talking about.  White dry Bordeaux is one of the most spectacular white wines I know.  Maybe I’m drawn to it because it’s unique?  That could be a possibility, but I think it’s a real star, period.

Let’s start with the grapes.  White dry Bordeaux is a combination of two grapes of which I’m particularly fond:  Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.   Most wine aficionados know  Sauv Blanc as this aromatic varietal is quite popular at the moment in many wine-centric countries of the world.   Depending on where it is grown, the varietal can offer different flavor profiles.   Cooler climate renditions, for example, serve up a palate of lemon and other citrus fruits along with green apples.  Warmer weather Sauv Blancs move to the tropical side of the scale with papaya, melon and even pineapple.

Semillon, on the other hand, is not a grape that many wine-lovers know….unless they are into sweet wine.   Once considered the most widely planted white wine grape in the world, Semillon has fallen out of style in many countries.  Still popular as a varietal in France and Australia, it is rarely seen in the US.   It’s such a pity as the Semillon grape makes a full-bodied wine with enticing flavors (think pears and papayas), however, it’s Semillon’s voluptuous texture that grabs me.  

Dry white Bordeaux is a blended wine with both Sauv Blanc and Semillon represented.   Very few wine shops carry it in the US, but don’t let that deter you as it is available online for in-the-know lovers of wine.   The good news is that because it is unknown, there is not much of a demand, hence, prices are extremely reasonable. 

Check out these great unsung heroes:

~ Chateau Haut–Mayne $15---a definite best buy

~ Chateau Haut Bertinerie $25

~ Chateau Chantegrive Oiseaux  $25

~ Chateau La Louviere:  $45

Very few Bordeaux chateaux produce white wine.   But, this wine is worth seeking-out!

The Other Bordeaux----Sauternes

                                        Sauternes are among the world's most expensive wines

The grape harvest for Bordeaux’s white and red wine finished some weeks ago, but it is just starting for Bordeaux’s prized sweet wines, Sauternes (pronounced sew TAIRN.)  Sauternes is some of the priciest wines on the planet (a bottle of an old Chateau Yquem sold a few years ago for $117,000---that's $26,000 a glass, or $2,200 a sip!)   One of the reasons is that the berries are picked one at a time, rather than one bunch at a time.  Let me explain.

                                 Sauternes is a wine district, a town, and a sweet wine

Known as “liquid gold,” Sauternes is pricey because of the labor intensive process required to make it.  Grapes for these sweet wines are hand-picked carefully by workers who have been trained to look for “botrytis.”   Known also as the “noble rot,” botrytis is a fungus that attacks very ripe grapes.   Typically, it does not attack the full bunch, but only certain berries.  Workers must often make several passes through the vineyards over a period of weeks, picking only the grapes that have been effected with noble rot.  In some cases one vine is necessary to make one bottle of the most expensive Sauternes.

                          Botrytis concentrates flavors & causes flavor, as well as aroma changes

So how can rotted grapes possibly make such a magnifique wine?   First, the botrytis penetrates the grape’s skin and causes it to lose nearly 75% of its water.  However, much more than dehydrating and concentrating the flavors, botrytis actually causes a chemical change in the grape’s aromas and taste profile.  Third, while all of the above is occurring, the fungus also increases the actual acid levels so that this sweet wine is not cloying sweet.

                            Damp & warmth together create the perfect storm for botrytis

The terroir of Sauternes is key to botrytis.  The fungus does not happen every year, but only when certain conditions in the environment occur at the same time.  There are two rivers, one cold and the other warm, that converge into one river near Sauternes.  The mixture of warm and cold creates a mist.   Providing the afternoons are warm, this mist in addition to the heat create the perfect milieu for botrytis to thrive. 

If you’re one of the lucky Wine-Knows joining the September 2021 trip to Bordeaux, you’ll have the opportunity to sample some of the world's most famous Sauternes.  The sweet life doesn’t get any sweeter than sipping a Sauternes at its birthplace.

World’s First *CRYSTAL* Wine Barrel

     The Lalique crystal barrel cost hundreds of thousands of Euros

Wine-Knows will be conducting its last tour to Bordeaux during the grape harvest of 2021.   Rest assured that the group will be visiting this showpiece crystal wine barrel.  Made by Lalique, France’s leading crystal producer, it took artisans more than two years to perfect designs and meticulously construct.  It’s the first one of its type on the globe and according to experts it is a formidable achievement.

The stunning piece-of-art barrel is located in the cellars of one of Bordeaux’s Premier Grand Cru chateaux, Lafurie-Peyraguey.  The historic wine estate commissioned Lalique to make the barrel for the winery’s 400^th birthday celebration.  It’s no accident Lalique was chosen…. the owner of Chateau Lafurie-Peyraguey is also the CEO of Lalique.

Chateau Lafurie-Peyraguey is located in the Sauternes district of Bordeaux.  The  pièce de résistance crystal container holds 300 bottles-worth of the estate’s 2013 vintage wine (the first vintage of the Lalique empire owner).  Leather straps have been designed to mimic metal hoops that typically hold a barrel’s wood pieces together.  The leather provides a small degree of protection to the crystal, but the piece is very fragile.  It is met for display only.

In addition to the crystal masterpiece, there are many reasons to visit Chateau Lafurie-Peyraguey.  First, the chateau makes flat-out stunning wine.  Second, Lafurie-Peyraguey just opened a restaurant and it’s already achieved a Michelin star.  When Wine-Knows last visited the winery in 2016, tour participants had an exquisite private dinner at the chateau.  All of the evening’s wines were served in extravagant Lalique wine goblets that had been designed special for Lafurie-Peyraguey. 

I’m not certain how Chateau Lafurie-Peyraguey can top Wine-Knows’ 2016 experience but I’m certainly betting that this class-act chateau will come through.  There are very few seats available for this last tour to Bordeaux.  Why don’t you join us?  Come see the magnificent crystal piece in person, dine with us at the Michelin star, and luxuriate in drinking these gorgeous wines out of jaw-dropping Lalique stemware.  www.WineKnowsTravel.com.