The Basics Of The Bordeaux Wine Region

Bordeaux may well lay claim to being the king of red wines. The wines of Bordeaux are some of the most famous, prestigious, and sought-after wines in the world. Located near the Atlantic coastline on the southwest of France, Bordeaux has a rich history and culture, and most importantly, some of the best red wines that money can buy. The wine-growing regions of Bordeaux cover a vast area with over 120,000 hectares, which is more than the entire area of planted vineyards in South Africa. The region is home to a number of the most famous appellations in wine, such as Pauillac, Pomerol, Saint-Emilion, and Sauternes. Bordeaux's climate and soil are suited to the production of both red and white grape varieties, yet around 90% of Bordeaux's production is red wine, often referred to as claret. My understanding is that 90% of Bordeaux is planted in red varietals. Why is that? More traditionally, I suppose. The Bordeaux tradition is to have the claret and the red wine tradition. However, the soils are very good for white wines. They've got quite a good prospect, so we decided to plant more whites now in the Bordeaux region. So it was like a supply and demand. It became famous for red, so we planted more reds. It wasn't because the soil was better for red wine. The soils are good for red wines. We know that, especially in our region, in the Graves region, Pays-Sac-Les-Oignons is under the appellation of the Graves region. Guns and gravel, a little bit of limestone. So all this is traditionally good soils for the reds, but the soils are also good for the white wines. Bordeaux is split into around 60 different appellations, which all have their own nuances and styles. One of the key distinguishing points of the region is the Gironde estuary, which splits Bordeaux into two distinct areas, the left bank and the right bank. This estuary is fed by two rivers, the Dordogne and the Garonne, the latter of which runs through the heart of Bordeaux city. The key difference between the left bank and right bank is the terroir and soil types, as well as weather conditions. On the left bank, the soil is predominantly gravel, with Cabernet Sauvignon being the main grape variety. The conditions and soil type here suit the later ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which has a more pronounced tannin structure. On the right bank, the soil is primarily clay, and Merlot is the key grape variety. Wines from the right bank can often tend to be smoother, softer and ready to drink earlier. We are here at Chateau Martinet, so in Saint-Emilion, Rive droite, on the right side. Speaking of terroir, you guys predominantly plant Merlot as well as Cabernet Sauvignon, is that right? Firstly, it's dominant on all the right bank, and especially in Pomerol and Saint-Emilion, it's mainly Merlot. Whereas on the left bank, it's Cabernet Sauvignon. Although Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are the two main grapes in Bordeaux, there are others that also play a vital role. So speaking of red, you plant, is it two different varietals? We've got four. Four? Yeah, we've got the Merlot, we've got the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and we've got a little bit of Petit Verdot as well. Okay. In the whites, we've got Sauvignon blanc, Saint-Emilion, and we've got a little bit of Sauvignon gris. Where wines from Bordeaux truly make a name for themselves is through the art of blending. Unlike Burgundy, where wines are almost always produced from one grape variety, Bordeaux wines are usually a blend of multiple grapes. No two years are the same in this maritime climate, and blending allows the winemaker to react and use the healthiest grapes in any given year. How long does it take to do the blending process from start to finish? Each chateau has its own special recipe, if you will, its own methodology, but also you have to adapt to the vintage. But theoretically, in our case, I can only really speak to our case, between the harvest, when you're the first lot that you're vinifying, the first fermentation process where you're tasting regularly, and then each week you're adding more and more lots, all the way to a blend, we're going to be looking at six months, but you could be even blending up into the bottling process, so that's 18 months for us. So it really depends on the situation, what the harvest is giving us that year. We have to be able to adapt. With blending so critical to the vast majority of Bordeaux's wines, it is less about knowing the individual grape varieties and more about knowing the typical styles from the different areas within Bordeaux. Learning these basic differences between left bank and right bank Bordeaux is an excellent starting point for finding the styles that you love.