Ah, Bordeaux wines... "La crème de la crème..."
This region is by far the most popular wine region in the world.
But is it really WELL known?
The vast majority of Bordeaux wines are the fruit of 3 grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc (click here to see why wine growers assemble different grapes)
Let's first see what these grapes are, so we can better understand why they are assembled together.
Merlot
(Mare-lo) Easy to drink. The softness of Merlot has made it an "introducing" wine for new red-wine drinkers.
Food pairings: any will do.
Districts: a key player in the Bordeaux blend, merlot is now also grown in Italy, Romania, California, Washington State, Chile, Australia, etc. It is the fourth wine grape variety in terms of coverage worldwide (after sultanine blanche, airen blanc, and grenache noir).
Typical taste in varietal wine: typical scents include blackcherry, plums and herbal flavors. The texture is round but a middle palate gap is common. The Merlot type of wine is less tannic (rough) than Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cabernet sauvignon
Widely accepted as one of the world’s best varieties. Cabernet sauvignon is often blended with Cabernet franc and merlot. It usually undergoes oak treatment.
Food pairings: best with simply prepared red meat.
Districts: cabernet sauvignon is planted wherever red wine grapes grow except in the Northern fringes such as Germany. It is part of the great red Médoc wines of France, and among the finest reds in Australia, California and Chile.
Typical taste in varietal wine: full-bodied, but firm and grippingwhen young.
With age, polyphenols polymerize: the grip fades away. The rich currant qualities of the Cabernet Sauvignon wine change to that of pencil box. Bell pepper notes remain.
Another article deals with the health benefits of polyphenols.
Vanilla notes if present come not from the fruit but from the oak treatment. They increase review ratings but may overwhelm the varietal taste.
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being used in blends and produced as a varietal in Canada and the United States, it is made into ice wine in those regions.
Cabernet Franc is lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon, making a bright pale red wine that contributes finesse and lends a peppery perfume to blends with more robust grapes. Depending on the growing region and style of wine, additional aromas can include tobacco, raspberry, bell pepper, cassis, and violets.
Now, these grapes grow better in certain places than others, which mean they better adapt to certain soils than others. The Bordeaux wine region can be divided into 5 sub-regions, as you can see on the map below:
1) Medoc (cities: Margaux, Saint-Estephe, Pauillac; famous wines: Chateau Mouton-Rothschild)
2) Graves (cities: Pessac-Leognan, famous wines: Chateau Haut-Brion)
3) Blaye (cities: Blaye)
4) Entre deux Mers
5) Libournais (cities: Pomerol, Saint-Emilion; famous wines: Chateau Petrus, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru)
The soil on the left bank of the Garonne River (Medoc) are stony with pebbles drawn over by the Garonne. The Sauvignon is the grape that will love its soil. The grounds of the right bank, on the other hand, or made of clay and limestone. Merlot is the most suitable for these soils.
This explains why the wines from the left bank will have a dominant percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, whereas wines from the right bank will be Merlot dominant.
To give you some examples, here are the proportions of some great Chateaux from Medoc:
Chateau Margaux (it is THE chateau from the city Margaux, it is a Grand Clu Classe) 2005: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot.
Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (Grand Clu Classe) 2005: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc
So you understand that even the greatest wines are in fact assemblies of several grapes. This is to balance the wine, make it more round (and therefore drinkable! otherwise the tanins would be too strong)
The classification of 1855 of Grand Crus wines in Bordeaux
The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from around the world. Brokers from the wine industry ranked the wines according to a château's reputation and trading price, which at that time was directly related to quality.
The wines were ranked in importance from first to fifth growths (crus). All of the red wines that made it on the list came from the Médoc region except for one: Château Haut-Brion from Graves. The white wines, then of much less importance than red wine, were limited to the sweet varieties of Sauternes and Barsac and were ranked only from superior first growth to second growth.
