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Bordeaux- A thumbnail overview

Edited by Darryl Beeson

Bordeaux is not only the largest wine-producing region in France, but it’s the largest winemaking region in the world. The wines made in its well-known soils make up a good percentage of the best quality French wines. Although Bordeaux is famous for its big balanced and beautiful reds, the region also boasts some superb whites.

The Region

• The Bordeaux wine region is near the city of Bordeaux in the southwest corner of France. Bordeaux is divided by the Gironde River and Garonne River. To the west, or "left bank", contains the capital city of Bordeaux. The Left Bank is the more well known of the two banks. It contains Medoc, Haut Medoc, Graves/Pessac-Léognan, Margaux, Pauillac. Medoc deserves special mention and encompasses the appellations of Pauillac, Saint-Estephe, Margaux, and Saint-Julien.

• To the east, or "right bank", is Pomerol and St-Émilion. In the middle of the two is the Entre-Duex-Mers (between two seas) area.

• Other wine districts within the region to know are Entre-deux-Mers, Libourne, Blaye, and Bourg.

The three different quality levels

• Bordeaux- This is the first level of A.O.C. wine in Bordeaux, and usually the least expensive. These wines are easy drinking and relatively inexpensive wines. These are sometimes known as "proprietary" wines-wines known by what you could almost call a brand name, such as Mouton-Cadet, rather than by the particular region or vineyard.
• Bordeaux + Region- Regional wines come from a defined area. Only grapes and wines made in that certain area can be called by its regional name. For example, Médoc and St-Èmilion wines are more distinguished than those labeled simply as Bordeaux.
• Bordeaux + Region + Château- Château wines are the products of individual vineyards. There are more than 9,000 châteaux in Bordeaux. Hundreds have been officially recognized for their quality. For example, there are more than 240 châteaux in the Médoc that are entitled to be called Cru Bourgeois, a step below Grand Cru Classé.

In the Médoc, for example, the 61 highest-level châteaux were officially classified in the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris (sort of like a World Fair). Napoléon III asked a panel to break the region's wines down by price (therefore, hopefully, quality as well). These classifications of 1855 were never meant to be a long term quality roster, but to this day, seem as if written in stone. All 61 wines within this ranking are called Grand Cru Classé.

Five categories called crus (meaning growth and refers to a wine estate) were developed. The most prestigious were called the First Growths. To this day there are only five estates in the First Growth category.

There are fifty-six more estates spread out among the second through fifth growths.

Darryl Beeson travels the world looking for great wine values. In the past, he has been wine steward or cellar master for The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Voltaire, and The Adolphus Hotel. Not one for stuffiness or secret handshakes relative to wine, this Texan might now be described as a "ki-yi-yippee sommelier, sommelier." Beeson reports on wine, spirits, food and travel for numerous publications.

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