Beer and Wine Weekly Update, February 2, 2015
Hello everyone!
I was hoping to use this space this week to discuss something dear to my heart: Bordeaux rouge. These are wines that don’t receive enough love. Why? After giving it a little thought, the reason that I’ve come up with is this: what the heck is it!? As you all are probably aware, the French don’t label their wines with the grapes involved. The regions in which they’re produced serve as the “type”, and there are complex labeling laws which dictate what blends must be used in order to call a wine by its regional name. I’d like to simplify the whole shebang as much as is possible so that when you’re looking at a bottle of Bordeaux, you’ll know approximately what it is.
The principal grapes grown in the region are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and (though rare), Carmenere. There are three main areas of viticulture, the “Left Bank” of the Garrone River, Entre-Deux-Mers (“between two seas” is how that translates, but it’s really between two tidal rivers), and the “Right Bank” of the Dordogne River.
“Entre-Deux-Mers” simply label their reds as Bordeaux or Bordeaux Superiore. So, if you see the regional name on the bottle, most likely you’re holding a white wine, rather than a red.
The sub-regions of the “Right Bank” include Saint Emilion, Pomerol, and Cotes de Bourg. These wines will be primarily Merlot, blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
As I said, it does get fairly complicated, and this list of sub-regions is nowhere near exhaustive, but hopefully I’ve dispelled enough of the mystery to make your eyes linger longer on some of the Bordeaux labels and possibly look a bit deeper on occasion. If you ever have questions, please ask one of our friendly Beer and Wine staff members, or shoot me an email at jbowling@citymarket.coop.
Qapla’! -jb.