The Wine Region of Bordeaux - Essay Example

Bordeaux- Wine Region Having been taken over by the Romans in approximately 60 BC, the Bordeaux region located South West of France has the primary advantage of fertile soils and ease of access to a means of transportation via the Garonne River. The early Romans were the foremost to grow and establish vineyards, and make Bordeaux wine. Their occupancy is evidenced by the remains of the Palais Galien amphitheater and ruins from the banks and other areas of the Graves. In 1152, the wine region of Bordeaux experienced a significant event where the Duchy of Aquitaine, Eleanor of Aquitaine, wedded the upcoming King of England, Henry Plantagenet. This made Aquitaine property of England and gave rise to export of the wine to England for the pleasure of King Henry. This brought about the discovery of Bordeaux in Britain making the marriage a significant event to the history of the region as trade increased (“Bordeaux Wine History…”). Generally, Bordeaux refers to three things a French city where its name loosely translates to ‘edge of water’ and had a population of about 250,000 in 2008, a region estimated to be 1075 square kilometers and a class of wines. The vineyards within the area extend over 113,000 hectares of land. Wine production in the area was begun for consumption by the Roman soldiers that were posted at the banks of the Garonne River. There are two major group varieties of Bordeaux red and white where the red wine group includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec. The white wine group comprises Muscadelle, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon, where the first two are produced from the white Graves’ grapes. For the red category, Sauvignon Cabernet produced using the grapes of the Medoc or Graves and Merlot from the St Emilion. Whilst living in France between 1784 and 1789, Thomas Jefferson then Minister to France, went around Bordeaux collecting wines that included Medoc, Graves and Sauternes (Swaney and Limburg). The Bordeaux wines came into existence at a period when there were more well-known wines from Gaillac and Bergerac, eastern of Bordeaux. The local winemakers and merchants of the Bordeaux wine region made sure their wines on board of the ships headed to England before allowing those from the South West region that is Bergerac and Gaillac through. Another significant attribute of wine production in Bordeaux is that it was brought about by merchants, contrary to other regions in France where it was under the control of monks. Wines from areas such as Medoc were produced from the 17th century, as before that such an area was a swamp. For the period of the 17th and 18th century, wine production within the entire Bordeaux region was under the power of merchants from England, Germany and Netherlands. Baron de Rothschild was the first individual wine maker to bottle his wines and mature them in a cellar, towards the end of the Second World War; prompting other wine makers to follow suit. (“Bordeaux wine history…”). Noteworthy also, in 1855 the merchants established a classification of the greatest wines from the Bordeaux region known as the Grands Crus Classes which means the Great Growths. This ranking is still in use as a ranking of the most distinguished Bordeaux wines, and it has secured time over the region’s international repute for quality as winemakers strive to achieve similar art of blending. More so, winemakers have learnt to work with the unique climate and terrain identifiable with the region, to make an extensive variety of reds, whites and roses all with the characteristic balance and elegance of wines from the region (“Bordeaux: Key Facts”). Categorization of wines from Bordeaux region was initiated by Emperor Napoleon, the third in 1855 during the Exposition Universelle de Paris; this was meant for exhibition to visitors from diverse parts across the world. Set up by brokers linked to the wine industry, the criteria used for the wine classification was a chateau’s status and trading price. There are five levels within the classification, stated as Growths with the Premier or First Growths identifying the best. The rest are labeled Deuxieme or Second Growths, Troisieme or Third Growths, Quatrieme or Fourth Growths and Cinquieme or Fifth Growths. Other regions within Bordeaux have their own classification for instance; St Emilion has one of four levels with Premier Grand Cru Classe A used to identify the best. The five First Growths from Medoc and Graves regions of Bordeaux are Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Haut-Brion, Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Latour (Swaney and Limburg). Wines produced in Bordeaux come from three main regions Medoc or The Left Bank, The Right Bank and Pessoac Leognan. The first region, consisting of areas like Pauillac, St, julien and Margaux, produces the most common wines and finest red type until now. Wines from this region are typically blends and are Cabernet Sauvignon based where the blends contain Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Pertit Verdot and Merlot. Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Mouton Rothschild are among the five that fall under the First Growth; and these come from Pauillac. Characteristic of wines from this region is cassis flavors that take on tobacco and truffle features once aged (“Bordeaux wine history”). Chateau Haut Brion, a First Growth, comes from Pessoac Leognan, which is a region known for producing wines with a smoky, earthy character. The single Bordeaux wine designation recognized for producing top-notch dry white wines. The whole area was known as Graves and its recognition as a wine appellation came about in 1987. Comprising of Pomerol and St Emilion, the Right Bank region has Cabernet Franc and Merlot as the prevailing grapes. This region is attributed with suppler textured wines compared to Medoc the majority being Petrus, Cheval Blanc, Lafleur and Ausone, which are the most expensive from the region. Regardless of the fact that they are in the best vintages, wines from St Emilion and Pomerol age as well as the Cabernet Sauvignon based kind and present a decadent feel of floral, plum and chocolate flavors (“Bordeaux wine history”). Regions with Bordeaux have been characterized with different types of soils that largely contribute to the quality of the wines produced there. Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle are white wines from Entre-deux-Mers, which has approximately 23,000 hectares of vineyards; and they are comparatively inexpensive. Soils here are a mixture of clay and limestone, in undulating hill terrain. Sauternes, primarily known for dessert wines, contains 1700 hectares of vineyards and relies on noble rot fungus to remove water and concentrate flavors and sugars in grapes. Gravelly soil and red wines only characterizes the Medoc region with 15,400 hectares of vineyards, largely known for Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Pessac Leognan or Graves is described with gravel soil thus the name, and is known for both red and white wines. Encompassing around 5500 hectares of land, St Emilion is described with clay-like, limestone soil and is known for red wines only (Swaney and Limburg). Over time, there have been developments in viticulture and viniculture, which have enabled winemakers produce consistent levels of quality in spite of the varying weather typical of the Bordeaux region. Viticulture refers to growing of grapes while viniculture is the making of wine; and these impact style and quality of wines produced each year as the weather varies. This is because certain conditions are useful in sustaining quality especially when the grapes are allowed to ripen slowly. 2005 and 2009 are known for notable recent vintages because of favorable climatic conditions (“Bordeaux: Key Facts”). Remarkably, Bordeaux was given an advance in the market by American wine writer, Robert Parker in 1982 when he gave enthusiastic praise for the Bordeaux of that vintage which motivated consumers to purchase wine as futures. This is where wine is purchased in a barrel as opposed to in bottles when it is a final product. This changed the perception of consumers about wine and consequently changed the nature of the wine trade that is, how chateaux sold futures and how negociants bought and sold Bordeaux wine. Negociant was a French term given to wine merchants who assembled the produce of small winemakers and grower to sell later under their own name. Previously, negociants paid for the wines and bottled them, while still having the ability to influence the charges they would pay for the chateaux. After 1982, other merchants from for example, Britain came up and changed the norm, as the French merchants remained stubborn about these terms (“Bordeaux Wine History…”). Works Cited “Bordeaux Wine History and Description of the Wines”. The Wine Cellar. n.d. Web. 12 March 2013 Swaney, Denis, Limburg, Karin. “Wine Appreciation from Grapes to Glass: The Bordeaux Region” n.d. Web. 12 March 2013 “Bordeaux wine history”. Terroir-France. n.d. Web. 12 March 2013 < http://www.terroir-france.com/wine/bordeaux_history.htm#.UT7JqMouD4w > “Bordeaux: Key Facts”. Tesco.com. n.d. Web. 12 March 2013 Read More