Bordeaux

Everyone is familiar with this wine region: Bordeaux is home to some of the most legendary wines in the world. The region in south-west France boasts around 110,000 hectares of vineyards. The Roman poet Ausonius (310–393/94) wrote that the banks of the River Garonne, which flows through the town of Burdigala, were overgrown with grapevines. The growing region achieved major economic success from 1152 onwards. In that year, Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine married the young Henry Plantagenet, who became King of England two years later. From this point onwards, export duties no longer applied to Bordeaux wines shipped to London. Bordeaux wines also took precedence over the wines of the hinterland. This economic success gave winemakers the means to develop viticulture and cellar technology like no other region in the world. By the time Bordeaux reverted to France in 1453, the leading role of Bordeaux wines on the world market had long been secured.

Following the English, the Dutch became important trading partners with Bordeaux. In the middle of the 17th century, they drained the Médoc – once a malaria-infested swamp that is now home to completely legendary wines. In 1855, Napoleon III had the best Bordelais châteaux selected for the Universal Exhibition in Paris. Four of them – Château Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Latour and Margaux – were located in the Médoc. For a long time, they remained unrivalled. But in the second half of the 20th century, the Saint-Emilion appellation – with estates such as Ausone (named after the poet Ausonius), Cheval Blanc and Angélus – and the Pomerol region with Château Pétrus emerged as worthy competitors.

Bordeaux enjoys a maritime climate thanks to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The wines are typically blends. The red wines are made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. The white wines are made from Sauvignon blanc and Sémillon. The region can be roughly divided into «Rive gauche», the left bank of the Garonne, and «Rive droite», the right bank of the Dordogne. On the left bank is mainly the Médoc. Cool, full-bodied, Cabernet-accentuated wines are grown here. On the right bank are Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, among others. They delight with charming, velvety Merlot-based wines. The territory between the two rivers is called Entre-Deux-Mers. It produces quaffable white wines. However, the best Bordeaux whites grow in Pessac-Léognan, very close to the city. Finally, Sauternes and Barsac, a little further up the Garonne, produce legendary sweet wine such as Château d’Yquem.