What's Going On in the World of French Wines

There are few wine regions in this world as famous as Bordeaux. You could also argue that few regions produce wines that have been as emulated as those of Bordeaux. Bordeaux produces more top-quality wines than any other region in France and it is home to some of the world’s most expensive wines. There is a range of wines produced in the region that runs from elegant, dry whites from a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon to full-bodied, tannic reds made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc to sweet, luscious dessert wines made from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.

Let’s start with a few words about the history of Bordeaux, as that is actually central to the development of the region. We know, thanks to the Latin poet Ausonius, that grapes have been grown in the region going back to the 4th century AD. However, the most important historical date to remember when it comes to Bordeaux is 1152 – which is when Henry II (who was the future King of England at the time) married Eleanor of Aquitaine (who had recently divorced the King of France, Louis VII). Eleanor, who was the Duchess of Aquitaine, the Countess of Poitiers and Duchess of Gascony, had control over much of the South-west part of France, including the region of Bordeaux. Her land-holdings made her one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Europe. The marriage between Henry and Eleanor was central to the expansion of Bordeaux as a wine region as it gave Bordeaux merchants special treatment in London. This meant that Bordeaux wine was cheaper than other imports for the English and the Bordelais were able to dramatically increase their market share in England.

Bordeaux’s position as a port on the coast of France right on the Atlantic made it perfectly situated as a trading center, so even after the English lost control of the region, Bordeaux remained a fairly wealthy merchant city thanks to trade agreements with other European cities. The wealth of the merchant class in Bordeaux is mostly responsible for the unique structure of the Bordeaux wine industry, which includes a middleman called a négociant, who provides a link in the selling chain between the large chateaux and the consumer.

Water and wine are thus central to understanding Bordeaux. Without the easy access to the sea and its status as an important port, the city of Bordeaux would probably not have been able to establish such a successful wine trade and without the powerful and successful merchant class, there would not have been as much wealth that was used to establish and grow the vineyards of the region. Proximity to water is also an essential part of what makes the wines of Bordeaux so unique. The maritime climate with its moderate temperatures and high levels of humidity are central to the structured and elegant wines produced in the region. The humidity is also key to the production of Bordeaux’s sweet wines, which we will discuss in more depth in the next post.

When I sat down to write this post about Bordeaux, it occurred to me that the only way to approach such a hugely important region was to break it up into multiple parts. In order to not overload you with information, I am going to use the geography of Bordeaux as a way to organize my posts on the region. The region can be divided into several parts and the divisions are based on the location of the main rivers in the area. There are two main rivers in Bordeaux – the Dordogne and the Garonne – which meet together and flow into the Gironde estuary. On the west side of the Gironde is the Médoc, also called the Left Bank, and on the other, Pomerol and St-Emilion, referred to as the Right Bank. In between the Dordogne and the Garonne rivers is the appellation of Entre-Deux-Mers (which means “between the seas”), which is a main area of white wine production. And on the south side of the Garonne are other important white wine appellations for both dry and sweet wines – Graves, Pessac-Leognan, Sauternes and Barsac. So consider this first post as a bit of an introduction; we will continue next with a post about the white wines of Bordeaux, both dry and sweet, and then we will move into the red wines and cover both the left and the right banks.