With more than 7,000 chateaux, France’s Bordeaux region is the most important wine producing region in the world. As well as being the basis for Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot-based wines everywhere, Bordeaux wines are acknowledged to be among the world’s best reds—according to experts and amateurs alike.
The wine region of Bordeaux is comprised of many smaller areas and encompasses both banks of the Gironde estuary in southwest France, as well as the land bordering the Garonne and Dordogne Rivers, which split off from the Gironde in the southern Medoc area. Generally, Bordeaux's best red wines are from seven major (and well-known) appellations: Pauillac, Saint-Estephe, Saint-Julien, and Margaux in the greater Medoc region, Graves to the south of the city of Bordeaux—in the region’s center, and Saint-Emilion and Pomerol toward the east. The large Graves region, as well as being the birthplace of claret, is home to many of the best dry whites. Premium sweet wines are made in Sauternes and Barsac, which are also within the Graves appellation but toward the south.
In understanding the multitude of Bordeaux wines, experts tend to talk about the right and left banks of the Gironde River. Generally, red wines from the river’s left bank, especially from Bordeaux’s Medoc region, are based on Cabernet Sauvignon, mixed with varying amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc and, occasionally, a spot of Petit Verdot and Malbec. These reds are known to be firm and dry, with a substantial tannic spine, and are frequently austere in their youth. They are also among the world’s longest-lived. The Graves’ gravel and sand soil content contribute to more texture early and roasted accents of hot stones, smoke and tobacco.
The softer Merlot grape is the foundation for right bank wines, mostly to the town of Libourne’s eastern side. These wines are fleshier in general than wines from the left bank and are more pliant. They are also accessible at an earlier age—though the best of them can improve in bottle for decades.
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jamessuckling.com, 100 points: I am a little bit speechless about this one. I have not seen such earthy and totally deep character of the soil in a young Mouton in my career. Of course, I didn’t taste 1945 or 1959 when they were young, but I have been...
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 100 points: (98-100) Pitch black in color with purple accents, my glass seemed like it was packed with an orchard of berries! The fruit pops from the get go. Blackberry, smoke, licorice, flowers and earthy black plums are impossible...
jebdunnuck.com, 100 points: (98-100) The 2018 Petrus is a brilliant wine that has perfection written all over it, and it’s unquestionably one of the most powerful, opulent wines in the vintage. As always, it’s 100% Merlot and offers a heavenly...
jebdunnuck.com, 100 points: (97-100) Made from a 90/10 split of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Château Trotanoy is a deep, powerful, almost brooding effort that oozes notes of blackcurrants, graphite, spice box, and a liqueur of rocks-like...
jebdunnuck.com, 98 points: (96-98+) Cassis, graphite, blackberries, scorched earth, and graphite notes all emerge from the 2018 Château Lynch-Bages, which is a rich, blockbuster style beauty up with the finest vintages to date from this historic...
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 100 points: (98-100) It's rare to find the combination of elegance and power that you'll find in this year's Haut Brion. It's incredibly difficult to produce a wine with this much volume, harmony, balance, complexity and refinement...
TheWineCellarInsider.com, 100 points: (98-100) Inky in color, the purple flecked ruby hue is impossible to see through but upon taste and reflection there is more than what meets the eye. The wine is built around a solid core of perfectly ripe black cherry...
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