Spotlight on Bordeaux: The Rise & Fall

If I think of a big red, I often grab a bordeaux. But why? And why do we pay the big $$

To write a blog post about Bordeaux would be huge, so I'll split it up over several posts. The region of Bordeaux is famous around the world, it's got some of the most expensive wines along with the biggest demand. Have you ever wondered how it came to be, lets just say the journey wasnt easy.

Bordeaux, in French translating to Maroon. Bordeaux 5 anyone? A region in France, known mostly for it's red wine. When you first learn about the region, you will hear of the right bank and the left bank. Places to note, and the most well known are - On the right bank we have St Emilion & Pomerol, The left bank we have the most famous - The Medoc, along with Graves & Sauternais

Complete list of the official 1885 Classification

First-Growths / Premières Crus

Château Lafite Rothschild Pauillac

Château Latour Pauillac

Château Margaux Margaux

Château Haut-Brion Pessac, Graves (since 1986, Pessac-Léognan)

Second Growths / Deuxièmes Crus

Château Mouton-Rothschild (elevated to first growth in 1973) Pauillac

Château Rausan-Ségla (Rauzan-Ségla) Margaux

Château Rauzan-Gassies Margaux

Château Léoville Las Cases St.-Julien

Château Léoville Poyferré St.-Julien

Château Léoville Barton St.-Julien

Château Durfort-Vivens Margaux

Château Gruaud-Larose St.-Julien

Château Lascombes Margaux

Château Brane-Cantenac Cantenac-Margaux

(Margaux)Château Pichon-Longueville Baron Pauillac

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (Pichon Longueville Lalande) Pauillac

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou St.-JulienChâteau Cos-d'Estournel St.-Estèphe

Château Montrose St.-Estèphe

Third-Growths / Troisièmes Crus

Château Kirwan Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)

Château d'Issan Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)

Château Lagrange St.-Julien

Château Langoa Barton St.-Julien

Château Giscours Labarde-Margaux (Margaux)

Château Malescot-St.-Exupéry Margaux

Château Cantenac-Brown Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)

Château Boyd-Cantenac Margaux

Château Palmer Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)

Château La Lagune Ludon (Haut-Médoc)

Château Desmirail Margaux

Château Calon-Ségur St.-Estèphe

Château Ferrière Margaux

Château Marquis-d'Alesme-Becker Margaux

Fourth-Growths / Quatrièmes Crus

Château St.-Pierre St.-Julien

Château Talbot St.-Julien

Château Branaire-Ducru St.-Julien

Château Duhart-Milon Rothschild Pauillac

Château Pouget Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)

Château La Tour Carnet St.-Laurent (Haut-Médoc)

Château Lafon-Rochet St.-Estèphe

Château Beychevelle St.-JulienChâteau Prieuré-Lichine Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)Château Marquis de Terme Margaux

Fifth-Growths / Cinquièmes Crus

Château Pontet-Canet Pauillac

Château Batailley Pauillac

Château Haut-Batailley Pauillac

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac

Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse Pauillac

Château Lynch Bages Pauillac

Château Lynch-Moussas Pauillac

Château Dauzac Labarde (Margaux)

Château Mouton-Baronne-Philippe (Château d'Armailhac after 1989) Pauillac

Château du Tertre Arsac (Margaux)

Château Haut-Bages Libéral Pauillac

Château Pédesclaux Pauillac

Château Belgrave St.-Laurent (Haut-Médoc)

Château Camensac (Château de Camensac)

St.-Laurent (Haut-Médoc)Château Cos Labory St.-Estèphe

Château Clerc Milon Pauillac

Château Croizet-Bages Pauillac

Château Cantemerle Macau (Haut-Médoc)

To really understand the different qualities and values of wine, you need to know about the appellations and classifications. The appellation system of France AOP or AOC - Simply put it, means they can put a place on the bottle if the wine complies with the rules of that appellation, for example using a specific grape in the wine. Wines with IGP mean they are wines from a place, but they have not abided to any rules. Firstly, the most important and famous - The 1855 classification. This was a list made by a bunch of brokers of Bordeaux, requested by the Bordeaux chamber of commerce to present the region’s best red wines from the Medoc region and White wines from Sauternes in Paris in yeap, 1855. In the Medoc, the chateaux were divided into five ranks. If you have heard of the 1st Growths (The best) they include Chateaux Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, & Chateaux Haut- Brion - from the Graves subregion. In Sauternes there were only three ranks, Chateau d Yquem at the top. After the first growth, you guessed it, comes the 2nd, 3rd etc and are meant to be in order of quality.

This list stayed the same from 1855 and was not until 1973, changes were made. Note, this list only classifies a small number of estates in the Medoc, Cru bourgeois was later introduced. In prestige order we have Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, Cru Bourgeois Superior and Cru Bourgeois, this is reviewed every 5 years. The wines of Graves are different too, there is no real ranking of the wines, but there are sixteen listed wines on the Crus Classé de Graves, a list of the best chateaux. All 16 lie within the region of the Pessac-Léognan. Just because why would it be the same, we also have the Saint-Émilion Grand Cru. This region does adapt the appellation system, however in the region there is a separate Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, and within this is the best chateaux. In prestige order, Saint Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé A, then B, Saint Émilion Grand Cru Classe. The rest of Bordeaux like Entre-Deux-Mers, Pomerol etc stay within the AOC. The ranking of wines in Bordeaux is crucial and once you understand all these tiers and levels, we can dive into why we pay what we do. - Don't worry I get it; you will need to read that again.

Rewind lets head back to 1910s. Bad vintage after bad vintage, outnumbering the good. Prices had dropped by a third from the previous decade, and to make matters worse, growers were overcropping, making too much wine. Properties went up for sale at incredibly low prices, the negociants were making 10-year deals at low prices also. From the year 1890s-1910s more than half of the properties came onto the market because of bankruptcy. 1920s seemed better but then came the thirties. Worldwide economic depression. Demand died. Prohibition killed the USA market; revolution killed the Russian market. Vines were being pulled up in THE MEDOC! 1929 17,100 Ha planted to 13,300 Ha in 1938. WW2 did not have a significant impact either on Bordeaux as all trade to Germany was killed off. At the end of the forties when the war was over, Chateau owners were struggling, wines were priced extremely low, and many negotiants were cutting deals for crazy cheap prices. The fifties, Mouton - a 1st growth - making no profit. The famous frost of 1956 wiped out vineyards in the Medoc, killing all cashflow. By the sixties, many of the chateaux decided to bottle wines at the chateaux, rather than selling barrels, more income. The seventies, price issues were forming. In 1972 and years to follow, wines were overpriced and when the next crash in the market came in 1973, you guessed it, there was an excess of wine, that no one wanted. The prices were dropping as much as 70% to get sales. By the eighties, other issues were happening. Ownerships were changing to younger generations to take over the estate, but the inheritance tax doubled in 1981, more so if the estate was divided between family. It was impossible to keep the estate and the bigger overseas buyers could snap it up. 1982. If you have not heard of this vintage it blew up the wine world game. To get a bottle of 1982 first growth wine now, you are looking to pay over 20K. Look up Robert Parker. Wine was being talked about more, the fruits in the wine, the flavours, wine was scored in ranks, critiqued, marked against one another. Estates started making second wines and using only the best fruit for the top wines. Critics were telling people what to buy, what was better, what was worth the money, and we listened. Critics turned into bloggers, en primeur systems were in place to buy before made, creating an illusion of demand. And boom, the prestige of Bordeaux skyrocketed. Take everything with a pinch of salt. In the last 10 years, the famous wines always score high because who dare to score a first growth below 95? Bordeaux has history, centuries, and centuries of history, it has terroir, and it has the land to produce beautiful wines. The price is continuously being driven up from the 20th and 21st century, as like anything, people want the best. There are sixty-one appellations in Bordeaux, with about six thousand chateaux. That is a lot of wine, and a lot of wine out there to try!

Okay, tell me more. What is Bordeaux? What am I drinking? Let us look at it like this.

The Bordeaux region has a river running through the middle. The Dordogne and Garonne rivers combine to form the Gironde Estuary which divide the Bordeaux vineyards. This creates the divide and the right & left bank being formed. Because of this divide each bank has different soils and land. On the left side, especially in the Medoc the soils are predominately gravel. Gravel soils are great for water retention along with keeping in heat during summer. On the left side, more Cabernet Sauvignon is grown. This tricky grape is thick and big and needs a lot of heat to ripen fully. The gravel stays warmer for a longer period of time than say the soils on the right bank which are more clay-limestone. The Cabernet Sauvignon also needs to stay drier for longer, so the fact that rainfall drains quicker with the gravel suits this grape. Over on the right bank, more Merlot grape is grown and suits the climate and the soils better. So, when you are picking your wine and you have no idea what is actually in the bottle, knowing which side of the bank you picked gives you an indication of what it is.

In Sauternes which is more well known for Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux Blanc, or Sauternes - Appellation is for a sweet wine. Entre deux Mers is a massive sub region in Bordeaux and makes almost everything. Alot of table wine is made here. When you see on the bottle Bordeaux and nothing else, the wine has been made from anywhere in the region and among many vineyards.

Let's leave that here for now. Be wary of Bordeaux, some of the world’s most prestigious and 'best'wines come from here, but there is also a lot of cheap table wine, great for a BYO but do not be fooled by the label.

Salut!