House Party in Parker -- Bordeaux

We join the Parker After Dark MeetUp group at John's house on Saturday. Please refer to John's page for details and directions.

http://www.meetup.com...

'Bordeaux is a wonderful wine region to study and perfect for one of our wine parties. Like most regions in Europe, the Bordelais are limited as to what grapes they are allow to cultivate and sell. Like most wine regions in Europe, they also use the name of the village on the label rather than the grape name(s). It only takes little bit of investigation (and a little guess work) to figure out what is in the bottle. Of course sometimes you never know exactly what you are drinking, but because of the limited permitted varieties, you usually have a good idea.

25% of the wine produced in Bordeaux is white. In the past, attendees were amazed at how good Bordeaux Blanc can be. A blend of sauvignon blanc, muscadelle, and semillon (one, two, or all three). These whites are polished for a sauvignon blanc based wine, with a slightly creamy tone.
Bordeaux makes some of the most famous dessert wines, called Sauternes. Luxurious and uber ripe, these little half bottles pack a big ripe punch. You don't want to confuse these with misnamed--sautern from bulk wine industry.

Bordeaux Rouge is what we all have come to know and love about this massive seaport. The approved grapes of red Bordeaux are cabernet FRANC, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, and petit verdot. Growers and producers are permitted to cultivate and vinify these grapes in any proportion. Blending two or more grape varieties is a good practice. It guards against losing the whole crop to early frost or excessive autumn rain.

Blended wines struggle in our market. Wines without the grape variety(s) on the label also suffer from sluggish sales. We were taught to ask what grape is in the bottle, and never concern ourselves with where the grape was grown. Europeans have been vinifying grapes for over 2000 years. They have developed a system that praises the soil and location, aka terroir.

Bordeaux is split up into two major regions, right bank and left bank. Both feature the red permitted varieties, but grow them in different proportions according to the soil. Right bank Bordeaux (north of the Gironde River) produce wines blended with large portions of merlot and cabernet franc. Like the left bank regions, they also grow cabernet sauvignon, but it is not the featured grape on this side of the river. Regions on the right bank are Pomerol, Cotes de Blaye, Fronsac, Montagen-Saint Emillion, and St. Emilion to name a few. Wines with cabernet franc are very elegant and perfume like (and some of my favorites). These wines need less breathing to open up.

The left bank regions feature cabernet sauvignon in a big way. The most prestigious chateaux (except for a handful of right bank producers) are on the left bank. Médoc, Margaux, Haut-Medoc, Saint-Estephe, Paulliac, Saint-Julien are sub-appellations here. These wines need to breathe a little more than their right bank counterparts.

Please try to decant your bottle of (red) wine earlier in the day. Pouring it into a water pitcher works well as a decanter (its what I use at my home), then pour back into your bottle via funnel, before the event. Bordeaux Rouge benefits greatly from a few hours of breathing. Please remember to chill your Bordeaux Blanc (it does not need to breathe).

For those who want to study this region, take note of the village as well as the producer. The region is often more important than the producer. The naming conventions have been established because of the soil and weather and are very significant when doing a study of this region.

You will find many bottles of Bordeaux missing the name of the grapes. Don't let this disappoint you. You can almost bet that any bottle of red has either cabernet sauvignon or merlot or both. Merlot from Bordeaux typically has more structure than those produced in the new world (more acidity and more tannins). Most whites are sauvignon blanc w/touch of semillon. This will be a relaxed study with no correct answers.