Current location - Recipe Complete Network - Pregnant women's recipes - What are the characteristics of French Bordeaux wines?
What are the characteristics of French Bordeaux wines?
The world's most famous wine-producing countries include France, Italy, Germany and Spain in the "Old World" and Australia, the United States, Chile and New Zealand in the "New World". However, wine enthusiasts recognize that French wines have always been the dominant wines in terms of culture, history and quality. Most of the world's best wines, which are sold at high prices and sought after by investors, are French Grand Crus.

French wines have a strict quality control system. The levels are: Grand Cru, Cru Bourgeois, AOC, VDQS, VDP and VDT. The most culturally rich and legendary of all French wines is of course the "Grands Crus".

The most famous French wine regions are: Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne, as well as Alsace, Loire Valley, Cotes du Rhone, etc., in which Bordeaux, with its mild climate and iron-rich soil, is the most representative. The Bordeaux region is the most representative of Bordeaux. Bordeaux is known for producing rich red wines, while Burgundy is known for producing light red wines and refreshingly elegant white wines, and Champagne produces world-famous, elegant and romantic sparkling wines.

The Bordeaux region consists of the Dordogne River (Dordogne) from the Central Valley and the Garonne River (Garonne) from the Pyrenees Mountains, which converge near Bordeaux to form the Gironde River (Gironde), and because of the breadth of the Gironde River (Gironde) the Bordeaux vineyards are divided into the left and right banks of the river, and the two styles of wine kingdom are very different. It's no coincidence that in Paris, due to historical precipitation, there is also the left bank of literature, the right bank of business.

The left bank and the right bank are usually referred to as the right bank to the east of the Dordeaux River and the left bank to the west of the Garonne River. There is also a flat area at the confluence of the two rivers called Entre-deux-Mess (between the two seas).

The left bank includes: Medoc (Medoc), Graves (Graves), Sauternes (Sauternes) and Barsac (Barsac), of course, the most representative of the left bank of Bordeaux is still Medoc. The Médoc region has been the model for the classification system of the French regions since the creation of the classification system of Grands Crus in 1855. The Médoc has 61 classified chateaux, divided into 5 levels, of which the world knows that 4 of the 5 great chateaux are located here. The Médoc region is under the jurisdiction of Saint Estaphe (Saint Estaphe), Pauillac (Pauillac), Margaux (Margaux) and other famous villages to produce the best wines, the 5 great chateaux, three in Pauillac, they are: Chateau Lafite Rothschild (Lafite), Latour (Chateau), Latour (Latour), Lafite, Latour, Latour, Latour, Latour, Latour, Latour, Latour, Latour, Latour, Latour, Latour, Latour, Latour. They are: Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour and Chateau Mouton Rothschild. One in the village of Margaux, Chateau Margaux. Together with Chateau Haut-Brion in Graves, these were the first five Bordeaux chateaux known to the world. The main variety planted in the Médoc appellation is Cabernet Sauvignon, with a planting ratio of 52% (but the blending ratio is not the same when making red wines, because it is the planting ratio that is mentioned here, including the varieties used to make white wines), and the Médoc appellation as a whole is situated in a low-lying area at the mouth of the Guiraud River, which is not suitable for planting grapevines in this kind of geographical location, but the vines are planted all over. But we can't argue with the fact that this gravelly land produces some of the world's best wines, thanks to the gravelly soil, which has its own characteristics - poor ridges, good drainage, etc. - that are perfectly suited to large-scale Cabernet Sauvignon plantings, and which produces deep, dark, rich, tannic reds, often with a little bit of plump, fruity Merlot added. (A little Merlot is usually added to soften the astringency of its firm, hard tannins. There's been some discussion about whether or not to innovate in terms of the style of winemaking, but what we saw and drank was more conservative and traditional, a very different picture (including the style of the estates) from that of the right bank, which is just across the river.

Graves (Graves), located in the south of the city of Bordeaux, produces red wines are also based on Cabernet Sauvignon (Cabernet Sauvignon), but in and Merlot (Merlot) grapes blending ratio and the Médoc appellation has some differences, which is why we drink Graves wines feel softer, more delicate, but not too heavy, seemingly than the Médoc's wines. The wines of Graves are more approachable than those of the Médoc and can be enjoyed earlier in the day. In addition to the excellent red wines, there are also wonderful white wines, the most exciting dry white wines in all of Bordeaux, made from a blend of the classic varieties of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. The Sauternes and Barsac appellations are home to some of the world's finest sweet noble-rotted wines.

The most famous appellations on the right bank are St. Emilion (St. Emilion) and Pomerol (Pomerol), the two classic appellations, St. Emilion is closer to the inland red wine region, planting a higher proportion of Merlot (Merlot), more than the Médoc's rounded and tasty, the appellations are large in scope, divided into general St. Emilion and better St. Emilion grand cru, the latter of which is the best St. Emilion grand cru, the wine region is the most famous in the world. The latter is also divided into three levels, the best being the St. Emilion 1er grand cru classé, which is a long-lived wine, with more than 5,000 hectares of vineyards and nearly 1,200 chateaux in the region. Among them, Chateau Ausone and Chateau Cheval Blanc are the most prestigious.

Pomerol, neighboring St-Emilion, produces only red wines, and is known for its high proportion of Merlot grapes, which are powerful and intense but have a more rounded and plump mouthfeel, ripening earlier but remaining durable, often with animalistic aromas mixed with red fruits and mushrooms. Due to the small size of the appellation (the smallest in Bordeaux amongst the best red wine producing regions), it produces only 15% of St-Emilion's output, making it not only rare but also expensive. Although there is no formal classification system, there are about thirteen classified chateaux in this region, but there has never been a complete legal classification system to list it. The most famous is Chateau Petrus, which is the most expensive wine in Bordeaux, followed by Le Pin and Tr-otanoy.

There are several other famous appellations on the Right Bank, such as Fronsac, Canon Fronsac, Cotes De Castillon, and satellites of St-Emilion and Pomerol.

In the 1855 Bordeaux Grand Cru list there were no Bordeaux right bank chateaux selected, but this does not mean that the Bordeaux right bank wines were inferior to Bordeaux Médoc reds at that time, in fact, we would say that the main reason for this is the geographic relationship. Because at that time, the wines produced by the right bank appellations such as St. Emilion and Pomerol were not sold through the distributors in Bordeaux city (wine merchants and intermediaries), but through the wine merchants and intermediaries in the right bank city of Libourne to sell to the rest of the world, especially in the last few years in the right bank to breed Vin de garage (garage wineries), there are many chateaux in the round of sand-digging benefited greatly, and there are many chateaux in the round of sand-digging. Many wineries have benefited greatly from the sand-dragging, and their prices have soared, somewhat surpassing those of the "Big Five". This is also reflected in the media's promotion of the wines, such as the now famous Le Pin in Pomerol, which is an example of a garage winery making wines that try to cater to the evaluation standards of the most influential wine critics on the market. The standard The color, concentration, tannins, aromas, etc. are all on target. The color should be as deep as possible, the quality of the wine as strong as possible, the tannins as strong as possible, and the aroma as fragrant as possible, in the hope of getting a few good words from the critics, so as to open up the market and sell at a good price. Because of the small size of the garage and limited production, it is inevitable that they will intentionally put up the attitude that "things are more expensive than rare", and the price is also called particularly high. A lot of wine magazines and their authoritative wine website gives a lot of negative reports, this relies on a single recommendation of wine critics, so picking on the traditional Bordeaux winemaking and marketing methods for the whole of Bordeaux is a baptism of history, we have also seen, in the right bank of the owners of vineyards compared to the left bank of the owners of the vineyards to appear delicate (small) a lot of vineyards in the Médoc are hundreds of hectares of vineyards, the vineyards of the right bank of the left bank of the vineyards to appear delicate (small) a lot of vineyards in the right bank of the right bank of the vineyard. In the Médoc, there are many hundreds of hectares of vineyards, such as the first-class chateau lafite, the vineyard alone has more than 100 hectares, the area even exceeds the total of many famous appellations in the dozens of chateaux, while in the right bank, they are more traditional family-run chateaux, most of the chateaux chateaux in fact are some of the farmhouses, the area of the chateaux are very small, but this is also precisely the characteristics of the right bank, there is not much management costs, organizational strength, strong, full of personality. This is a trend that is inevitable in the popularity of garage chateaux, and we are now accepting the right bank, subverting the traditional right bank.

The character of the wines of the Right Bank comes mainly from the land and grape varieties, the largest planted area is Merlot (Merlot), reaching 68%, because the environment of the Right Bank is suitable for the growth of Merlot grapes, clay and limestone parcels of land are basically concentrated on the slopes. The Right Bank is a paradise for Merlot grapes, with its aromatic, juicy, fat and soft wines constituting the signature flavor of the Right Bank wines. Cabernet Franc also performs well in this appellation, especially in St-Emilion, where it is blended with Merlot to produce top wines that are firm and powerful, with a fascinatingly varied bouquet and a great ability to age, and where most of the wines ripen faster on the Right Bank.

Bordeaux chateaux classification and list of chateaux

To date, four Bordeaux appellations have been ranked in terms of classification of chateaux. The most famous of these is the Chateaux Classification made at the 1855 Paris World's Fair, when France was under the rule of Napoleon III, who wanted to take advantage of the Paris World's Fair. King III wanted to take the opportunity of the Paris World's Fair to promote Bordeaux wines to the world, so he asked the Bordeaux Chamber of Wine to prepare an exhibition to introduce Bordeaux wines and to classify the chateaux. The Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce entrusted the responsibility to the Syndicat of Courtiers, an organization of wine wholesalers, which, on April 18, 1855, identified 58 chateaux based on the reputation of the Bordeaux chateaux at the time and the price of each chateau's wines, and named them Grand Cru Classe. The Grand Cru Classe is divided into five classes, of which there are four first growths (First Growths, Premier Grand Cru Classe or Premiers Crus), namely Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour, Chateau Haut-Brion, Chateau Margaux, and 12 first growths (Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour and Chateau Margaux). Chateau Margaux. 12 Second Growths (Second Growths or Deuxiemes Crus), 14 Third Growths (Third Growths or Troisiemes Crus), 11 Fourth Growths (Fourth Growths or Quatriemes Crus), and 17 Fifth Growths (Cinquiemes Crus), 11 Fourth Growths (Quatriemes Crus) and 17 Fifth Growths (Cinquiemes Crus). This classification includes only Médoc chateaux, with the exception of Chateau Haut-Brion from the Graves region, which is classified in the First Growth category. At the beginning of the hierarchy, the chateaux were ranked in the same order, but this practice was widely criticized. In September 1855, the Syndicat of Courtiers sent a letter to the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce stating that there was no precedence within the same class, and the Chamber of Commerce revised the list to alphabetical order within the same class of chateaux, which put the matter to rest.

Since 1855 and up to 2001, there have been many changes in the names, owners, vineyards and even the quality of the wines, with some chateaux being split up and others merged, but the classifications have never been revised accordingly. 1973 saw a revision of the classified chateaux, which remained at the original level, regardless of whether or not they were renamed, split up or merged, with the sole exception of Chateauneuf du Pape. The only exception was Chateau Mouton Rothschild, which was upgraded from second to first growth after decades of hard work by its owner, Baron Philippe. At this time, the number of first growths increased to five, and these five first growths are often referred to as the "Bordeaux Five". Due to the separation of other chateaux, Chateau Rauzan was divided into Chateau Rauzan-Segla and Chateau Rauzan-Gassies; Chateau Leville was divided into Chateau Leoville Las Cases and Chateau Leoville-Poyfert; and Chateau Leoville-Poyfert was divided into Chateau Leoville-Las Cases and Chateau Leoville-Poyfert. Chateau Leville is divided into Chateau Leoville Las Cases, Chateau Leoville-Poyferre and Chateau Leoville-Barton; and the second growth Chateau Pichon-Longueville is divided into Chateau Pichon-Longueville and Chateau Pichon-Longueville.

Comtesse de Lalande; Chateau Boyd is divided into Chateau Boyd-Cantenc and Chateau Cantenc-Brown; unfortunately, Chateau Poujet-Lassale, the fourth classified winery, is no longer in existence due to historical reasons; The fifth growth Chateau Batailley was split into Chateau Batailley and Chateau Haut-Batailley. At this time, the number of classified chateaux had increased to 61, of which 5 were first growths, 14 were second growths, 14 were third growths, 10 were fourth growths and 18 were fifth growths, with 21 chateaux in Margaux at the top of the list, 18 in Pauillac, 11 in St. Julien, 5 in St. Estèphe, 1 in Pauillac, 1 in Pauillac, 1 in St. Julien, 1 in St. Estèphe, 1 in St. Petersburg and 2 in St. Petersburg. Pauillac has 18, St. Julien has 11, St. Julien has 5 and Haut Medoc has 5, followed by the exception of Haut-Brion in Graves; it should also be reminded that the names of many chateaux nowadays have changed slightly from the 1855 classification, such as Chateau Lynch in the Pauillac appellation, which is the fifth estate we are familiar with. Chateau Lynch-Bages is now Chateau Lynch-Bages.