I love Bordeaux. Those who have been following me for some time know that I love bold red wines with elegance and finesse. I wrote before about my wine trip to Bordeaux and the fine wines I brought back in my suitcase. Read the article here!
For this article I tasted beautiful wines from Bordeauxspeciaalzaak.nl . The place to order your Bordeaux wines, during the holidays and of course all year round.
Bordeaux – the best wine for the holidays
With Christmas in prospect, it is time to put Bordeaux in the spotlight once more, because honestly, which wine goes better with Christmas dinner than a fine wine from Bordeaux. Classic, festive and always in style.
Just like the region itself, wines from Bordeaux have a dusty image, unjustly so. Intimidating châteaux, three-piece suits, complicated appellations, wines that cost a god’s fortune. As far as I am concerned, wine from Bordeaux, both white and red, is very trendy, and certainly not only during Christmas times.
Bordeaux in a nutshell
Bordeaux is a world famous wine region located in the South West of France. Here the two rivers Garonne and Dordogne meet. The area has a moderate maritime climate with warm autumn days.
The Bordeaux region in the distant past was well known for the beautiful sweet wines that are made in Sauternes. Also the rosé wines from the area, marketed under the name Clairet, were very popular in Great Britain around 1700. The red wines only got their reputation after the classification of 1855 (a list that divided the wine producers of Médoc into 5 classes). In this classification Premier Cru is the highest achievable, followed by Deuxièmes, Troisièmes, Quatrièmes and Cinquièmes Cru.
What should we know about Bordeaux?
Bordeaux wines are almost always blends. Both the red and white wines. Red Bordeaux is made from the grapes: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and to a lesser extent malbec and petit verdot.
The left bank, the area called Médoc, makes firmer wines with more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. The right bank with the famous villages of Pomerol and Saint-Emilion relies more on merlot.
White Bordeaux often comes from the Entre-Deux-Mers area (between two rivers) but you will also find excellent white wines in Pessac-Léognan in Graves. The grapes that are used are sauvignon blanc, semillon and muscadelle.
Château Léoville Poyferré 2016
The wine I tasted for this article is the Château Léoville Poyferré 2016, Deuxième Grand Cru Classé from Saint-Julien, for sale at Bordeauxspeciaalzaak.nl, with a cost of €117.50.
The wine is a blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot, 2% cabernet franc, 5% petit verdot and has been awarded by all the renowned wine reviewers. This wine has concentrated blue and black fruits, liquorice, beautiful sweet spices. Rich and full with a long aftertaste. May be kept for a while to integrate the tannins even better.
Le Petit Haut Lafitte Blanc 2018
The white Bordeaux I tasted is the Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2018, Cru Classé from Pessac-Léognan, for sale at Bordeauxspeciaalzaak.nl, with a cost of €42,50.
Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Pessac-Léognan makes great white Bordeaux. The wine is a blend of 80% sauvignon blanc and 20% sémillon. The wine is full of citrus, lemon zest and grapefruit. An elegant and fresh wine with a touch of oak in the nose. Beautiful spiciness and a refreshing mouth-filling finish.
5 most frequently asked questions about Bordeaux
Food combinations with red Bordeaux. What dish goes best?
Red Bordeaux is the perfect Christmas wine because it combines well with elaborate meat dishes such as lamb shank, sweetbread, beef Wellington, hare pepper and duck. Also delicious with pâté and cheeses.
Is Bordeaux always expensive?
Bordeaux can be pricy because the demand sometimes outweighs the supply. If the whole world wants to drink red Bordeaux, a producer can demand whatever he wants, especially if his château is included in the 1855 classification and belongs to the top producers.
If you look a little further than award-winning châteaux, you will find beautiful examples that are less pricey but at least as tasty. On Bordeauxspeciaalzaak.nl you will find an enormous amount of fine wines under 20 euros!
Is it only red wine that is produced in Bordeaux?
Certainly not! In Bordeaux they produce red and white wines, rosé and (noble) sweet wines.
What are the best vintages in Bordeaux?
Anyone who is going to buy a Bordeaux wine would certainly like to know which years were the best. Here are some excellent vintages: 1982, 1988, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016.
How long can I keep a Bordeaux wine?
The better the year, the longer you can keep the wine. The best years can easily age 20 to 30 years. Furthermore, you should not drink Bordeaux wines too young, give the wine some time to integrate the hard tannins and come to terms with itself. In addition, you can always get advice from the person where you bought the wine.