HEMISPHERES Magazine - www.hemispheresmagazine.com


Good Spirits: More Affordable Bordeaux

Article by: Bill Marsano

 

But what does "affordable" mean? Different things to different wallets; everyone has and is entitled to his own definition. Mine, for purposes of this article, is pretty expansive: up to $25 a bottle but not a penny more. Among those listed below, as in the magazine itself, there are very few that go so high and many that cost half that or even less.

Many of these wines are ready to drink now; a few will benefit from one or two years in the cellar. Keep in mind that prices vary across the U.S. Residents of states that permit direct shipping from out-of-state e-tailers can benefit from comparisons found online.

Label notes … Cru Bourgeois labels will be scarce: The wines will be made as usual but, because of a legal battle over revamping the CB, a French court banned the term from labels for a time; it should be back for the release of the 2007 or 2008 vintage. The correct form for appellations puts the appellation in the middle, e.g.: "Appellation Canon-Fronsac Contrôlée." Anything like "Grand vin de Bordeaux" is, like "Barrel Selection" and "Founder's Reserve" in this country, mere décor. It has no fixed legal meaning; anyone can use or misuse it. Mise en Bouteille au Château is a promise that the grapes were grown, and the wine made and bottled, at the property named on the label—in short, no out-of-town fruit used, no off-site shenanigans allowed. Still, there are no guarantees. As the English critic Julian Barnes put it, "a French wine label was traditionally a work of fiction."

The wines below are listed by their appellations. That can help the experienced but baffle novices, who can either hit the books (French Wine for Dummies) or blithely ignore them.

Email Article
Print Article
Article Tools Sponsor

Bordeaux: Ballan-Larquette, Barrail Meyney, Barrel Select, Beau Mayne, Blason Timberlay, Bonnet, Compassant, De La Cour D'Argent, Des Graves, Des Graves, Dourthe Barrel Select, Dourthe No. 1 Red, Du Pin, Fongrave, Fontan, Font-Destiac, Lafite Reserve Spéciale, Lalande Couturier, La Maroutine, La Rose du Pin, Lavergne Dulong, Mouton Cadet, No. 1 Red, Paradis Casseuil, Pey La Tour, Premius, Roustaing, Saint-Sulpice, No. 1 Red Bordeaux, Tellus Vinea, Thebot, Tour de Goupin. Bordeaux Superieur (Bordeaux appellation wines from older vines with lower yields; slightly higher alcohol): Au Grand Paris, Croix-Mouton, Damase, De Lugagnac, De Seguin, Fleur de Rigaud, Grand Village, Haut Nadeau, Haut Nadeau, La Chabiran, La Fleur de Cazenove, La Foret, La Mouliniere, La Rose du Pin, Lestrille, Machorre, Pezat, Penin Grande, Pocherac, Recougne, Reynier, Timberlay, Vergnes-Beaulieu, Vieux Dominique.

Canon-Fronsac: Du Gazin. Côtes de Blaye: Haut du Peyrat, Haut Sociondo, L'Embrun Blaye, Les Tours de Peyrat, Maison Neuve, Peyraud, Roland la Garde. Côtes de Bourg: Guiraud Cheval Blanc, Du Bousquet, Nodeau. Côtes de Castillon: Aiguilhe Querre, Jouanin, La Bourree, Maugresin de Clotte, Peyfol, Picoron. Entre-deux-Mers: Marjosse. Frosnac: Labory, La Cornelle. Graves: Beauregard Ducasse, Clos Floridene, Ferrande, Le Pavillon de Boyrein, Michel Lynch.

Haut-Médoc: Barreyres Cru Bourgeois, Cambon la Pelouse, Camensac Cru Bourgeois, Caronne Ste. Gemme, D'Arcins Cru Bourgeois, Guittot Fellonneau, Haut Plantey, Larose-Trintaudon, Liversan, Saint Paul, Sénéjac. Lalande-de-Pomerol: Fleur de Jean Gué, Le Vieux Chevrol, Tournefeuille. Listrac-Médoc: Cap Leon Veyrin. Lussac-Saint-Émilion: La Grande Clotte. Margaux: Baury. Médoc: Bel Air, Bourbon la Chapelle, Christian Moueix, Greysac, La Gorce Cru Bourgeois, La Tour Seran, Lacombe Noaillac, Lagravette, Le Breuil Renaissance, Listran Cru Bourgeois, Loudenne Cru Bourgeois, Mouton Cadet Réserve, Patache, Rollan de By Cru Bourgeois, Vieux Chateau Landon. Pessac-Léognan: Cruzeau, Gazin Rocquencourt, Le Bec en Sabot. Pomerol: Christian Mouiex.

Premiéres Côtes de Bordeaux: Carignan, Delord, Du Grand Mouëys, Grimont, La Grange Clinet, Maison Neuve, Labatut-Bouchard, Maison Neuve, Suau. Saint-Émilion and its Satellite Zones: Christian Moueix, Côte de Baleau, Gueyrosse Grand Cru, Haut-Beauséjour Cru Bourgeois, Jean Voisin de Chateau La Reverence, Messile Aubert, Plaisance, Rigaud, Teyssier. Saint-Estéphe: Heritage de Le Boscq, Petit Bocq Cru Bourgeois, Prieur de Meyney, Puy-Blanquet.

Poured With Pleasure

Such is the reputation of Bordeaux reds that producers everywhere try to imitate or outdo them—even other Frenchmen. For example, the producers of bargain-priced French Rabbit, the 1-liter bargain in a Tetra Pak carton, blend Merlot and Cabernet just as the Bordelais do, but the wine hails from the sunny southern region of Languedoc.

Indeed, the appeal of the classic Bordeaux grapes—Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec—is irresistible to a winemaker like Pierre Seillan, who is something of a one-man multinational enterprise. Born in southwestern France, he worked with Cabernet Franc and Merlot in his family's vineyards and later spent 20 years shaping the wines of seven estates in such appellations as Lalande-de-Pomerol, Saint-Émilion, Saint-Estéphe, and Haut-Médoc.

In 1997, Seillan went to California to work with Jess Jackson, then a "mere" self-made success with his Kendall-Jackson wines—and now one of the titans of the wine business, making some 5 million cases a year at two dozen properties. Seillan respects Old World traditions but also revels in the New World's freedom and acceptance of innovation; that made him Jackson's choice to oversee the creation of both Jackson Park, a 110-acre Merlot estate, and the highly regarded Vérité, the flagship red of Jackson Family Farms. He has also consulted with Archipel and other Jackson wineries, and the two men have even gone into joint ownership, buying Château Lassëgue in Saint-Ëmilion. At Tenuta di Arceno in Tuscany, Seillan and Jackson produce their own Super Tuscans, Arcanum I and Arcanum II, luxurious blends of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon (the 2004 vintage has recently been released).

Many New World winemakers focus on varietal bottlings of Bordeaux grapes, especially in California and other regions where the weather's on their side. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are seen most often; some Cabernet Franc and rather less Petit Verdot are made; Malbec is a star in Argentina. Still, others seek to emulate the more delicate Bordeaux style by blending at least two and sometimes more varieties. Along with the Affordable Bordeaux, I poured and enjoyed many such New World blends … Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Rubric, Bonterra The McNab Mendocino, Dry Creek Vineyard The Mariner, Duckhorn Decoy Napa Valley Red, Flora Springs Trilogy, Franciscan Oakville Magnificat, Girard Napa Red, Hayman Hill Monterey County Meritage, Justin Isoceles, Justin Justification, Kendall-Jackson California Meritage, Pietra Santa Vache Red Blend, Sebastiani Secolo Sonoma Red, Terlato Angels' Peak, Devils' Peak and Cardinals' Peak (created in homage to the Grand Crus of Pomerol, Saint-Émilion and Margaux), Thomas Fogarty Lexington Santa Cruz Mountains, Valley of the Moon Cuvée de la Luna and Vérité Napa-Sonoma Red. Then I added the powerful Montes Alpha M, from grapes grown on the steep slopes of Apalta in Chile's Colchagua Valley, just for lagniappe.

 


Pace Interactive