How to Compare Bordeaux Wines - Grapes, Age and Style

Bordeaux wines are produced in the Bordeauxvintage, a fancy name for the year that the wine
region, near the Southeast coast of France.was produced. It is said that the older the vintage
Bordeaux is considered to have some of the bestis, the better it tastes. While that may be true, it
vineyard areas in the world, with productionsdoes not necessarily tell everything. There are
including table wine to the most prestigious redyears when the weather, harvest and process
blends. Some of the most well-known wine fromwere all good, and there are times when it is not
Bordeaux includes red wine from Medoc andso. Do not grab a bottle just because you noticed
Saint-Emilion, white wine from Graves, andit is the oldest in the market. It may well be one
dessert wines from Sauternes. With averagethat was produced during a bad year.
vintage production reaching seven hundred millionChemicals and Fertilizer
bottles of Bordeaux wines, you would need wineYou should also take note if a particular region is
guides to make sure you have a good wine inknown to use chemicals herbicides and fungicides
your hands.and fertilizers. These particular areas usually
Comparing Bordeaux wines requires that youproduced wine with decreased value.
understand some things about Bordeaux, itsSix Main Styles of Bordeaux's
history and also the region, so that you can makeThere are six main classifications of wine that will
full use of the knowledge in wine trading.be outlined here, including four red that is based
Originon the region, and four white, which is based on
You already learned a bit of Bordeaux in thesweetness:
previous paragraphs, and you know that it is in• Red Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur -
France. There are many other vineyards in Francethese are the cheapest among the wines, and are
and in other regions of the world, and there wasallowed to be produced all over the region, more
an issue when other vineyards and wine makersoften sold with commercial brand names rather
outside of Bordeaux began labeling their own winethan as classic wines.
"Bordeaux" after seeing how lucrative the• Red Cotes de Bordeaux - these wines are
business is. This resulted in the imposition of a lawsomewhere between the red Bordeaux and other
that only those produced from Bordeaux couldmore popular wines.
carry the name and, consequently, each wine• Red Libourne - these wines are known to
were labeled based on their origin.have more fruit concentration and more tannin.
Grapes• Red Graves and Medoc - these are classic
Although any wine from the region is classified aswines that should be cellared before it is drunk.
Bordeaux, collectible quality wines are usually red• Dry white wines - these wines are allowed to
blends of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15%be produced throughout the region, but the most
Cabernet Franc, and 15% Merlot grapes. Almost allpopular ones are from Graves.
Bordeaux wines are blends, although the• Sweet white wines - these wines are made
percentages and grapes can of course vary.from grapes from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and
Wine AgeMuscadelle, although the best known appellation is
One thing to consider when comparing wine is theSauternes.