Bordeaux Wines
... Its
production, 6 million hectoliters in 2006, dwarfs that of other French wine
regions with the exception of the vast Languedoc-Roussillon. The great red wine
areas are found on the deep gravel vineyards of the Medoc north of the city of
Bordeaux and in Pessac-Leognan on the west bank of the Garonne to the south.
These are known as the ‘left-bank’ wines. The ‘right-bank’ consists of
St-Emilion and Pomerol, plus their satellite communes along the north bank of
the Dordogne. The area between the two rivers is called Entre-Deux-Mers, an
area that produces much underrated crisp, dry white wines. To the south, where
the Garonne river meanders slowly and brings humidity to the vineyards,
noble-rot penetrates and helps produce the worlds most sought after sweet wines
in the communes of Barsac and Sauternes. Bordeaux’s stylistic qualities owe
much to the marginality of its climate. Variations in vintage add interest but
the deluges of 1963, 1968, 1974 and 1977 illustrated how damaging they can be.
Winemaking advances have allowed a certain degree of control and additionally
the drier and warmer summers have taken some of the suspense out of the
Bordeaux harvest.
