Top 100 red wines of Bordeaux - Page 3
Discover the top 100 best red wines of Bordeaux as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the red wines that are popular of Bordeaux and the best vintages to taste in this region.
Discovering the wine region of Bordeaux
Bordeaux, in southwestern France, is one of the most famous, prestigious and prolific wine regions in the world. The majority of Bordeaux wines (nearly 90% of the production Volume) are the Dry, medium and Full-bodied red Bordeaux blends for which it is famous. The finest (and most expensive) are the wines of the great châteaux of Haut-Médoc and the right bank appellations of Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. The former focuses (at the highest level) on Cabernet Sauvignon, the latter on Merlot.
The legendary reds are complemented by high-quality white wines made from Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. These range from dry whites that challenge the best of Burgundy (Pessac-Léognan is particularly renowned) to the Sweet, botrytised nectars of Sauternes. Although Bordeaux is most famous for its wines produced in specific districts or communes, many of its wines fall under other, broader appellations. These include AOC Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur and Crémant de Bordeaux.
The Bordeaux Red appellation represents more than a third of the total production. The official Bordeaux wine region extends 130 kilometres inland from the Atlantic coast. 111,000 hectares of vineyards were registered in 2018, a figure that has remained largely constant over the previous decade. However, the number of winegrowers has consolidated; in 2018 there were around 6,000, compared to 9,000 a decade earlier.
Discover the grape variety: Cabernet franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest red grape varieties in Bordeaux. The Libourne region is its terroir where it develops best. The terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Fronsac allow it to mature and develop its best range of aromas. It is also the majority in many blends. The very famous Château Cheval Blanc, for example, uses 60% Cabernet Franc. The wines produced with Cabernet Franc are medium in colour with fine tannins and subtle aromas of small red fruits and spices. When blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it brings complexity and a bouquet of aromas to the wine. It produces fruity wines that can be drunk quite quickly, but whose great vintages can be kept for a long time. It is an earlier grape variety than Cabernet Sauvignon, which means that it is planted as far north as the Loire Valley. In Anjou, it is also used to make sweet rosé wines. Cabernet Franc is now used in some twenty countries in Europe and throughout the world.
Food and wine pairing with a red wine of Bordeaux
red wines from the region of Bordeaux go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or game (deer, venison) such as recipes of empanadas de carne (argentina), marinated shoulder of lamb or duck with olives.
Organoleptic analysis of red wine of Bordeaux
On the nose in the region of Bordeaux often reveals types of flavors of tobacco, ripe blackberries or gooseberry and sometimes also flavors of black licorice, black raspberry or green peppercorn. In the mouth in the region of Bordeaux is a powerful with a nice balance between acidity and tannins.
News from the vineyard of Bordeaux
Pomerol granted permission for ‘exceptional’ irrigation
‘Climatic conditions’ and the requests of a ‘certain number of winegrowers’ were cited as the reasons for Jean-Marie Garde, president of the Pomerol appellation, to ask regulatory body Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité (INAO) to temporarily reverse the long-standing ban on irrigation. The favourable news was shared via emails seen by Decanter, with an accompanying letter from the INAO dated July 20, 2022. The letter, translated from French, states that after ...
Drought and heat drive early wine harvests in Europe
Severe drought and heatwaves have provided challenges for wine producers across Europe in 2022, from maintaining vine health to concerns about – and the impact of – wildfires. Early harvests have been a feature of the vintage and reports emerged this week of records being broken at some white wine-producing estates in Bordeaux. Spain’s Caserío de Dueñas estate in DO Rueda said it began a record early harvest on 16 August this year. While drought and heat have put pressure on yields in some regio ...
Andrew Jefford: ‘Perhaps they think “drinkers like oak”. Really?’
An electronic dart was tossed at us recently by Decanter reader Tim Frances from Kent. It landed on the screen of our magazine editor Amy Wislocki; Amy lobbed it across the virtual room to me, suggesting a column-length reply. ‘Here’s a poser,’ Tim began. ‘How do your experts grade a wine that they find intellectually well made, but that they truly madly deeply dislike? I’ve tasted wines I can admire dispassionately, but would stab my feet with forks rather than drink them. Must be a conundrum f ...
Top wines in regions and sub-regions of Bordeaux
The best wines of Bordeaux in other styles
- The best wines natural sweet of Bordeaux in other styles
- The best wines pink of Bordeaux in other styles
- The best wines sparkling of Bordeaux in other styles
- The best wines sweet of Bordeaux in other styles
- The best wines unknow of Bordeaux in other styles
- The best wines white of Bordeaux in other styles