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.
Savagnin is a white grape variety originating from the Austrian Tyrol. It arrived in Franche Comté and quickly became the flagship variety of the Jura. Cousin of the gewurztraminer, it gives small white bunches. Its berries have a thick skin which resists well to grey rot and to diseases in general. Savagnin thrives on marl soils and is a very aromatic grape variety. It is used in the elaboration of yellow wine, the AOC Château-Châlon is the most representative. This grape variety also produces vin de paille which is a sweet wine for which the ripe grapes are dried on a bed of straw for at least 6 weeks before being pressed. The best known AOC straw wines are: Arbois, Côtes-du-Jura and Etoile. Savagnin is also used to make Macvin du Jura, a liqueur wine, and to make Crémants du Jura.White wines made from Savagnin have great aging potential. They have a powerful and complex aroma with notes of walnut, almonds, hazelnuts, flowers, honey and green apple.
sweet wines from the region of Bordeaux go well with generally quite well with dishes of rich fish (salmon, tuna etc), shellfish or sweet desserts such as recipes of tomato, zucchini and tuna flan, giant paella cooked on a wood fire or very simple muffins.
On the nose in the region of Bordeaux often reveals types of flavors of beeswax, butter or honey and sometimes also flavors of earth, microbio or oak. In the mouth in the region of Bordeaux is a powerful with a good balance between acidity and sweetness.
