Bordeaux Flashcards Preview

France - SD > Bordeaux > Flashcards

Flashcards in Bordeaux Deck (82)
Loading flashcards...
1
Q

What region makes more wine than Bordeaux?

A

Only the Languedoc

2
Q

What is the largest AOC/AOP region in France?

A

Bordeaux (although it is not the largest winegrowing region)

3
Q

What did the Dutch contribute to Bordeaux

A

complex drainage channels that made it suitable for viticulture in the mid 1600’s

4
Q

What is a Courtier?

A

Broker of wine

  • supply châteaux with financial backing while taking control over trade
  • maintain authority today
  • responsible for en primeur sales (futures)
5
Q

What is the climate of Bordeaux?

A

Maritine

6
Q

What are the moderating influences of Bordeaux?

A

Atlantic Ocean and Gironde estuary

7
Q

What is the climate near St-Émilion and Pomerol?

A

More continental than maritime - rain is worry at harvest

8
Q

When is grey rot likely to take hold?

A

Cooler years

9
Q

What can springtime frost lead to in Bordeaux?

A

Coulure - From alternating hot/cold or dry/wet - Vine moves sap past embryos to make new shoots, leads to partially formed berries eventually dry up and drop to the ground

Millerandage - bunches contain berries of greatly differing size and levels of maturity. Caused by cool weather during flowering

10
Q

What is the Bordeaux mixture?

A

Lime, copper sulfate, water

used to prevent fungal problems

11
Q

What is clairet?

A

darker more aromatic style of rose in Bordeaux

12
Q

6 grapes allowed in BDX red wines?

A
Cabernet Sauvignon
Merlot
Cabernet Franc
Petit Verdot
Malbec
Carmènere
13
Q

What is the most planted grape in Bordeaux?

A

Merlot

14
Q

What is the earliest grape to ripen in Bordeaux?

A

Merlot

15
Q

What are the preferred soils for:

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc?

A

Merlot - clay-based soils
-delay its natural vigor

Cabernet Sauvignon - well-drained gravel

  • allows the vine’s root system to dig deeply
  • water stress adds concentration to the fruit

Cabernet Franc - limestone-based soils
-promote acidity and freshness

16
Q

What are the typical blends of Left Bank and Right bank?

A

Left:
2/3 Cab Sauv, the rest merlot, cab franc,others

Right:
3/4 Merlot, 1/4 Cab Franc

17
Q

What is Malbec known as on the right bank?

A

Pressac

18
Q

What 3 white grapes dominate white wines of Bordeaux AOP? What other white grapes are found but are limited to max 30%

A

Sémillon, Sauv B, Muscadelle

Ugni Blanc, Merlot Blanc, Colombard

19
Q

What is a barrique?

A

225-L barrel used in Bordeaux

same size as rioja!

20
Q

What is Bordeaux Superiore AOP?

A

For reds and off-dry whites with higher min alcohol

21
Q

How long is the left bank?

A

50 mile stretch North from the City of Bordeaux

22
Q

What is jalles?

A

Drainage channels in Bordeaux

23
Q

What color must AOP wines in Médoc be?

A

red

24
Q

Which is broader, Haut-Médoc or Médoc?

A

Médoc - encompasses Haut-Médoc, usually less quality from marshy area north of St Estéphe, more merlot

25
Q

What is a croupe?

A

Gravel mound on left bank of BDX, best chateaux usually located upon them

26
Q

Most important communes of Haut-Médoc?

A
North to South
Saint-Estéphe
Pauillac
St. Julien
Listrac-Médoc
Moulis-en-Médoc
Margaux
27
Q

Who commissioned the 1855 Classification of Bordeaux

A

Emperor Napoleon III

-carried out by courtiers

28
Q

What is the only property that classified in 1855 that was not from Médoc?

A

Château Haut-Brion in Graves

29
Q

When did Château Mouton-Rothschild get elevated from 2nd to 1st growth?

A

1973 - only significant change to classification

30
Q

Define Cru Artisan

A

Cru Artisan

  • formally recognized in 2002
  • From the 2005 vintage forward
  • 44 producers (must be smaller than 5 ha)
  • exceptional producers without the financing or apparatus of large-scale operations
  • reviewed every ten years
31
Q

Define Cru Bourgeois

A

-introduced in 1932
-3 categories:
Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel
Cru Bourgeois Supérieur
Cru Bourgeois.

  • not official until 2003, many lost status
  • legal action nullified the entire classification

-reinstated for the 2008 vintage, but the higher designations of Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel and Cru Bourgeois Supérieur were eliminated

  • 2018 new legislation passed to reinstate the previously eliminated terms.
  • Starting in 2018 châteaux may once again apply for Cru Bourgeois, Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, and Cru Bourgeois Supérieur
  • The terms will appear on labels in 2020
  • reviewed every 5 years
32
Q

What is the northernmost commune in Haut-Médoc?

A

St-Estèphe AOP

33
Q

Describe wines of St-Estèphe AOP

A
  • sturdy, full bodied
  • higher percentage merlot due to more clay
  • no 1st growths
  • Cos d’Estournel = “super 2nd”
34
Q

Describe wines of Pauillac AOP

A

-Considered classic claret
-gravel topsoil is deepest of Haut-Médoc
-structured, long-lived wines based on CS
-Three 1st growths:
Lafite-Rothschild, Latour, Mouton-Rothschild

35
Q

Describe wines of St. Julien AOP

A
  • elegant style
  • less wine produced, but great quality
  • no 1st growths
  • Leoville Las Cases and Ducru-Beaucaillou “super 2nds”
36
Q

What two Haut-Médoc appellations have no classified growths?

A

Moulis-en-Médoc and Listrac-Médoc

37
Q

Most famous estate in Moulis-en-Médoc?

A

Château Chasse-Spleen

38
Q

What is the largest communal appellation of Haut-Médoc

A

Margaux

39
Q

Describe wines of Margaux AOP

A
  • diversity of soil types
  • sandy gravel over limestone in Margaux itself, shallower croupes than St-Julien or Pauillac
  • more classified growths than any other commune (21)
  • feminine, floral, finessed wines
40
Q

5 villages of Margaux

A
Cantenac
Labarde
Arsac
Margaux
Soussans
41
Q

Soil of Graves?

A

boulbenes - mixture of sand, gravel and light clay

Similar to Médoc but sandier in the south

42
Q

When were wines first classified in Graves?

A

1953, with 6 additions in 1959

43
Q

When did Château La Tour Haut-Brion and Château Laville Haut-Brion produce its last vintage?

A

2005 and 2008, respectively

both provide fruit for Château La Mission Haut-Brion

44
Q

When was communal sub-region of Pessac-Léognan created?

A

1987 - became prestige appellation for both red and dry white wines

45
Q

What is the AOP for sweet wine throughout Graves?

A

Graves Supérieur AOP

46
Q

What are the three main sweet wine appellations within Graves?

A

Cérons
Barsac
Sauternes

47
Q

What is pourriture noble

A

Botrytis cinerea

48
Q

What two rives does Sauternes lie at the conflux of?

A

Ciron, Garonne rivers

mist blows off Ciron and encounters warmer waters of Garonne, producing autumn afternoon humidity perfect for botrytis

49
Q

What is the only Permier Cru Supérieur?

A

Château d’Yquem

50
Q

What vintages did Yquem not make wine?

A
1910	
1915	
1930	
1951	
1952	
1964	
1972	
1974	
1992	
2012
51
Q

Great Yquem vintages?

A
1947	
1959	
1967	
1983	
1986	
1988	
1990	
1995	
1997	
2001	
2003
52
Q

Best three Yquem vintages of last ~20 years

A

‘95, ‘97, ‘01, ‘03

53
Q

Last two vintages Yquem did not make wine

A

2012, 1992

54
Q

5 Villages of Sauternes

A
Barsac
Bommes
Fargues
Preignac
Sauternes
55
Q

Min must weight of Sauternes

A

221 g/L

56
Q

Min RS of Sauternes

A

45 g/L

57
Q

Who makes Crème de Tête?

A

Château Gilette - ages sauternes for decades in concrete

58
Q

What is the cepage of Château Figeac in St-Émilion?

A

35% Cab Sauv, 35% Cab Franc, 30% Merlot

more like Medoc wines

59
Q

St-Émilion soil

A

broadly categorized into two types:
côtes - steep limestone slopes
graves - gravelly limestone plateau resembling soils of the Médoc

60
Q

What is the three-tier ranking in St-Émilion?
When was it first created?
When was the last revision?

A

St-Émilion Premiers Grands Crus Classés A
St-Émilion Premiers Grands Crus Classés B
St-Émilion Grands Crus Classés

1st created 1954 (published 1955)

2012 was the last revision, conducted by INAO

61
Q

What is St-Émilion Grands Cru AOP

A

An appellation (not classification)

  • require +0.5% alcohol
  • longer elevage
62
Q

How large is Pomerol AOP?

A

Tiny - 5 sq miles

63
Q

Soil of Pomerol

A

Sand, clay, gravel, wibsoil of iron pan and rich clay (Crasse de fer)

64
Q

Where is Château Pétrus located?

A

Pomerol - Merlot based

65
Q

What is Cab franc called in Pomerol?

A

Bouchet

66
Q

Best properties in Pomerol?

A
Château Pétrus
Vieux-Château-Certan
Château Lafleur
Château Le Pin
Château Trotanoy
67
Q

Name 3 garagistas or “microchâteau”

A

Le Pin - Pomerol

Valandraud and La Mondotte - St-Émilion

68
Q

Where are the oldest cultivated vineyards in Bordeaux found?

A

Bourg and Côtes de Bourg AOPs

69
Q

What style is Cotes de Blaye AOP known for?

A

Dry whites with large percentage of ugni blanc and colombard

70
Q

What area of origin might be listed on Côtes de Bordeaux?

A

Francs, Castillon, Blaye, Cadillac, Sainte Foy

71
Q

What style is made in Entre-Deux-Mers AOP

A

“Between two seas” (garonne and Dordogne river)

dry white

72
Q

What style of wine found in Loupiac, Ste-Croix-du-Mont, and Cadillac

A

Sweet wine with or without Botryis

73
Q

What style of wine made in Premières Côtes de Bordeaux AOP

A

sweet

74
Q

Name 1st growths of Medoc

A
Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac
Château Latour, Pauillac
Château Margaux, Margaux (Margaux)
Château Haut-Brion, Graves 
Château Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac: Originally classified as a second growth, the estate was elevated in 1973.
75
Q

Name Deuxièmes Crus of Saint-Estèphe

A

Château Cos d’Estournel

Château Montrose

76
Q

Name Deuxièmes Crus of Pauillac

A

Château Pichon Longueville Baron

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

77
Q

Name Deuxièmes Crus of Saint-Julien

A
Château Léoville-Las Cases, Saint-Julien
Château Léoville-Poyferré, Saint-Julien
Château Léoville Barton, Saint-Julien
Château Gruaud-Larose, Saint-Julien
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, Saint-Julien
78
Q

Name Deuxièmes Crus of Margaux

A

Château Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux (Margaux)
Château Rauzan-Gassies, Margaux (Margaux)
Château Durfort-Vivens, Margaux (Margaux)
Château Lascombes, Margaux (Margaux)
Château Brane-Cantenac, Margaux (Cantenac)

79
Q

Name Troisièmes Crus of Saint-Estèphe

A

Château Calon-Ségur, Saint-Estèphe

80
Q

Name Troisièmes Crus of Saint-Julien

A

Château Lagrange, Saint-Julien

Château Langoa Barton, Saint-Julien

81
Q

Name Troisièmes Crus of Margaux

A

Château Malescot-Saint-Exupéry, Margaux
Château Desmirail, Margaux (Cantenac)
Château Ferrière, Margaux (Margaux)
Château Marquis d’Alesme Becker, Margaux (Margaux)
Château Kirwan, Margaux (Cantenac)
Château d’Issan, Margaux (Cantenac)
Château Boyd-Cantenac, Margaux (Cantenac)
Château Cantenac-Brown, Margaux (Cantenac)
Château Palmer, Margaux (Cantenac)
Château Giscours, Margaux (Labarde)

82
Q

Name Troisièmes Crus of Haut-Médoc

A

Château La Lagune, Haut-Medoc (Ludon)