Bordeaux

Question 1

How long was Bordeaux under English control?

Answer 1

1152 to 1453

Question 2

Who created the complex system of drainage channels in the Medoc?

Answer 2

The Dutch

Question 3

What is ‘en primeur’

Answer 3

The yearly offering of Bordeaux wine as futures

Question 4

What is the climate of Bordeaux?

Answer 4

Maritime Climate

Question 5

What are the two moderating influences of Bordeaux?

Answer 5

The Atlantic Ocean and the Gironde Estuary

Question 6

What two rivers make up the Gironde Estuary?

Answer 6

The Dordogne River and the Garonne River

Question 7

What is the Bordeaux mixture and what does it help prevent?

Answer 7

It is a mix of lime, copper sulfate and water.

It is used to prevent fungal problems like grey rot

Question 8

How does Clariet differ from rose?

Answer 8

It is a darker, more aromatic style of rose that evokes the original claret wines shipped to England in the Middle Ages

Question 9

What are the 6 red grapes allowed for Bordeaux Rouge?

Answer 9

• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Merlot
• Cabernet Franc
• Petit Verdot
• Malbec
• Carmenere

Question 10

What is the most planted grape varietal?

Answer 10

Merlot

Question 11

What kind of soil does Merlot do best in?

Answer 11

Clay-based soils

Question 12

What kind of soil Cabernet Sauvignon do best in?

Answer 12

Well-drained gravel soils

Question 13

What is the other names for Malbec in Bordeaux?

Answer 13

• Pressac

- Cot

Question 14

What are the 7 white grapes allowed in Bordeaux Blanc?

Answer 14

• Semillon
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Sauvignon Gris
• Muscadelle
• Ugni Blanc
• Merlot Blanc
• Colombard

Question 15

What is the typical barrel size used in Bordeaux?

Answer 15

225 liter barrels

Question 16

The Medoc AOP covers the which wine producing area in Bordeaux?

Answer 16

The 50 mile stretch of land north of Bordeaux on the left bank

Question 17

What are the 4 main AOPs that make up the Haut-Medoc?

Answer 17

• Saint-Estèphe
• Pauillac
• St. Julien
• Margaux

Question 18

What is the only change that has occurred in reference to the 1855 Classification of Bordeaux?

Answer 18

In 1973 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild was elevated from Second Growth to First Growth

Question 19

Name the 5 first growths of Bordeaux

Answer 19

• Chateau Margaux
• Chateau Lafite-Rothschild
• Chateau Mouton-Rothschild
• Chateau Haut-Brion
• Chateau Latour

Question 20

What are the other two designations are available to chateaus that are not apart of the 1855 Classification?

Answer 20

• Cru Artisan

- Cru Bourgeois

Question 21

What are the three different categories within ‘Cru Bourgeois’?

Answer 21

• Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel
• Cru Bourgeois Superieur
• Cru Bourgeois

Question 22

Name the 5 villages that make up the Margaux AOP

Answer 22

• Soussans
• Margaux
• Cantenac
• Labarde
• Arsac

Question 23

Boulbenes is a mixture of what different soil types, and where is it found?

Answer 23

• Sand, gravel, light clay

- It is found in Graves

Question 24

What are the 3 appellations for sweet wine in Graves?

Answer 24

• Barsac
• Cerons
• Sauternes

Question 25

When was the Pessac-Leognan AOP created?

Answer 25

1987

Question 26

Wines produced under the Entre-deux-mers AOC can only _____ wines

Answer 26

White

Question 27

True or Flase, The wines of Sauternes were not classified in the 1855 classification

Answer 27

False, they were. They are divided into Second and First Growths

Question 28

What is the most famous Chateau in Sauternes?

Answer 28

Chateau d'Yquem

Question 29

What are the five villages covered by the Sauternes AOP?

Answer 29

- Sauternes - Barsac - Fargues - Preignac - Bommes

Question 30

True or False, The wines made in Barsac can be made under the Sauternes AOP and the Barsac AOP

Answer 30

True

Question 31

Where does Chateau Ausone draw it's name from?

Answer 31

Ausonius, a 4th Century Roman poet who may or may not have planted his vines at the site of the current estate

Question 32

What are the two most famous regions on the Right Bank of Bordeaux?

Answer 32

- St-Emilion AOP | - Pomerol AOP

Question 33

What Bordeaux grape varietals make up the vast Majority of Right Bank plantings?

Answer 33

Merlot and Cabernet Franc

Question 34

What are the two 'main' categories of soil found in St-Emilion?

Answer 34

The Cotes: steep limestone slopes | The Graves: a gravelly limestone plateau resembling soils of the medoc

Question 35

Since St-Emilion was excluded in the 1855 classification, when did they decide to create their own?

Answer 35

St-Emilion created it's own 3-tier classification system in 1954 with multiple revisions since.

Question 36

What was the intention with the St-Emilion classification?

Answer 36

To avoid the problems of the 1855 classification (where the is no updating) by having revisions every 10 years.

Question 37

Does St-Emilion Grand Cru refer to a classification on an appellation?

Answer 37

It is an Appellation, the wines are required to have have 0.5% more alcohol and undergo a longer maturation period