{"id":18394,"date":"2014-04-18T07:52:39","date_gmt":"2014-04-18T11:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/?p=18394"},"modified":"2014-04-18T08:09:12","modified_gmt":"2014-04-18T12:09:12","slug":"bordeaux-wine-trip-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/bordeaux-wine-trip-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"Insider’s Guide to Bordeaux: Tips on How to Find Great Wines"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bordeaux<\/a>By Natalie MacLean<\/p>\n

Here are some tips to get the most out of Bordeaux wine<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 whether you\u2019re visiting the region itself or just pouring over the liquor store shelves.<\/p>\n

Get a good grounding<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few basics about Bordeaux can help you bluff your way through the next bow-tie tasting. The region, about three hours southwest of Paris, is bordered by three rivers: the Gironde, the Garonne and the Dordogne. It\u2019s divided into five districts (or appellations): Pomerol, Saint-Emilion, Graves, Sauternes and M\u00e9doc.\"Bordeaux<\/a><\/p>\n

Within each of these are more specific districts, much like those hollow wooden Russian dolls, with each doll containing a smaller doll, until you get down to the tiniest one. In Bordeaux, smaller is better because there are stricter rules about the quality of the grapes and winemaking practices.<\/p>\n

The broadest category is Bordeaux itself, followed by Bordeaux Superieur; a district name such as Medoc; and finally the name of the commune or village ,such as Pauillac. A bottled labelled \u201cPauillac\u201d is generally better than one simply marked as \u201cBordeaux.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get a grip on the grapes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most Bordeaux wine is red<\/strong><\/a>: some 88% is blended from grapes such as cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, petite verdot and malbec.<\/p>\n

The remaining 12% is white wine from sauvignon blanc and Semillon grapes made into dry table wine, and some sparkling wines (known as Cr\u00e9mant de Bordeaux) and the prized sweet wine, made from grapes affected by \u201cnoble rot.\u201d This doesn\u2019t refer to corrupt winemakers but to a rare and natural process that allows the grapes to rot on the vine to sweetness before they\u2019re picked.\"Bordeaux<\/a>
\nGo on a date<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Bordeaux, the year the wine was made matters. In a cool climate such as Bordeaux\u2019s, some years don\u2019t have enough sunshine to ripen the grapes or there\u2019s too much rain, which dilutes them and produces thin wine.<\/p>\n

However, you don\u2019t have to memorize a fifty-year vintage chart. (Leave that to Hugh Johnson, the British expert who publishes an excellent pocket guide every year.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s enough to know a few good (and bad) years from the last decade. Only the most recent vintages are likely to be on the shelves anyway, since older wines are usually snapped up by connoisseurs as soon as they\u2019re released. Recent great years are 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2010.<\/p>\n

\"Bordeaux<\/a>
\nAsk for seconds<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many of the prestigious chateaux offer \u201csecond labels,\u201d bottlings of wine that the vintner deems unworthy of the chateau\u2019s leading label. But that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re undrinkable plonk: The wine is made by the same winemaker from the same world-class vineyards and aged in the same oak barrels.<\/p>\n

It just doesn\u2019t quite meet the same exacting standards. Think of it as like shopping for Gucci clothing at a discount outlet. Look for second labels from producers like Ch\u00e2teau Margaux (Pavillion Rouge), Ducru-Beaucaillou (La Croix de Beaucaillou), Ch\u00e2teau Palmer (Alter Ego de Palmer), Ch\u00e2teau Beychevelle (Amiral de Beychevelle) and L’Eglise Clinet (La Petite Eglise).<\/p>\n

\"Bordeaux<\/a>
\nRead between the vines<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re visiting the region or just playing armchair tourist, there are several great books you may enjoy reading: Bordeaux: People, Power and Politics by Stephen Brook; The New France by Andrew Jefford; and Noble Rot by William Echikson.<\/p>\n

A number of web sites are also packed with information on the region. An excellent overview is at Bordeaux.com, run by the official Bordeaux wine council.<\/p>\n

Take a tour<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many tour guide operators specialize in guiding oenophiles around Bordeaux, including French Wine Explorers (877-261-1500; www.wine-tours-france.com); Jill Mitchell\u2019s Le Trip (800-469-7819; www.letrip.org); or \u00d4\u00a0 Chateau (011-33-144-739-780; www.o-chateau.com).<\/p>\n

Knowledgeable and reputable guides can be especially helpful in getting you into the top-tier chateaux, which often only admit visitors with appointments. As with any tour operator, though, be sure to check references first.<\/p>\n

Take a break<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to get to Bordeaux: both Air Canada and Air France offer flights from several major cities in Canada to Bordeaux’s M\u00e9rignac airport, via Paris. You can also fly to Paris and then take the three-hour train ride to Bordeaux.<\/p>\n

The region boasts several spectacular hotels. Three of the best are the luxurious Relais & Ch\u00e2teaux hotel, Ch\u00e2teau Cordeillan-Bages next door to the Ch\u00e2teau Lynch Bages winery in Pauillac (011-33-556-59-2424); the Hostellerie de Plaisance in Saint-Emilion (011-33-557-55-0755); and Les Sources de Caudalie beside the Ch\u00e2teau Smith-Haut-Lafitte winery in Pessac-L\u00e9ognan (011-33-557-83-8383).<\/p>\n

This last place, a vinotherapy spa, offers I-must-have-gone-to-heaven treatments such as merlot mud wraps and \u201cpulp friction\u201d massages. All three have outstanding Michelin-starred restaurants.<\/p>\n

And on your way to Pauillac, drop in at the more casual Le Lion d\u2019Or restaurant (011-33- 556-589-679). This is a favourite hangout for members of the wine trade and you can eavesdrop on all the latest gossip over lunch or dinner\u2014the conversations there give new meaning to \u201cthe grapevine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Bordeaux<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Natalie MacLean Here are some tips to get the most out of Bordeaux wine \u2014 whether you\u2019re visiting the region itself or just pouring over the liquor store shelves. Get a good grounding A few basics about Bordeaux can help you bluff your way through the next bow-tie tasting. The region, about three hours southwest of Paris, is bordered by three rivers: the Gironde, the Garonne and the Dordogne. It\u2019s divided into five districts (or appellations): Pomerol, Saint-Emilion, Graves, Sauternes and M\u00e9doc. Within each of these are more specific districts, much like those hollow wooden Russian dolls, with each […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[375,12,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bordeaux-wine","category-grapes-regions","category-wine-travel-to-wine-regions"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18394"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18413,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18394\/revisions\/18413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}