Bordeaux

Précis

• Largest producer of AC wine in France
• The region is polarised…
• Top estates fetch good (yet varying) money for their wine, which they can easily sell each year
  • The wine is very good, but they represent a small proportion
• Cheaper wine (vast majority) is in many ways in crisis:
  • Lots of cheap wine that is OK at best and lots doesn’t sell
  • Needs to step up in quality which it has been addressing in recent years
  • Most négociants think the future is in brands but don’t have the money to launch them
• Another problem is that Bordeaux needs ageing to show best; no immediate fruity appeal unlike New World wines
• Many traditional négociants have merged or been taken over as more Chateaux bottle their own wine (mobile bottling lines common) and, as times are tough,
• Some are now little more than brokers

Bordeaux Pages

• History, Trade, Climate, Geography and Soil
• Viticulture and Vinification
• Grape Varieties
• Classification and Appellations