TASTEThe Myth of BordeauxThe charm of the immortal Bordelais winesstands at the test of timeby Vincenzo SalvatoreBordeaux’s wines boast a centuries long history ofcommercial success and of unparalleled charm andluxury. Yet, despite the apparent permanence of the1855 historical classification of first growth chateaus,the history of Bordelais wines has not been a straightstairway to success, rather a sequence of great transformations,difficult challenges, and brilliant intuitions. Viticulturein Bordeaux dates to the Ancient Romans, but it was only inthe 12th century that the area became the cradle of Europeanluxury wine when the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaineto Henry II marked the passage of the region under the Englishmonarchy for the next three centuries and the officialacknowledgment of Bordeaux producers as royal suppliers.Since then, the fame of Bordeaux’s wines constantly grewthanks to the interests of the European aristocracy for thebest productions, but also for the commercial success ofcheaper wines like the claret first in England and then, onceBordeaux returned to the French Kingdom, in the DutchProvinces. With the consolidation of the French Kingdomin the 17th century, Bordeaux became France’s wine capitaland one of the vital centers of modern viticulture. Each ofthese historical periods were marked by fearful difficulties,both technological and commercial, from the upheaval ofthe French Revolution to the terrible oidium and phylloxeraplagues. The triumphs achieved by Bordelais producers notonly consolidated their myth, but also contributed to the developmentof world enology.The above mentioned 1855 classification, for instance, representedthe first great modern operation of analysis andidentification of terroirs, the best geomorphological distributionsfor viticulture. Bordeaux’s wine region is as muchfascinating as it is complex: it developed around the fluvialnetwork of the Dordogne and Garonne rivers that meet inthe estuary channel of Gironde, splitting in two ‘banks’ thevineyards and creating a fundamental zone of climatic interexchangewith the nearby ocean. There are three mainareas: the Left Bank – north of Bordeaux there is the Medoc,from where the most famous wines come like the AOCPauillac, St. Julien, Margaux, St. Estephe, and Haute Medoc,while south of the city there are the Graves, where one canfind the legendary AOC of noble rot wines Sauternes andBarsac; then the Right Bank – where one can find the AOCPomerol, Saint Emilion, and many less famous but not lessexcellent ones; finally, in the inner region between the tworivers there is Entre-Deux-Mers – a zone where viticultureknew a more recent development and it is exclusively dedicatedto white wines. Today, Bordeaux’s wine productionis much more diversified than in the past. In terms of redgrapes, the Left Bank, and especially the Medoc, is the reignof Cabernet Sauvignon that gave birth to the famous “Bordelaisblend” with small percentages of Cabernet Franc andMerlot, which on the other hand dominate in the Right Bank.Other historically important red grapes are Petit Verdot,Malbec, and Carmenere, while the ongoing climatic changebrought in 2019 to authorize the cultivation of weather-resistantgrapes like Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, andArinarnoa (a hybrid of Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat). Interms of white grapes, the king is Sémillion that constitutesthe base of the famous noble rot wines along with SauvignonBlanc and Muscadelle. Other allowed white grapes areSauvignon Gris, Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Merlot Blanc, Ondenc,and Mauzan, and from 2019 on also Alvarinho, PetitManseng, and Lilorila.58 #5-2022 CigarsLover Magazine
#5-2022 CigarsLover Magazine59