Regions
The style, and often the quality of a wine is influenced by the environment in which it is produced. In this section we’ll progressively introduce every wine region of the world in order to give you an indication as to what they look like.
Read moreMore regions than ever
This will be a long process as the world of wine has expanded greatly over the past 25 years. This means that there is more choice available from more regions than ever before, with over 70 countries producing innovative, quality wines today.
The top three wine regions of France, Italy, and Spain however, still produce almost half the world’s wine. The USA is now the top consumer of wine with Americans drinking a staggering 4.3 billion bottles a year. And this a country whose wine culture only began in the 1970’s after the popular Sixty Minutes documentary series aired a programme entitled the” French Paradox” on network television that purported that French men could only survive all the fatty meats and olive oil because of the properties of red wine. Americans literally ran to the wine store.
But the established countries are not the only ones worth seeking out. After a blaze of growth in producing wines from international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and Sauvignon Balance many countries are now re exploring their indigenous grapes and producing ever more interesting and authentic wines. Have you tried a Refosco from NE Italy or a Prieto Picudo from Spain as yet?
By no means comprehensive, the following are simply introductions to those wine producing regions that you should definitely be familiar with and explore.
So let’s start with one of the most famous regions of France.Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a very large area stretching some 80 miles inland from the Atlantic coast in SW France along the banks of the Garonne, Gironde and Dordogne rivers. Covering 290,000 acres it is six times larger than say Napa Valley and has over 10,000 producers who make nearly 800 million bottles of mostly (90%) red wine every year from. It has 60 appellations with quality ranging from simple, everyday wines to some outstanding wines that are the most prestigious and expensive wines in the world.
The region is divided into the left bank, Graves, entre deux mare and right bank for the styles of wine produced and their unique quality classifications.
Merlot (66%) Cabernet Sauvignon (22.5%) and Cabernet Franc (9.5 percent) make up 98% of red grapes planted with Petit Verdot, Malbec and even Carmenere (2%) contributing a little something to the Bordeaux blend.
The left bank is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon and the right bank Merlot. Both however include the other in varying amounts, often depending on the vintage conditions where one or the other may do better. Often added to the Bordeaux blend in small amounts will be Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Mourvedre that contribute various characteristics of their own.
Read MoreLeft Bank (the southern side of the Gironde River)
Here the quality tiers are divided into sub regions within the Bordeaux AOP. For example, a sub region could be Haut Medoc AOP which then contains an even smaller Village/commune like Saint- Julien AOP. Separate and distinct from this are the special vineyard classifications associated with individual Chateau such as Margaux in the commune of Margaux, defining the potential quality of that regions’ wines.
The left bank includes such esteemed wine growing regions such as the Medoc, within which Pauillac, Margaux, and St. Julien which are further categorised into the Grand Cru Classé 1855. If you see this on the label then you’re in the higher levels of quality and attendant price. These are the top 61 chateaux identified as being the best quality as determined by the prices they were fetching up to 1855. Even though this list hasn’t really changed over 165 years and many of the Chateau listed have fallen on hard times, it still represents the top tier of the Bordeaux and arguably French and world categorisation.
Below that are the Cru Bourgeois. These are a small number of Chateau selected for their quality every year by a tasting panel and arguably represent the best value in the region, if not the entire wine world.
Next is something called Cru Superiore. This is actually a fairly meaningless nomenclature and to qualify the wines need an extra .5% abv. This is meant to show that good quality, ripe grapes were used but generally these are early drinking mid-week wines at best.
Finally there is the table wine that can be made from grapes grown anywhere in France but may be blended and bottled in the region. It is mostly consumed in France and is unlikely to feature in your selection.
Read moreThe place shown on a bottle of Bordeaux wine is the Chateau. This is the name of the winery and producer and represents the brand quality of the wine. What’s interesting here however is that unlike Burgundy where we’ll see that each vineyard is the place upon which quality is based, in Bordeaux it is the Chateau, where many of its vineyards have changed over time.
Whilst seemingly at odds with the theory of terroir, these are often adjacent vineyards to increase production and always legally within the same commune. Another innovation is the introduction of second and even third wines that are marketed separately to maintain the premium quality Chateau brand wines. These wines are mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and deliberately produced for aging. This means that they can be high in tannin in their youth and are demonstrably better on the palate after 5 years in bottle.
Read MoreGraves
Graves is a sub-region south of the Medoc and actually pre- dates it’s now more famous neighbour by several hundred years. It is regarded as the birthplace of red Bordeaux wines and once included what is now Pessac Leognan, home to Haut-Brion. This is a wine that was popular in London long before Margaux or any of the Rothschilds got involved in wine.
The sub-region itself produces around 20 million bottles of red, white and sweet wines per year. There are 13 Chateau simply known as Classified Red Wines of Graves and a further 9 as Classified White Wines of Graves. The most famous red is the first growth Haut Brion (the only Grave Grand Cru Classé in the 1855 classification) amongst several other outstanding wines from Pape Clement (one of the oldest in the Bordeaux dating from the 14th century), Haut Batailly and Smith Haut Lafitte and others.
Read moreSauternes and Barsac
exclusively white wines are made from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon and are generally of good quality and can represent excellent value. Sweet wines of Sauterne and Barsac were officially classified in 1855 with the top tier Superior First Growth accommodating just one property, the fabulous and expensive Chateau d’Yquem. These wines are made from grapes that are infected with a fungus known as noble rot that requires a very careful, time consuming process resulting in limited quantities of very sweet, rich, floral golden liquid that ages for eternity.
More approachable and less expensive are those produced by eleven First Growths include Chateau Guiraud which is widely available in the UK and fourteen Second Growths that again represent excellent quality at realistic prices if you enjoy sweet wine.
Read moreEntre Deux Mere
This is a large vineyard area covering 1441 hectares planted to white varieties and while the appellation title itself applies uniquely to dry white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscadelle and Ugni Blanc the majority of wine produced within the boundaries of the AOC Entre-Deux-Mers is actually red and thus can only be labelled as generic Bordeaux or Bordeaux Superieur. Even though the wines produced here are generally increasing in quality they are not at the level of areas such as St. Emilion or the Haut Medoc.
Read moreThe Right Bank (northern bank of the Gironde)
The right bank was not included in the 1855 classification and as a result, each of its sub regions developed its own classification system. The wines are softer than those of the left bank and some of the best St. Emilion and Pomerol properties are equal in quality to the most prestigious wines in the world.
St. Emilion
St. Emilion – on the right bank of the Gironde opposite the Medoc, St. Emilion is best suited to the Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes where the 840 properties produce a huge range of quality and styles from light and fruity to serviceable clarets to outstanding garage wines.
Premier Grand Cru Classé is the top tier in St. Emilion where the four top properties are designated with the suffix “A” that represent the most outstanding wines of the region and compare favourably with top wines in the world. These are the expensive, sought after wines of Chateau Ausone, Pavie and Cheval Blanc. Within the same tier the next 14 properties are designated “B”.
Grand Cru Classé properties come just below these where 64 properties produce very good quality wines. Partly as a result of both top tiers being revised every 10 years to ensure that the quality levels are upheld. . Be careful not to confuse Grand Cru Classé wines with the lesser quality wines simply labelled at the next step down in the hierarchy.
Grand Cru properties represent the largest proportion of wines produced in St. Emilion and are the most likely to be found in the UK supermarket. These wines have improved dramatically over the past 10 years and are generally smoother, less rustic and tannic and more concentrated than they used to be. Each of the 200 properties are tasted for quality at each vintage and generally represent good quality.
St. Emilion – many properties operate very successfully outside the classification system and labelled simply St. Emilion. This is a very dynamic tier with lots of investment and innovation going on without seeking classification and can represent excellent value for money particularly from the satellite areas like Montagne, St. George, Puisseguin and Lussac.
Read MorePomerol is home to some of the highest quality and most expensive wines in the world like Petrus and Le Pin and yet has no classification system at all. With just 150 largely indistinguishable small properties the region produces a few thousand cases a year.
Merlot is the dominant grape in Pomerol and plays a large part in making the wines rich, smooth and approachable at an early age, while also being capable of extended aging. Cabernet Franc is also often present, adding structure and an element of savoury spice.
There are many wines simply labelled Pomerol that again represent wonderful value for money.
Just outside Pomerol is the appellation of Lalande – de- Pomerol where several Chateau benefit from being under the ownership of their grander neighbours and produce excellent wines for the money. Similarly, the historic Canon Fronsac is improving year on year and produces not just beautifully fruity wines but more characterful, rustic wines of great quality. Further afield and definitely worth trying are the wines labelled Castillion Cotes de Bordeaux and Francs Cotes de Bordeaux.