BORDEAUX

Bordeaux at The Winery? Has the world gone mad? Or did we just find the most toothsome selection of Bordeaux to hit London? Is Bordeaux the new Burgundy?

 

When we told our W9 wine writer friend Stephen Brook, who's writing another book on Bordeaux, he told us "go to the Right Bank. There you will find what you are looking for." Alright then.

Not only did we find lovely wines on the Right Bank, in St Emilion, in Cote du Bourg, in Blaye but also on the Left Bank, in the Médoc, in Moulis and in Graves.

 

We have always railed against the Bordeaux system. Our previous trip involved the besuited negociants on the Quai du Chartron and Chateaux with Export Directors.

And then there is the influence of a certain American writer still felt in the region.There were a couple of meetings where within seconds of arriving we were handed review packs and scores, Parker, Wine Spectator, Revue du Vin France, Bettane etc, and told the name of their Consultant Oenologist (generally the same name). "That's nice" we said. "Well done".

 

This time we found proper wine makers - growers with gnarly, wine-stained hands and soil on their shoes. And the wines? Ah, the wines…

Bordeaux, the new Burgundy!

 

white
	Champ des Treilles Petits Champs Blanc Sec Ste-Foy Bordeaux	2005	7.99
	Champ des Treilles Grand Vin Blanc Sec Ste-Foy Bordeaux	2004	9.99
red
	Croix-Moulinet Bordeaux Superieur	2003	6.99
	Champ des Treilles Petits Champs Rouge Ste-Foy Bordeaux	2005	8.50
	Fougas Cote du Bourg Fougas Prestige	1992	10.99
	Fougas Cote du Bourg Fougas Prestige	2005	11.99
	Champ des Treilles Grand Vin Rouge Ste-Foy Bordeaux	2003	13.99
	La Croix St Georges	1999	14.50
	Les Jonqueyres Blaye	2002	14.99
	Fourcas Dupre Listrac-Medoc	2001	15.99
	Valrose St Estephe	2003	17.99
	La Croix du Casse Pomerol	2002	21.50
	Haut-Clocquet Pomerol	1999	22.99
	Fougas Cuvée Maldoror Cote de Bourg	1999	22.99
	Valrose Cuvée Alienor St Estephe	2000	22.99
	Sansonnet St Emilion	2002	27.99
	Riou de Thaillas St Emilion	2001	27.99
	St Pierre Pomerol	2000	29.99
	Champs des Treilles Les Sens Ste-Foy Bordeaux	2002	42.99
	Gloria St Julien	1975	49.99
	Bellevue St Emilion Grand Cru	2001	52.99
sweet
	Champs des Treilles Petits Champs Blanc Liqoureux Ste-Foy Bordeaux	2002	14.99

 

Chateau les Jonqueyres - Pascal Montaut is held to be the champion of Blaye, on the opposite bank of the Gironde to Pauillac. Joined by his ex-Paris Media wife Isabel, there is something slightly battle weary about him. He is passionate and his wine is excellent. Supple, balanced, judging the fine line between traditional and modern. One of the best we tasted on the whole trip. At one point Isabel brought a plate of snacks, including the snowy white shrimps that can only be found in the estuary here once a year. Who says you shouldn't have red wine with seafood?

 

Chateau Fougas - Jean-Yves and Michelle Bechet are to the Cotes de Bourg what Jonqueyres is to Blaye. For someone who says 95% is the effect of the sun and the winemaker and just 5% is down to the terroir, the Bechets spend an awful lot of time working on the feet of their vines. Their top cuvee Maldoror is highly regarded in the French Press and even found itself into the annual top 25 in La Revue de Vin France. It's a full-throttle, modern, oaky  75% Merlot, 25% Cab Sauv blend. almost a year after first tasting it, it is integrating beautifully.

 

Champ des Treilles - "Bio-dynamic is not only good for the earth, it's good for us" says Corinne Comme, whose husband Jean-Michel is also Cellarmaster at Pontet-Canet, the hallowed Pauillac estate. Their own family estate is at Ste-Foy-Bordeaux, as far east as you can go before being Bergerac. The wines are definitely Bordeaux. Startlingly good, assured, polished,very impressive. They look for perfect harmony in the vineyard, pruning really late, to see what will grow between the vines. Then, whatever grows, flowers or mushrooms, they pick and dry and make a Tisane, a tea, which they feed back to the vines. The perfect cycle. Makes perfect sense.

 

Our neighbour from the Art world Charles Asprey put us in touch with friends of the family the de Lavaux in Libourne. They co-own several Chateaux on the Right Bank including Martinet (St Emilion), Clos des Galavesses (Lalande de Pomerol), St Pierre, Renaissance (Pomerol). Sounds very grand, what with offices on the Quai in Libourne. What we found was a very down-to-earth family with wines which were a welcome relief after days of tasting St Emilions that were so oaky it was like licking timber. Gentle, classic, round. A lunch (07) at daughter Inez and her husband Stanislas' saw us walk out with a massive jar of Lamprey a la Bordelaise. River Lamprey is certainly one of the ugliest creatures on the planet, like some razor-teethed monster from Alien, the stuff of nightmares. In fact, the Romans would often feed their least popular prisoners to pools filled with Lamprey. Nice. They may look horrific, but they certainly have the sweetest flesh of any eel, particularly cooked in red Bordeaux with Leeks. Who says you shouldn't have red wine with fish?

 

Madame Christiane Renon has two Chateaux in Margaux - La Galiane and Charmant. We enjoyed the soft easy style of her Charmant 2002.