Andrew Jefford’s October subject cowl story, ‘The issue with Bordeaux, and tips on how to repair it’, prompted a flurry of engaged and sometimes passionate responses. Right here we publish an edited choice, together with the view from one in every of Bordeaux’s main cru classé estates.
Pricey Andrew,
In your article you identified that, for you, an important Bordeaux tremendous wine ‘could also be the obvious, unoriginal and unhip “favorite wine” in existence, however at its greatest it’s additionally essentially the most delicate, refined and complicated pink wine of all’.
About 473 years in the past, the Valladolid Controversy pitted those that claimed that Native People had souls in opposition to those that disagreed. The recurring debates surrounding ‘the Bordeaux disaster’ are sometimes no much less fiery or radical, and I like the best way you nailed it.
Do we now have a soul? Are we about to die, if not already useless? Are we nonetheless the perfect grands vins of the world, carrying the identify of the primary and solely world worldwide wine model: Bordeaux? Or are we positively finished?
Herein lies the paradox, although, and right here’s my query to you: how can a wine devoid of character, originality and spirit be on the identical time essentially the most delicate, refined and complicated of all of the world’s nice wines? Isn’t subtlety a personality trait? Isn’t it the refinement of a grand vin that underpins its originality? Isn’t its complexity a testomony to its spirit?
You have got identified Bordeaux intimately for the previous 30 years, expensive Andrew, and also you communicate of it with such nice accuracy while you say that our nice wines are ‘essentially the most food-friendly, essentially the most profitable when it comes to conducting metamorphosis with age, essentially the most qualitatively constant throughout a broad value spectrum, essentially the most beneficiant when it comes to market provide, essentially the most profoundly satisfying, and essentially the most digestible and health-bringing wine of all’ that I’ve to ask your treasured assistance on the matter.
What ought to we do to try to assist change the dialog about Bordeaux, calm tempers, put issues again into perspective and, fairly merely put, get again to the basics and maintain transferring on, as a substitute of sawing off the department we’re sitting on?
Yearly with out fail, we welcome American sommeliers who are available small teams to Bordeaux and to Château Haut-Bailly. They arrive stuffed with preconceived concepts, they usually go away with tears of their eyes, deeply moved by what they’ve seen (the terroirs, the folks, the magnificent landscapes…) and by the nice wines they’ve tasted. Inside a couple of years, the wine lists of New York and Los Angeles have modified, reintegrating the nice tremendous wines of Bordeaux in explosive style.
That is my message to my dearest colleagues who handle nice domaines on Bordeaux’s Left and Proper Banks: collectively works higher. Let’s proceed to open our doorways to wine professionals and connoisseurs from all around the world, individually and at appellation stage. Let’s invite them to go to, and let’s present them with an unforgettable expertise – not solely in the course of the en primeur tastings, however all yr spherical. Wine is life, and there’s no substitute for tasting it on our personal land, with our toes within the vines, earlier than sitting all the way down to eat and share our ideas and feelings.
In a phrase, let’s break down the armour, get out of our personal yard, showcase our strengths and the super progress we’ve made over the past three a long time: granular information of our soils, attentive care of our vines, fixed refinement of our winemaking processes, because of appreciable funding in essentially the most superior applied sciences.
Let’s put an finish to preconceived concepts: our wines can completely be drunk younger, as at this time’s nice Bordeaux wines are flawless, supple, elegant and fruity. But, they haven’t misplaced their legendary capability for ageing.
The good wines of Bordeaux are higher than ever, and that is precisely why we thanks, expensive Andrew, for reminding us of what’s a actuality, and never a want! I invite everybody to come back and see us, and expertise our distinctive Bordeaux mannequin: neither a pointless revolution that destroys worth, nor an premature upheaval, nor incessant concessions to the air du temps – none of that certainly, however a real new golden age.
That is the perspective that has at all times been ours, and the hallmark of our multi-century success: mental {and professional} curiosity, the hunt for fixed optimisation of all our processes, the cult of the terroir, the vines, the grapes, a full dedication to high fashion winemaking, the understanding that what is just sufficient isn’t sufficient in any respect and, above all, the eagerness to offer our wine lovers incomparable feelings.
Véronique Sanders, CEO of Château Haut-Bailly, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
In fine condition
Whereas I agree with a lot of Andrew’s factors, I disagree vehemently together with his argument in regards to the bottle. There may be nothing fallacious with the bottle form, and his proposal to stay the wine in Burgundy bottles is appalling. The primary downside with a Bordeaux bottle, as with most French wine, is within the lack of know-how on the label. The form nevertheless is subsequent to excellent. The bottles stack within the cellar fantastically, whereas a stack of Burgundy or Syrah is essentially the most unstable conceivable!
John Penney, Martinborough, New Zealand
A buyer misplaced
Many ideas struck me after I learn Andrew Jefford’s magnificent article on Bordeaux, two of which stood out. Firstly, how late in life I got here to find claret in comparison with different wines. Secondly, how my relationship with it has modified in recent times.
I grew up in a single-parent household on earnings help with my teetotal mom. No household journeys to the south of France for me. Certainly, wine merely was not a part of my household life. Consequently, I solely found wine throughout my first week of college (Girton Faculty, Cambridge). The school welcome pack talked about Formal Corridor eating each Thursday and instructed that college students convey their very own wine. I set off to the native Oddbins. I found that wine got here primarily in two colors. I selected pink over white, for causes that I nonetheless have no idea to at the present time.
Mr Jefford’s piece introduced again my first thought when taking a look at wines on the cabinets: ‘My god, these French bottles have intimidating labels and are austere-looking.’ I plumped for a Wolf Blass. At a value of £8 again in 1996, this was thought-about extravagant for a scholar to buy, the gross sales assistant advised me. Reassuring, I assumed. No hazard of me trying like a wine moron at this upcoming formal dinner.
The Bordeaux bottle form, its labelling, the absence of English and of any story of the wine contained in the bottle, all saved me away from Bordeaux wine till the top of my remaining yr. Then, a pal – from a distinct social class to me – threw a party and served some claret that his dad had bought again within the Nineteen Eighties. I used to be immediately hooked on Bordeaux, and for the subsequent 15 years, would select Bordeaux over different pink wines.
During the last decade, one thing has modified. It has been a large number of things which have put Bordeaux firmly on the backside of my pink wine record. Journeys to Asturias have satisfied me that if I’ve £50 to £80 to spend on a Rioja or Ribera, I merely won’t go fallacious; however the identical amount of cash on a bottle of Bordeaux will probably be a chance, as a result of sheer variety of Bordeaux wines out there and their variability. Articles in Decanter have pushed me in the direction of Georgia and China, as wines have been produced in these nations so way back. Studying about Susana Balbo (October subject, ‘Corridor of Fame Award’) made me order one in every of her Malbecs to go along with my steak final weekend.
Above all, I feel what has put me off Bordeaux essentially the most is that I now not take into account it to be both accessible or quintessentially French. Sacré bleu, I hear you say! Whereas I settle for that the contents of a bottle of Bordeaux are a testomony to the area’s soil, local weather, centuries of winemaking experience and many others, the ultimate, bottled product strikes me as a branded luxurious good aimed on the world’s elite earners. After I see a Ferrari, I don’t suppose ‘Italian automobile par excellence’, however relatively, ‘automobile bought by wealthy folks around the globe, to show their wealth’. No Proper Financial institution château proprietor is advertising and marketing his Merlot to me. Nonetheless, a stone’s throw from my workplace in London, I can get pleasure from wines from around the globe, with down-to-earth again tales.
These wines are produced to be consumed relatively than saved as investments. Bordeaux neither needs nor wants me; however different areas are blissful to see me after I come calling. I hope that my relationship with Bordeaux modifications again to what it was once; however I doubt it’s going to. Even when I’m within the temper to splash out on a tremendous pink, I’ll go for virtually something aside from Bordeaux. There are hundreds extra glorious wines out there now than after I nervously entered Oddbins virtually 30 years in the past.
Louis Altman, London
Credit score: Stephen Frost / Alamy Inventory Picture
Path to success
One key space the place even such a well-established area as Bordeaux might assist shoppers is to offer a map, nevertheless small, as a part of the again label. As viewers of tv quiz exhibits can see so typically, geography is a weak level. It might be so simple as a map that signifies the situation of a rustic’s capital after which the wine district in query. One other concept is to mix this with a line of latitude linking the area with one other one or two different well-known viticultural areas – this will likely shock even the educated!
Conal R Gregory MW, York
Lengthy-term admirer
I spend numerous time consuming and pondering Bordeaux. My place to begin isn’t dissimilar to yours, Mr Jefford – I feel it’s the most constant supply of splendid wine on the earth. So a part of me is quietly happy that Bordeaux is retro, as I can choose up beautiful wines at costs I can afford (I not often spend greater than £30, and £40 in a restaurant). However after almost 50 years’ expertise of consuming the stuff, it’s apparent even to me that for the typical punter Bordeaux is a nightmare.
The problems as I see them are as follows:
• The primary growths and tremendous seconds function in a weird stratosphere of colossal value and pretension and must be completely ignored.
• Many of the different classed growths have priced themselves out of significant competition and some aren’t even that good. The place these estates are nonetheless accessible and scrumptious are their second wines – and, other than the seconds of the primary growths (that are additionally ludicrously costly), they’re good worth.
• As you counsel, the main focus must be on the comparatively unknown wines that characterize 90% of Bordeaux. However tips on how to establish that are scrumptious?
• En primeur ceased to work years in the past. I don’t belief the retailers’ spiel and see no actual profit as these wines gained’t promote out, and can reappear on the secondary market on the identical or a cheaper price.
• White Bordeaux is a largely undiscovered delight. I’m no fan of Sauvignon Blanc, however when blended with Semillon… wow!
• Are you able to consider one other product the place you pay your cash and are then advised to not get pleasure from it for a minimum of seven years? Bordeaux have to be able to drink sooner.
• I don’t agree with you on the usage of the phrase ‘château’, label design (I really like the château drawings) and bottle form. Bordeaux must stay recognisable.
What Bordeaux wants is for you and different revered critics to inform us what you suppose is significantly good, out there within the UK, moderately priced and could be drunk whereas we’re nonetheless alive.
And for what its value I’m state-educated, have by no means labored for a hedge fund or something related and have a Birmingham accent.
John Studying, Pirbright, Surrey
The standard Bordeaux bottle form presents uniformity – however does it obscure individuality? Credit score: Juan Garcia Hinojosa / Shutterstock
Discovering worth
I agree that Bordeaux wines want a greater, extra balanced picture relatively than being typecast as very costly, ‘snooty’ collectors’ bottles. There may be such an excellent vary out there from suppliers like The Wine Society, many within the £8-£20 value vary. Extra folks want to find the delights of much less well-known wines from the Côtes de Bordeaux (together with Francs and Castillon), Fronsac and Canon Fronsac, Entre-deux Mers and Cadillac, and the extra ‘modest’ Côtes de Bourg and Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux – particularly from household producers (corresponding to Despagne, Durantou, Thienpont and Dubourdieu).
There isn’t any legitimate motive for any generational resistance to Bordeaux and its wines by youthful shoppers, and I’m delighted to say that each our 30-something sons and their feminine companions get pleasure from Bordeaux pink wines as a lot as my older era.
Thanks once more to Andrew Jefford, whose opinions and wine palate clearly match my very own, along with his vastly superior inside information.
Graham Woodham, Guildford, Surrey
