What’s up with Bordeaux prices? Some of these 2009s are insane. Why do the famous names seem to cost 10 or 20 times as much as the rest?
If you have the impression that the price gap between the most famous names and the literally thousands of other Bordeaux châteaux is more extreme than in any other category of wine, you’re right. Here’s how it happened. READ MORE »
First, a brief word on the actual appellation system as it applies to the red wines of Bordeaux. All Bordeaux wines are entitled to the basic appellation Bordeaux. Bordeaux Supérieur is a slight step higher. Bordeaux from districts known for special quality carry the name of their appellation on the label. While seven appellations—Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Margaux, Graves, Pomerol and Saint-Emilion—are most familiar to long-time claret lovers, lesser-known districts such as Moulis and Listrac in the Médoc and Fronsac, Canon-Fronsac and Côtes de Castillon on the “right bank” (of the Gironde river) can also produce excellent wines, generally at much lower prices. In fact, many vineyard owners in the swankier districts have been buying up choice parcels in some of these so-called satellite appellations, and it’s clear that the soils and microclimates in some of these spots are capable of producing superb wine. READ MORE »
The wines of Burgundy, reds as well as whites, are classified into five categories based upon the quality of their terroir (all the factors that contribute to the distinctiveness of a particular site; please refer to my earlier post on this subject). This hierarchy of vineyard sites has been established over literally hundreds of years. While wine romantics like to believe that this pecking order is based on a given site’s ability to produce wines of outstanding complexity and individuality, a more important original factor may have been far more prosaic: the ability of the site (owing to its soil, exposition, drainage, natural protection from heat and cold winds, and so on) to ripen its fruit on a regular basis. READ MORE »
Noble rot (botrytis cinerea) is a mold that develops under the right climatic conditions (generally alternating humidity and dry heat), devouring the skins of white grapes, turning them purplish grey and furry and eventually killing them. While the chemical action of this fungus is imperfectly understood, botrytis has the beneficent effect of concentrating sugars and acids, and increasing glycerine, as the skins shrivel and the grapes dehydrate. The tastes and textures of noble rot drive many wine drinkers wild. READ MORE »
