Author: Dirk Chan
There are many who consider Bordeaux to the best wine producing region in the world (and certainly one of the most expensive). Our first Top Drops tasting of 2011 will be part one of a three part exploration into this famed region. Part One Features the ‘Saints’ of Bordeaux. The river Gironde runs divides the left bank with its Cabernet Sauvignon dominant wines, while the right bank is Merlot dominant. We’ll sample three wines each from the left bank appellations of St. Estephe and St. Julien, and finish off with the right bank of St. Emilion. There will be a young wine, a mid-term wine and an older wine in each of the three flights to clearly demonstrate the traits and evolution of the wines in each of the three regions.
St. Estephe (the northern most region), and St. Julien although both left bank wines are radically different in character. The former is earthy, barnyardy and hard as nails when young. The latter is more about cedar, licorice and slightly softer and easier to drink. St. Emilion is a bolder appellation with the greatest number of estate and thus a great deal of difference in styles within the region. No two St. Emilions are the same as the blends and house styles can be extremely radical with new and old world influences even amongst neighbours.
We are eight people short of minimum quota to make this tasting a go, so if you’re interested at all in finding out about Bordeaux, please sign up as soon as possible.
Part two will feature the P’s of Bordeaux – the two most famous regions of left bank Pauillac and right bank superstars Pomerol and the intriguing Graves region of Pessac Leognan. The third part will feature the M’s of Margaux and the rest of the Medoc. We hope you can join us for all three parts of this extensive look into the wines of Bordeaux.