In my personal view, this sells the category short. 2019 Chateau La Hargue Moelleux Bordeaux Semi-Dry – This wine is from the broadest region in the area, which spans all of Bordeaux. A little history first: Until the great frost of 1956 devastated so much of the Bordeaux vineyard, more white grapes were planted, in Bordeaux, than red.

Vineyard practices, such as ensuring moderate hydric stress and controlled nitrogen supply, were noted to encourage the development of thee pre-cursors in the grapes during the growing season. Some run slightly to fat. Stylistically, they tend to be slightly lower in alcohol and acidity than the 2015s, with less expressive flavours. About 10 percent of the wine produced in Bordeaux is dry white. Today, there is incredible dynamism and passion among the many small growers, who are very terroir-focused with plot by plot viticulture and curious in experimenting with more interesting blends as well as varietal wines that go beyond Sauvignon Blanc, such as varietal Semillon, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle wines. Summer was if anything too hot to produce nervy wines and most of these were best drunk young, although there are one or two great wines at the top of the tree. Nestled within the northern part of Graves, it is considered to have the best terroir and is home to all of the Châteaux included in the 1959 Classification of Graves. Many of these are small and not so internationally commercialized. Two bottles of Château Latour-Martillac, Cru Classé de Graves were submitted and tasted but both were corked. They discovered just how tasty dry white Bordeaux could be. Mostly richer, fuller and more complex than 1989, but not very long-lived. The largest and most important appellation is the over-arching designation Bordeaux Blanc, whose wines can come from anywhere within the total Bordeaux wine area. Understanding these molecules helped winegrowers better manage work in the vineyard and in the winery to maximize the development of these molecules in the grapes. Lots of body and flavour and structure thanks to the warm summer wherever grapes were picked before the mid-September rains.

Bordeaux (dry white) OUR COLORS AND THEIR FLAVOR PROFILES. 2006 The cool August preserved acid levels and fruit in these wines, which deserve serious attention. Attractive wines with no shortage of ripeness. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. Believe it or not there are actually 13 different appellations for dry white wine production across Bordeaux. Small crop of concentrated, fragrant wines. ‘This is so rich and aromatic,’ one remarked. One group of wines in this region that doesn’t get as much coverage is the dry white wines. Avoided the rains: generally good, soft and full, sometimes outstanding. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. Not nearly as exciting as the reds, with lowish acidity a shortcoming. A long growing season and cool September nights, along with increasing white winemaking skill, produced a good tally of wines with impressive acid levels – a relief after 2003. European Garnacha/Grenache Producers’ Best Practices and Their Terroirs, Episode 1: The Journey to Master of Wine with Lindsay Pomeroy. Some real energy and excitement in dry whites. Beyond Tempranillo: Exciting Reds from Spain’s Lesser-Known Varieties, 10 German Grape Varieties Every Somm Should Know, The SOMM Journal’s Global Wine Tasting Series Produced by SommCon, Created in Partnership National Geographic. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. ‘I want to try more white Bordeaux,’ another said. Some run slightly to fat. While most of these wines are from the Entre-Deux-Mers (choosing to use the Bordeaux Blanc appellation), the designation also includes dry whites produced in areas such as the Médoc, Sauternes, Saint Émilion, etc. Called aroma pre-cursors, these molecules are non-volatile in grapes but are rendered volatile through the process of fermentation. My recent article, Bordeaux Wine Region in France: World's Most Famous Fine Wine Region, offered a general overview on the wines of Bordeaux. Potentially superb as fully ripe grapes were again gathered before the rains. {"api":{"host":"https:\/\/pinot.decanter.com","authorization":"Bearer MWE2MDc0MDlhMGEyMGQxMzY4OWEzYTJmYWM1YzZhNmQxZGUyYzNiMjJhYjA5NDAyMzUzNzlkMzg0ZWU1OWFhMw","version":"2.0"},"piano":{"sandbox":"false","aid":"6qv8OniKQO","rid":"RJXC8OC","offerId":"OFPHMJWYB8UK","offerTemplateId":"OFPHMJWYB8UK","wcTemplateId":"OTOW5EUWVZ4B"}}, {"location":"Keystone Header","subscribeText":"Subscribe Now","version":"2","menuWidgetTitle":"","myAccountLnk":"\/wine-reviews\/account","premiumLnk":"\/subscribe","menuLnks":{"2":{"text":"My Wines","href":"\/wine-reviews\/my-wines"}},"colors":{"text":"#ffffff","button":"#decc8f","link":"#ffffff"}}. Apart from introducing techniques such as reductive winemaking, temperature control, and skin contact for dry whites, Dubourdieu and his research team at the University of Bordeaux identified the precise molecules in the Sauvignon Blanc grape responsible for its different aromatic and flavor characteristics. There is experimentation with different fermentation vessels, vinification methods, maturation techniques, and lees treatment. Though relatively small, the category has never been more exciting. Acid levels were dangerously low in the heatwave. Explore the diversity of Bordeaux wines, from the fruitiest to the most intense. Plenty of others, however, are relatively new creations and remain works in progress. In the cellar, skin contact and precise management of the pressing helped extract these pre-cursors from the grape skins. Picked too soon, generally light and not a patch on the reds except for Laville-Haut-Brion and Haut-Brion. The Château de Fieuzal Blanc AOC Pessac-Léognan 2015 vintage is one of 15 wines tasted for this article, but many more illustrate the extent to which consumers overlook Bordeaux’s dry whites, the best from the Graves region and especially from its northern appellation Pessac-Léognan. The season’s low temperatures benefited these dry whites, as in 2006. White Bordeaux wines are essentially blends, made from innumerable (and delicious) permutations and combinations of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Muscadelle and Sauvignon Gris. One significant difference is that wines labeled Bordeaux Blanc can be single varietal wines or a blend, whereas wines labeled Entre-Deux-Mers must be a blend of two or more varieties. Pessac-Léognan and Graves are both good, with more ‘liveliness’ than the average vintage. Yields for Sauvignon Blanc were a bit lower than for Sémillon, compounded by severe hail in Entre-Deux-Mers and Graves, leading to some supply shortages.