2. • An ancient vineyard
• 1152 : wedding of Alienor of Aquitaine with Henri Plantagenet
strong commercial links with England, the golden age of claret !
• 15th century: Aquitaine returns under the French crown
end of the trade with England
• 17th century: Holland, Hanse and Brittany are the main markets
for Bordeaux wines
A historical summary
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3. • 18th century: development of trade with the Caribbean
• 19th century: major investments in quality wine production, fighting the vine
diseases (oidium, mildew, phylloxera)
• 1936: Creation of INAO (Institut National des Appellations d’Origine)
• 1948: Creation of the CIVB (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
A historical summary
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4. • Almost 110 250 hectares – largest French region of AOC
• 1,5% of the world vineyard
• 5 million hectolitres of quality wine produced pa (average production)
• 7 900 wine estates
• 60 different appellations
• The origin of the world famous grape varieties
Bordeaux today
(Cabernet, Merlot, Sauvignon)
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8. 1. Colour
2. Reflections
3. Quality of the bouquet
4. First nose: at rest
5. Second nose: after swirling
6. Flavours
7. Retro-nasal
8. Balance
9. Length
10. Comments
10 ways to describe a wine
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15. Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur
Côtes de Bordeaux
Saint-Emilion – Pomerol – Fronsac
Médoc and Graves
Dry white Bordeaux
Sweet white Bordeaux
The 6 families
of Bordeaux wines
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17. • Hot sunny summers
• Fine autumns
• Winters with rare frosts
• Damp springs
• The Gulf Stream
warms ans regulates temperatures
• Pine forests barrier
protects the vineyard from Atlantic winds and storms
A favourable climate
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18. • Left bank of the Garonne
Gravel soils
• Between the Garonne and the Dordogne
Clay-limestone soils
• Right bank of the Dordogne
Clay, limestone, sand and some gravels
A great diversity of soils
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22. Characteristics
of the red grape varieties
MERLOT
• Early ripening
• High degree of alcohol
• Supple and round
• Aromatic (red fruits)
• Rapid aromatic evolution
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
• Late ripening
• Tannic
• Aromatic young wines (black fruits)
• Apt for ageing
CABERNET FRANC
• High degree of alcohol
• Elegant tannins and aromas
PETIT VERDOT, MALBEC, CARMENÈRE
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32. 1. Match the strength of the food and the wine
2. The complexity of th food and the wine
3. Flavour traditional regional marriages
4. Experiment with the dominant flavours in the food and the wine
Reinforce-eg: the acidity of sorrel / the acidity of an Entre-Deux-Mers
Contrast-eg: acid / bitterness of Roquefort / sweetness of a Sauternes
Accompany-eg: bitterness of chocolat / supple red Bordeaux with light tannins
The 4 rules of
food and wine matching
Light food Light wine
Strong food Powerful wine
Simple food Simple wine
Complex food Complex wine
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33. • The Classified Growths of Bordeaux represent at most 3 to 5%
• 95% of Bordeaux wines are for everyday and every budget
• The ageing potential depends upon the style of the wine,
its quality, the vintage, the terroir, the wine making techniques...
Purchasing and storage advice
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