Best Buy Bordeaux

What is an affordable Bordeaux and who the heck cares? To start with, the history surrounding the Bordeaux region is intense. Vineyards were originally planted between 43-71ad by Roman Soldiers (according to Pliny the Elder) and within 500 years became France’s #1 agricultural export. This crazy-rich farmland consists of two river valleys converging into one, the Gironde which becomes a river estuary & a massive natural port onto the Atlantic. After the marriage of Henry Plantagenet & Alienor of Aquitaine in the 12th century, commercial production of red & white wines blew up.

Red vineyards make up 90% of the plantings in Bordeaux with a few sneaky good whites also being produced there. The wines are generally more light-bodied than you’d expect but as you dive a little deeper into the glass they start to really shine. The sexy balance of fruit, acid and texture (mouth-feel) is a hallmark of these bottles. That lightness on the palate makes for super food-friendly bottles; perhaps better with dinner than as a cocktail. This region can also have legit lousy-growing vintages due to early season frost killing the buds or heavy rainfall, but global warming is having a beneficial effect as of late. Warmer growing seasons lead to more consistent harvests and bigger fruit profiles in the juice.

Chateau de Bernadon 2017 ($21.99)
Tightly wound core of blackberry and bramble, surprising length. Gold medal 2019 Concours de Bordeaux. This one could sit in the cellar for a couple of years and only improve.

Chateau Haut Tornezy 2019 ($11.99)
Nice dry simple red for that burger on a random Tuesday night. Jane found a steal of a deal at this price!

Bio-dynamic and organic vineyard practices are being implemented in Bordeaux more slowly than elsewhere in France. They have way too much invested in the hundreds of years of tradition to disregard what has been working for this new hippie winemaking “trend.” I think they’ll eventually find a way to adopt their own buzzword for whatever sustainable farming standards the very conservative governors there all end up agreeing to. 

Cheers,
Eric