What an invitation! To time travel to the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s with these images of wine bottle labels from Bordeaux wines!

Bordeaux wine labels from the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

These labels and others, carefully removed from the bottles and kept over the years, are a wonderful and much appreciated gift.

The Bordeaux wine area consists of two main geographic areas on the banks of the Garonne, Dordogne and the Gironde, which is the estuary where the Dordogne and Garonne rivers meet:  left bank for Medoc and right bank for St Emilion and areas.

Bordeaux wine area

A closer view

The world famous Bordeaux wines are a blend of predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot together with lesser amounts of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.    What’s interesting about the Bordeaux area is that the percentages of the wines in the blend vary according to geography.    For example, the Medoc area wines generally feature more Cabernet Sauvignon whereas the St Emilion areas feature more Merlot.

The roles that these predominant varieties play in the wines is important in considering which type of wine to buy from personal preference and to pair with different dishes.  

Cabernet Sauvignon provides more structure to the blend, considering tannins and acidity.    It also provides dark-fruit flavours of blackcurrant and bell pepper.  

Merlot is usually juicier and adds some softness with more fruit flavours.   These two varieties complement each other and provide long term potential for ageing when made by skilled winemakers.

Given that winemakers create their own preferred ratios of Cabernet Sauvignon to Merlot depending on soil, climate, and all the aspects of terroir, it is important to always look at the back label to see the percentages of the varieties in the Bordeaux wines one is buying, because this will give an indictation of the ambiance of the wine.     In addition to this, also factoring in the geographic area within the Bordeaux area that the wine is coming from is important.

The Bordeaux Medoc and left bank wines (those typically with a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon) were featured on my earlier December blog with a chart comparing the assessment of Jane Anson, Master of Wine and Decanter’s Bordeaux Correspondent with the wines available through the (British Columbia) BC Liquor Stores for the 2018 wine release available in September this year.  

As I highlighted in that earlier blog, Jane Anson wrote her En Primeur Report in the Decanter Magazine June 2019 issue, with not only an assessment of the 2018 vintage overall but she also assessed each individual château and identifies those châteaux she considered at the time to be Top Value, Producer to Watch or Potential 100 (i.e. possibility of being rated 100 points).

The chart below compares the Decanter Magazine assessment of the Bordeaux St Emilion and other right bank appellations (typically those wines with a higher percentage of Merlot) with the wines available through the BC Liquor Stores.

It’s interesting to note that 2018 was a year of high sugars and high tannins for the Bordeaux right bank wines.

The chart demonstrates where the opinions of Jane Anson MW coincide with the opinions of the BC Liquor Store Masters of Wine buyers.    Again, only the chateaux highlighted by Jane Anson as Top Value, Producer to Watch or Potential 100 points for the St Emilion right bank wines are included in the chart.  It’s a smaller list than the Medoc and Left Bank comparison list and none of Jane Anson’s Producer to Watch category made it to the BC Liquor Stores list.

For me, a second opinion from a valued source is always helpful.

There are, of course, many more Bordeaux 2018 wines than those listed here available in the BC Liquor Stores.

The two charts of what was anticipated about the 2018 Bordeaux vintage in the En Primeur tastings in 2019 compared with the availability of wines in British Columbia Liquor Stores are helping me build an expanded list of possible wine producers to consider and watch for in future vintages.

Bordeaux wines are fascinating in their complexity and subtleties.  I applaud the magic of the winemakers in producing superb wines and appreciate the efforts of the highly skilled Masters of Wine in presenting these wines and relevant information to consumers.

Wishing all a happy and healthy 2022,

elizabethsvines

References:

Decanter Magazine June 2019

BC Liquor Stores  2018 Bordeaux Release Guide

Elizabethsvines December 2021 blog post: Bordeaux Release