Bordeaux
Bordeaux, the city that gives its name to a whole region, is located
near the confluence of two great rivers, the Dordogne and the Garonne,
protected from the Atlantic by a kind of flat land shield. The ocean is
the sea route to the rest of the world to the north, south and west of
France, and thereby lies much of Bordeaux’s long-running success. Its
geographic position means that Bordeaux is and has always been a city for
trade and commerce, for innovation and agriculture.
The city of Bordeaux has a population of around 230,000, although its
bigger urban area is more than three times as populous. It is the
administrative capital of the Aquitaine region, one of the most dynamic in
France. It’s a region of agriculture, history, and a modern centre for
aeronautics, space, and optics, with the most powerful laser in the world
being installed, ready to be fully operational by 2010.
It’s a great city to walk in, since it reveals its history through
its buildings and squares. Pedestrian malls make it easy. On foot,
visitors weave in and out of centuries of city life, through laneways and
little squares into broad spaces and monumental fountains. From inside the
old walls, the view through the 15th century gate takes in the five later
centuries of life in Bordeaux, with glimpses of the broad sweep of
classical 18th buildings and squares, 19th century fountains and essential
bridges, 20th century cars and roadways, 21st century innovative tramway.
The 18th century was good to Bordeaux, as its great classic architecture
shows: the handsome buildings and broad avenues are a testimony to the
power and wealth of trade. The early 19th revival included the wonderful
Place de Quinconces, restored to glory a few years ago. The old city has
three UNESCO-classified World Heritage sites. The 21st century has brought
urban renewal, and a sense of modern energy.
A growing and prosperous city, this is a centre of universities (there
are four of them) and learning, of philosophers and writers – Montaigne,
Montesquieu and Mauriac. It’s a city of parks and gardens, classical and
contemporary art and theatre, sport, and wonderful food markets.
Modern Bordeaux is still energised by the wine trade, with major
international wine fairs and festivals. There’s the very popular
biannual Fete du Vin, the professional biennial Vinitech and Vinexpo
exhibitions, and all the festivals marking the flowering of the vines, the
start of vintage, and the new wine.
Like other European wine capitals, Bordeaux was established by the
Romans, who planted the vineyards that have been an essential part of its
fortunes over the millennia. The English acquired the area when Eleonor of
Aquitaine married Henry II of England in the middle of the 12th century,
and kept it – on and off – until the end of the Hundred Years War in
1453, when the French took it back permanently. But the lucrative wine
trade with the English continued, followed by enthusiastic trade with the
Dutch. Then came the riches of the French West Indies.
These days the city blends history with modern style – with
technology, lively restaurants and bars, revivified riverbanks, and a
brilliant public transport system.
Bordeaux – the wine region – is the largest producer of AOC wine
area in the world, with more than 115,000 hectares. The area produces
about 900 million bottles of wine annually, of which most is red. The
great winemaking areas surround the city: the Médoc to the north, St
Emilion and Pomerol to the east, Graves and Sauternes to the south.
The great names here are as legendary as old Greek gods: Château
Latour, Château Lafite, Château Margaux, Petrus, Château d’Yquem.
Only 40kms away is St Emilion, a medieval walled town that has World
Heritage Listing.
The great names represent only a fraction of what happens here: the
diversity of appellations, vineyards, classifications and growers is rich
and rewarding.
The wines
The wine region has 57 AOC (appellations d’origine contrôlée), with
around 5000 châteaux and 60 cooperatives. Wine is a major employer in the
area: about one in six people is employed in the industry.
The range of grape varieties used in comparatively small, but with
considerable variation of terroir. The characteristics of the great wines
is their structure and their extraordinary ability to age. In optimum
conditions, the great vintages can age for decades, improving year by
year, and then holding their condition for some time. A great vintage is a
declaration of optimism, of faith in the future.
Broadly, the Médoc, a kind of peninsula to the north of the city
between the Gironde and the Atlantic, contains the appellations of St-Julien,
St-Estèphe, Margaux, and Pauillac. On its low gravelly hills are grown a
small range of red grapes – cabernet sauvignon mainly, with cabernet
franc, merlot and a little petit verdot.
The area of Entre-deux-Mers (between the waters of the Gironde and
Dordogne) is the largest vineyard area. Its reds are made from cabernet
sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot – which also make rosé – and in
white wines, sauvignon blanc is the dominant variety.
Graves, to the south of the city, stretches along the left bank of the
Garonne, where the pebbly soils produce red wines mainly from cabernet
sauvignon. The whites are made of sauvignon blanc and Semillon. The great
sweet wines of Bordeaux are grown on the banks of the Garonne, around the
village of Sauternes, where the microclimate favours the growth of the
benevolent rot that turns semillon (with a little sauvignon blanc and
muscadelle) into fabulous golden wine.
To the west, the Libournais includes St-Emilion, Pomerol and Fronsac.
Merlot is the predominant variety here, with some cabernet sauvignon and
cabernet franc.
The five Côtes are the vineyards spread across the region, mainly on
the right banks of the Dordogne and Garonne rivers. The red grapes include
two not grown elsewhere: malbec and carmenère.
See: Bordeaux
Image Gallery
Contact: bordeaux@greatwinecapitals.com |
