Bordeaux is home to white and rosé wine – not just red
Mention Bordeaux wines and most people's thoughts turn to those world-famous reds, which have been making even more headlines than usual lately after what is said to be the best vintage in living memory last year.
The region's whites and ross have inevitably been overshadowed for a very long time, even though not so many years ago the region was producing more white wine than red.
This is the time of year when these wines should come out from under the bushel, because many of them compare favourably both in terms of price and quality with generally more expensive white Burgundies and hocks.
I have been a regular buyer of sauvignon blanc for years, some from the New World and often from France, where Bordeaux dishes up some good bottles.
The region's whites are usually made from sauvignon blanc on its own, or sometimes blended with semillon – the former lively and crisp, the latter adding fuller flavours like apricots.
In the recent heat of a sultry summer evening, a glass of chilled Chateau Tour Leognan 2008 (13 per cent, 11.86, Waitrose) proved very acceptable, even though above my usual maximum, which tends to be around a tenner.
I was additionally cheered by a little red sticker on the bottle warning me that 'price may change in the emergency Budget.' By then, the Budget had taken place some time previously, and, courtesy of George Osborne, wine was left unscathed.
This young, dry, pale golden wine was aged in oak for ten months, with occasional stirring of the lees.
It is a blend of 65 per cent sauvignon blanc and 35 per cent semillon, medium-bodied, with a clean, zingy, mineral style and hints of vanilla from the oaky encounter. Fine for all sorts of sea-food.
Especially good value for the price is Bordeaux Sauvignon 2009 (12 per cent, 6.49, Marks and Spencer), right, which is 100 per cent sauvignon blanc, and boasts the tang of gooseberries and touches of herbs.
It has a nice fragrance and is unoaked, which many drinkers find appealing – allowing the flavours of the grapes to shine through. It's recommended as an aperitif, but would also be nice with summer salads.
A very contrasting style is provided by Prestige de Calvet Bordeaux Blanc 2008 (11.5 per cent, 8.49, Sainsbury, Tesco and Morrison), right, in which semillon is the major ingredient, providing 75 per cent, and sauvignon blanc 25 per cent.
The result is a more rounded wine, with grapefruit and lemon and a light, juicy acidity. A refreshing summery glassful.
Three different grapes compete for attention in Chateau de Parenchere Bordeaux Blanc Sec 2008 (12.5 per cent, 9.99, Nicolas – www.nicolas.com.
The 70 per cent sauvignon blanc gives a grassy zest and a concentrated citrus aroma, and the 20 per cent semillon a background softness.
I guess the remaining ten per cent muscadelle provides a bit of French elegance.
Best lightly chilled, but not too much, or the contrasting tastes are obscured. A wine for fish and poultry.
Finally, a Bordeaux ros with some very fulsome and complex flavours – Chateau Meaume Ros (13.5 per cent, 6.99, Majestic)
I've tasted claret from this chateau in the past but never before a ros – which is produced there in limited quantities.
It's a smooth pink wine, with flavours unusually rich for a rose of ripe summer fruits – 70 per cent merlot and 30 per cent cabernet franc.
I regularly buy different ross, and can record that I enjoyed a glass of this one, just before a meal, sitting out in the garden under the rustling trees, and reflecting on life.
What do you think? Send a letter to news@chiobserver.co.uk or leave a comment below.
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Weather for Chichester
Tuesday 29 May 2012
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