A Bordeaux Book Review

I recently finished reading Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution by William Echikson. This non-fiction volume focuses on the sweeping changes that have occurred over the past two decades in the world's most famous wine making region. First some background info on Bordeaux and French Wine.

Wine from "new world" regions (i.e. America, New Zealand, Chile) is labeled and sold with the varietal right on the label. It allows the buyer to easily locate what they like or don't, such as a cabernet versus a merlot. French, and other "old world" wines, are labeled and sold by their region. You'll be hard pressed to find a traditional French vinter who puts the names of grapes right on his label. So when we talk about red wines from Bordeaux we are focusing on two major grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and some minor ones used for blending, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, and Malbec. A Bordeaux will be crafted from some assemblance of these grapes that are blended together. For white wines, you'll find mostly Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion in your bottle with some vinters using Muscadelle to add fruit flavors. In America today, you'll find mostly strict varietal wines, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon with a minor percentage of Merlot added to soften the wine. But there are "Bordeaux-style Blends" that are commonly referred to as Meritages in America. Joseph Phelps Insignia is perhaps the flagship of this American take on the French classic.

Also in Bordeaux, the wines are classified into a tiered system to designate quality. In 1855 Paris was hosting the world's fair and the French government wanted a way to classify wines to point visitors to their highest quality wine in the simplest manner. The winemaker's union in Bordeaux released their 1855 classification based on five tiered system for the wines from the Mèdoc. The "first-growths" were the wines with the highest regard, and price. One first growth, Chateau Haut-Brion, is from Graves but was added due to its high-esteem, and another, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, petitionedd to move up from second to first-growth and was officiallyy classified as such in 1973. This classification however, did not encompass all of Bordeaux. It left the "right bank" wines from St. Emillion off the list. Many terrific, first-growth quality wines are produced here, so in 1985 they devised their own classification.

At last onto the book review. Echikson wove his tale of the ever-changing Bordeaux landscape around three primary types of vinters in the region. The first is a classic family-owned Chateau, struggling to survive with France's antiquated political and judicial systems. The second depicts what are known as garage wines, upstart wineries with small plots of land and harsh harvest techniques, that create outstanding wines that are created and aged out of a garage essentially. And third, the new money in Bordeaux; outsiders coming in with financial backing to purchase, renovate, and rejuvenate chateaux that may have lost their luster. He also includes commentary on how all these types of wineries are affected by celebrity wine makers like Michael Rolland, who will help anyone create a high-scoring wine for the right price, and Robert Parker, the Maryland lawyer who changed Bordeaux forever with his analysis of the 1982 vintage.

Chateaut D'Yquem creates what is perhaps the finest of all French wines. It is a sweet wine from Sauternes that comes from the Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion grapes. The grapes are only harvested after they have succumbed to Botryis, also referred to as Noble Rot. The grapes that are harvested look shriveled and brown from the fungus, but this concentrates the fruit, and the resulting wine can best be described as sweet nectar of the gods. D'Yquem fought through nasty family problems as a group of family members banded to together to try and overtake Alexandre de Lur-Saluces, who they felt was mismanaging the family treasure. They weren't able to take control, but decided instead to sell off to an investor who could afford to take care of the Chateau and continue to produce an outstanding wine. They eventually sold to LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), and its owner Bernard Arnault. However, at the last moment Lur-Saluces also offered Arnault his share of ownership at a premium in return for staying on to operate D'Yquem and having his family barred from the board of director's and the estate. Arnault agreed and Lur-Saluces last second maneuver turned certain defeat to his family into sweet revenge, perhaps even sweeter than his wine.

The garage wines have become quite the phenomenan in Bordeaux. The typical garage winemaker is local villager who has a small plot of vineyard that he used to simply harvest and sell the grapes off in bulk. But by drastically reducing yields and harvesting heavily concentrated and ultra-ripe grapes that are then fermented and aged in %100 new oak barrels, they can create a wine that will eventually sell for over a hundred dollars a bottle. All they need to get started is a merchant willing to take a chance and an opportunity to have Robert Parker taste their wine. If Parker comes in and gives one of the garage wines a good score, it will sell its futures in a matter of hours at double the typical cost. Some call it the "Parkerization" of the wine industry. Parker gives a wine a good score and consumers assume it must be a great wine. But remember what I always say, wine is about what you like and what you enjoy, not Robert Parker. His scores and the ones from Wine Spectator, can be a good guide, but your palate needs to be the final judge.

The final plot in the book focuses on the new money. Mainly a man named Yves Vatelot who searches out properties that have fallen into disarray and are making wine unworthy of their classified growth. His most recent venture is Chateau Lascombes. Lascombes is a second-growth that had been slowly declining in quality. Parker felt a re-evaluation of Bordeaux would make it a fifth-growth. Vatelot, backed by investors, cleaned up the vineyards, instituted the harsh harvesting techniques used by the new-age wineries in Bordeaux, built a new winery and cellar, and crossed his fingers for good weather. After a few vintages, Lascombes was on the rebound and appearing to be a wise investment. In the future, I'll let you know how Vatelot is doing, I purchased a bottle of Chateau Lascombes yesterday.

I felt William Echikson did a superb job with his novel. Noble Rot came across as both educational and historical, providing plenty of details about the past, and terrific insights into what is happening in the present. I highly recommend it for anyone with an interest in wine who wants to quickly increase their knowledge of the French wine industry. Where will Bordeaux go from here? After four years of average wines, 2005 appears to be not only the greatest vintage
since 2000, but perhaps even better than the banner year of 1982. Some experts even feel it could turn out to be the greatest vintage ever! Time will tell. Till next time..."Yves, you may be a pain in the ass to work with, but you sure make one helluva wine."--Jeffrey Davies, American turned Bordeaux Merchant