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It is possible to find quality wine for under $25 from this fabled region. Here is a guide to the best.
It is possible to find quality wine for under $25 from this fabled region. Here is a guide to the best.
Bordeaux and value? That can't be right. The name of Bordeaux conjures up grand chateaus, with wines that command equally grand prices.
Well, think again. Bordeaux currently represents some of the best value in the world. These are finely crafted wines, showing individuality and great flavors that work better with food than any high-alcohol fruit bomb. And all these attributes can be found, very often, for under $25 a bottle. Now that's value. (See sidebars for selections of producers to look for.)
First, some demystifying. The celebrity crus classés of Bordeaux represent no more than 10% of the region's production and the properties that command the astronomical prices are an even smaller portion. So few estates, so few wines, and yet they have skewed the image of Bordeaux to the point that many wine lovers automatically assume that all Bordeaux wine is beyond their budget, certainly for a Tuesday night supper.
But once out of the stratosphere, there is so much to choose from. Many of the crus classés themselves sell for under $50, as do most of the other estates in the major appellations of the Médoc—what are called the crus bourgeois.
Below $25, there is another extreme value category that offers exciting wines from appellations that are not so well known (but ought to be), like Côtes de Castillon, Lalande de Pomerol, Montagne St-Emilion, Côtes de Blaye, Premières Côtes de Bordeaux, Haut-Médoc and Graves. The best growers in these appellations can equal the top classed growths in their attention to detail.
Another category that is often dismissed is branded Bordeaux—blended wines bottled by Bordeaux merchants under brand names. While some garner little interest, there are several well made, reliable, enjoyable wines that sell for around $12.
At these prices, it is hard for winegrowers to make a living. We should applaud those who operate in the lesser regions of Bordeaux, producing delicious wines. Take the Despagne family, based in the heart of the Entre-deux-Mers, a beautiful region that is so often the source of basic Bordeaux.
The Despagnes' wines are anything but basic, a testament to their winemaking practices. Basaline Despagne, commercial director of Vignobles Despagne, says, "We spend as much money in winemaking as the crus classes. Girolate [a 100% Merlot wine] is as expensive to make as any grand cru." Yet they are still value priced, Despagne says. "It's hard to put our prices up because we are still seen as Bordeaux. Last year, we were able to increase the price of Château Mont Pérat for the first time in 12 years."
The arrival of quality wines from Bordeaux at these exceptional price points is relatively new. Many of the wineries on our list of the 40 Best Bordeaux Buys are now available to wine drinkers in the United States, thanks to competition, investment in viticulture and winemaking, technical and managerial know-how, the change of generation and more openness in the world.
Another factor is the succession of good to great vintages that Bordeaux has seen, certainly since 2000. With the sole exception of 2002 (and even that vintage produced some delicious white wines), every vintage of this new century has offered good wine. And the late 1990s saw three vintages—1995, 1996 and 1998—of considerable quality. These wines can still be found.
"I think Bordeaux produces great value," says Stuart Randall of Brooklyn, NY-based Bayfield Importing. "We explain that this is the French version of Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, and then let the bottle speak for itself. There's been an explosion of prices in California, and that has left an opening for Bordeaux. I think Bordeaux is coming back."
Fabulous fringes of Bordeaux
The sheer variety of Bordeaux can seem overwhelming. But don't let that prevent you from exploring some of the lesser-known estates on the borders of the region. Here, from the right bank of the Gironde Estuary to the left, are a few areas on the fringes of Bordeaux whose wines are worth seeking out.
In the north-east of Bordeaux, the two cities of Bourg and Blaye are conveniently paired, with ancient neighboring vineyards facing the great estates of the Médoc across the Gironde estuary. Of the two appellations—Côtes de Bourg and Côtes de Blaye—the former is more consistent, but more expensive. Merlot dominates, producing wine with red fruits and firm tannins in youth. Names in Bourg to look out for are Château Brulesécaille, Château Fougas, Château Haut-Macô and Château Roc de Cambes. Blaye's reds used to be light, almost claret, but there has been an impressive change among top properties. The region also produces white wines, whose progress has been less marked. In Blaye, seek out Château Mondésir-Gazin and Château les Jonqueyres.
Far to the eastern border, in Côtes de Castillon and Bordeaux Côtes de Francs, château owners from neighboring St-Emilion have started buying and developing vineyards and then working them in the grand cru style of top St-Emilions. While more expensive, the wines of Stéphane Derenoncourt's Domaine de l'A, Stephan von Neipperg's Château d'Aiguilhe, Thierry Valette's Clos Puy Arnaud and Juliette Bécot's Château Joanin Bécot have set an example for others to follow, forcing some of the more traditional estates to smarten up their acts. In the value category, expect wines with a strong dominance of ripe Merlot that age more quickly and delicately, with some of the smoky, perfumed character of St-Emilion.
Just north of the high-priced, high-reputation vineyards of St-Emilion and Pomerol are what are known in the Bordeaux wine business as satellites: villages that are allowed to add the illustrious names of the neighbors to their own in order to push up their price and notoriety. Look for Montagne St-Emilion, Lussac St-Emilion, Puisseguin St-Emilion, St-Georges St-Emilion and, just next door, Lalande de Pomerol.
There is a mixed bag of quality from these villages. As in Côtes de Castillon, owners from St-Emilion and Pomerol have purchased estates and are setting the pace. If you don't mind paying over $25, Château Faizeau and Château la Couronne in Montagne, and Château la Mauriane in Puisseguin demand attention.
Just above Bordeaux city, in the Entre-deux-Mers region, is the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux. The potential here is obvious; steep clay-and-gravel vineyards with great exposure, on a smart slope about 60 miles away from the ocean. No wonder top consultant Denis Dubourdieu chose Château Reynon, located there, as his home base. The renaissance there is still patchy, so following estate names is the best guarantee. Along with those in the 40 Best Bordeaux Buys, look for Château Suau, Château Lezongars and Château Carsin.
On to the left bank of the Gironde: the Médoc and the Graves. The best value wines in the Médoc, although mostly above $25, are the crus bourgeois. Their quality varies enormously. The classification into categories, which began in 2003, (exceptionnel, supérieur and just crus bourgeois) was helpful, based as it was on tasting. But a recent court action saw the whole new system thrown out, with a return to the chaotic situation that was in place since 1932. So buy crus bourgeois by chateau name, not by classification. Apart from that, the best values are in the Médoc and Haut-Médoc appellations.
The Graves, home to Bordeaux's oldest vineyard, is a disappointment—with the exception of the Graves subappellation of Pessac-Léognan. Sure, there are values, but not enough for a region that has just the right soil and
the right climate. Lack of investment and urban sprawl on the edges of Bordeaux city are to blame here.
Throughout this vast region, from hill to dale and across the river, good value wines are lurking in Bordeaux. Some say that the French revolution of 1789 has never ended. But when it comes to contemporary, great tasting, good value wines in Bordeaux, the revolution has just (finally) begun.
Bordeaux Bargains
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