Bordeaux

When considering the unofficial lists of “First Growths of the Right Bank” in Bordeaux, Chateau Pétrus must be included.  Pétrus is located in the tiny commune of Pomerol on the right bank of the Gironde River.  The wines of Pomerol have never been classified, but there is no doubt that Pétrus is in the highest echelon of wines produced there.  It is also one of the most expensive wines sold anywhere in the world.  While the name of the estate is Chateau Pétrus, there is no grand Chateau on the premises.  There is a modest two story house on the property.  Perhaps because of that, or perhaps just due to its reputation, the wines are often just referred to as Pétrus.  The name is homage to St. Peter whose picture appears on the label.

Pétrus does not have the long history of many of the great Bordeaux wines.  Thomas Jefferson most likely never drank it.  The estate property was originally owned by the Arnaud family since the mid 1700s.  At that time, the estate was 17 acres.  The name Pétrus can be found in records dating back to 1837.  In 1868 Chateau Pétrus was ranked in quality behind two other Pomerol estates:  Vieux Chateau Certan and Chateau Trotanoy, as listed by Cocks and Fèret, one of the leading Bordeaux reference’s of its day.

In the series on the 1855 Classification of the First Growths, I spoke exclusively about red wines.  In that same year, however, the sweet dessert wines from the Bordeaux communes of Barsac and Sauternes were also classified.  All of the dessert wines listed were rated as either premier cru (first growth) or second growth status.  That is, all but Yquem which was rated Premier Cru Superieur (First Great Growth), a higher rating even than any red wine achieved in their 1855 Classification.  Yquem is quite possibly the greatest wine made anywhere and has a history dating back four hundred years!  While every wine region has its stars, there is probably no other winery that so dominates the quality of a region and has such as a lofty reputation as Chateau Yquem.

What makes these wines so special is that they develop a rot called botrytis cinera also known as Noble Rot.  When certain grapes are attacked they get moldy which, in a wonderful twist of fate, causes the grapes to lose much of their moisture, concentrating the flavors.  The resulting grapes look like moldy shriveled raisins that produce a sweet nectar.

In the original 1855 classification, there were four chateaus granted first growth status.  Over the ensuing years there has been one major change.  In 1973, Chateau Mouton Rothschild was granted an upgrade from second to first growth status.  It was a promotion that was deserved for many reasons.  Foremost, of course, the quality of the wine, but Chateau Mouton Rothschild has long been an innovator and leader of Bordeaux.

Chateau Margaux is in the Bordeaux commune of Margaux on the left bank of the Gironde River.  The wines made in Margaux are some of the most feminine in style of all Bordeaux wines.  Among the wines of Margaux, the wines of Chateau Margaux are the best of all of those.  From their perfumed nose to their lithe complexities, they are wines that reflect their terroir in a most elegant way.

The history of Chateau Margaux can be traced back at least to the twelfth century when it was known as “La Mothe de Margaux” from motte meaning a small rise in the land.  Sometime during the 16th century, the first grape vines were planted under the direction of Pierre de Lastonnac.  Within the next hundred years, Chateau Margaux expanded to cover 654 acres, approximately one-third of that with grape vines.  In the 1700s, an estate manager named Berlon introduced many “new” improvements.  Today, his ideas are common sense, but back then they were radical.  Ideas such as not picking grapes when they were wet and vinifying the red and white grapes separately led to a much higher quality of wine.  The result was evident as by 1771 the wines of Margaux were featured in the catalogues of Christie’s.  Around that time, America’s first wine lover, Thomas Jefferson, rated Chateau Margaux as the top wine in Bordeaux.  His meticulous records document an order he placed in 1784.