Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

Was 2001 a good year? Would you know? Would you care? you should…..

 

Why, because when you drink Bordeaux that is properly aged you will realize what the fuss is all about, trust… I didn't know until I did.. and now… I do…and I learned a lot... as you will see !

 

Dwight recently came home - yes remember the whole French Wine Scholar torturous classes he must attend.. yeah, one of those.. they spent time in Bordeaux… from that knowledge, tasting and experience.. I got to try… a really tasty bottle of Bordeaux.

 

this was it.. Yum.. Yum

 

So up front you need to know that Bordeaux when its released it not meant to be drank, Bordeaux is made to age. It is expected to spend a considerable amount of time in the cellar.. or your closet :-)

 

 



So if you have this........



or this.... keep it safe!

 

Most of our experiences with Bordeaux is that we drink it too young, this means it has some unsatisfying flavours… mainly; lots of tannin,  jammy fruit, or its overly woody. All of these things are there all the time however they are there in an overpowering way when the wine is young, but meld into a beautiful bouquet when aged.

 

The little number above is one that Dwight picked up to convince me that I would like Bordeaux…. I said.. bring it on.. I am not an easy push over… I might not be a FWS… but I drink A LOT of wine…!

So.. he did, and he was right…. it was awesome….without the education of the very scholastic language, I would say… it was smooth, it was balanced, and it most importantly for me.. did not have heavy tannins.

 

Some tips about Bordeaux:

 

$50 or less - hold for 5 to seven years, anything over this hold for at least 10 years.. (trust me it worth it)


Always decant a Bordeaux, it has just been sitting for a long time, it will have sentiment , thats ok.. you just don't want it in your teeth!

 

***as a note, the concept of "breathing" wines really only works well with young wines… oxygen is not a friend of old wines… decant to get the sentiment out.. then drink.. don't over agitate the wine… its not needed… its rather fragile.. and if I see you doing it.. I will hurt you…..

 

The regions in Bordeaux are the Left bank and Right bank, there just happens to be a major river that splits them.. yeah I know.. picture yourself in cottage there… enough said. The vines on the left bank (south side) are predominately Cabernet Sauvignon based and the soil is mostly gravel.

 

The right bank (north) are predominately merlot based.. and there the soil is mostly clay. Because of the terrior they both have a distinct flavour profile… again a situation where you have try to see which you like.. this may help!

 

 

 

I find the issue with Bordeaux is that we can't drink it… so waiting until its ready to drink makes it expensive, hard to find, and usually.. not something we pick up. For the finance people reading; they actually sell futures for each vintage… so every year the Chateaus will release tastings for the pervious harvest, these are evaluated to set a market price, the following year another sample will be released and again they will do another evaluation.. then a second price will be set…then just before they put it in the bottle the final price is set….... so the lesson of this economic story.. is know your wine! 

Yes, in case you have not already figured it out... Dwight right helped me write this … :-) Well, I kind of just typed !!!

Till next time.. happy chatting!