Today's Bordeaux is Affordable Bordeaux
Today’s Bordeaux is affordable Bordeaux. No, I’m not talking about the 2019 En Primeur campaign, where prices are being slashed despite the most recent declarations of “the vintage of the century” in the face of the challenges presented in bringing the wines to market in the face of COVID-19. Rather, I’m talking about the 90%+ of Bordeaux wines that are sold outside of the En Primeur system. In fact, many sold within the En Primeur system are highly affordable, too. The fanfare at the precipitous (price-wise) top of the quality pyramid has distracted far too many trades folk and consumers for far too long. During the same time, quality was skyrocketing while prices throughout most the region remained modest.
Bordeaux’s diversity of styles and terroirs is its strength. There’s much more than red. France’s largest winemaking region makes sparkling, white, rosé, clairet (a dark rosé style that I adore) and sweet wines. There is truly something for everyone.
This series of notes began in 2015. They culminate in 186 pages of 953 notes and just over 71,400 words. Determined to write a note on every wine, rather than just assign a number and a few words - even for lower-scoring wines, it became such an undertaking that I regret that I had to start then stop the process many, many times. My personal favorites are denoted by a “*'“ by their score and are listed separately below, too. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have tasted all of these wines, and I thank Wines of Bordeaux and all of the producers for allowing me the opportunity to better understand today’s more affordable Bordeaux.