Get to Know Modern Bordeaux
New Red Wine Making. Photo courtesy of Bordeaux Wine Council
Traditionally red wines from Bordeaux have required a lot of patience. Getting your hands on a bottle often meant stashing it on your shelf or in your cellar until the tannins softened and the character mellowed. Opening it before its time you’d be met with an austere wine that’s closed, tight, and barely drinkable. But what if you don’t want to wait? Modern bottles are fruitier, less tannic and oaky and drinkable much sooner. And they make for a perfect house red this time of year.
“New red Bordeaux are defined by a different style that’s more fruity and charming,” says Hervé Grandeau, owner of Château Lauduc, perfect for those wine drinkers craving bottles they can buy, take home and uncork now--not in 5 or 10 years. Also, in contrast with traditional red Bordeaux whose labels can be head-scratching and confusing for the newbie, modern bottles are often labeled with the region and the grape or blend.
Photo courtesy: Bordeaux Wine Council © C Goussard
For sure, global warming has played a part in the evolution of red wine in Bordeaux, including increased ripening of grapes with softer and more gentle tannins. Changes in vineyard practices have also been a major factor, according to Christophe Landry, owner of Château des Graviers. Use of a native grass cover to prevent pebbles from retaining heat and eliminating or decreasing leaf thinning practices in order to keep fruit shaded have both led to grapes with thinner skins (and subsequently lower tannin levels) that are aromatically fresher with good acidity.
In addition, “constant improvements in the winery have helped the development of riper, fruitier and more concentrated wines,” says Roland Quancard, owner of Maison Cheval Quancard. These include shorter maceration times, use of indigenous yeasts to keep alcohol levels restrained and maturation in older barrels or vats that retain more primary fruit flavors while imparting less of an oaky or woody impact. “Thanks to alternative aging techniques, we have more red fruit aromas like cranberry and currant,” Grandeau says.
There has also been an increase in petit verdot, carmenere and malbec in red blend, Quancard says, bringing freshness, structure and acidity. Flouting the tradition of blending in Bordeaux, a current trend sees winemakers vinifying plots separately. “It helped winemakers realize some plots were self-sufficient and didn’t require blending,” says Quancard. For wine drinkers used to drinking varietals not regions, it also has the added benefit of making labels even friendlier and easier to understand.
But just because these wines can be enjoyed when they are young doesn’t mean you have to drink them right away, Quancard says. Modern red Bordeaux can still be cellared for five years to a decade, during which time it will continue to evolve.
Photo courtesy of Bordeaux Wine Council
Food pairing strategies span more of a gamut than traditional red Bordeaux. Grandeau serves the as aperitifs with cured meats or cheeses or with seafood including tuna tataki or bass with white sauce, while Landry recommends cheese-topped salads, salmon or beef tartar or grilled meats. Their lower tannins and vibrancy mean these wines can be served very slightly chilled, too.
While Bordeaux winemakers admit that these wines especially appeal to millennials, they also are geared towards anyone who wants an approachable, wallet-friendly bottle right now. “Some Bordeaux consumers stopped buying Bordeaux...because of the price, the aging time needed to be ‘drinkable’ or the excessive wood flavors,” Grandeau says. “These wines are a nice surprise.”
Red Wine. Photo courtesy of Unsplash
Bottles to try
Maison Cheval Quancard Hors-Série Malbec 2018 ($18): “Nice structure with great density and a fruity, mid-palate aroma of candied plum, tobacco and licorice,” Quancard says.
Maison Cheval Quancard Hors-Série Petit Verdot 2018 ($18): “Pleasant, harmonious and well-structured with a great density, revealing scents of pepper followed by fruity notes of cherry and blueberry,” describes Quancard.
L’Invincible Château Lauduc AOC Bordeaux 2019 ($18), “A merlot nose (cassis, dark cherries, blueberry), with soft spices and lilac notes, all with a great acidity; very chewy palate, with flavors of blueberries and cassis, then going on grape juiciness. Attractive length, mellow and with good acidity at the same time,” says Grandeau.
Château des Graviers Margaux AOC 2016 ($40), a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot, malbec and carmenere aged in amphora, according to the tech sheet.
Château La Freynelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 ($19.99), expressive nose with aromas of red fruits, spices and vanilla, with the same intensity of ripe fruit on the palate along with integrated and harmonious tannins.