Historians studying the Bordeaux region are still grappling with the question: what is the heritage of the Bordeaux vineyards – Celtic, Roman, English or perhaps Dutch? To answer this question, it is necessary to learn the history of the Bordeaux wine-making region, trace how it developed, where the first vineyards were planted and who did it, how Bordeaux wines gained the reputation of elite wines and why.
Nataļja Starčenko
The ancient period
In fact, it is impossible to determine the time of origin of Bordeaux vineyards for a simple reason – there is a lack of written evidence. Fortunately, archeological excavations have made it possible to obtain some information. For example, everyone knows that the Celts who settled on the banks of the Garonne River in the 3rd century BC drank beer, not wine. This is proven by the texts of the famous Greek historian Strabo in the 1st century AD, in which he expresses his surprise that in this “ocean area” what he was used to in the Mediterranean region – vines and olives – was not found! After the Romans arrived in the Celtic town of Burdigal, as the city of Bordeaux was called in ancient times, the locals were able to taste wine from the Mediterranean coast.
Over 500 amphorae have been found in the center of Bordeaux’s old town in countless excavations over the past 50 years.
Similar amphorae, in which wine was transported in the 1st century BC, have also been found in Toulouse, Agen and Italy. The upper part of the amphora shows the merchant Marcus Porcius, who lived in Pompeii in the 1st century BC. and there produced wine in large quantities, seal.
“Newer” (1st century AD) amphorae brought from Catalonia have also been found. Burdigala could not yet be proud of its own wine – it was imported and, of course, expensive!
Be that as it may, the conclusion is one – the first vineyards were planted between the reigns of the Roman emperors Claudius and Nero, or in 71. Pliny describes the vineyards he saw along the Garonne River. It is also known that it was at this time that local so-called “Gallic” amphorae with flat bottoms and thin walls were produced, which, according to historians, were used to store local wine, not to transport it.
It seems that the wines of Burdigal gained a good reputation very quickly, as evidenced by the poems of the famous late 4th century poet Ausonius (Ausone), in which he writes about the river and wine: “O river, whose slopes are planted with vineyards that yield aromatic wine, ” or the city of Burdigal, which is “famous for its wines”. It is known that Ausone himself owned several land areas, including a villa in the vicinity of Saint-Emilion, which gave its name to the famous manor Château Ausone, although it has now become known that Ausone’s villa was located a few kilometers away.
Small sickles for picking grapes, grape presses, vessels for decanting wine are still found in the most diverse corners of Bordeaux vineyards. Wine gradually entered all social strata of society, which is evidenced by burial stelae with images of winemakers, wine merchants, and coopers. During this time, the cult of the wine god Bacchus was formed, whose image can be seen in decorative mosaics in aristocratic villas of that time. In reality, these “villas” were large estates with vineyards and other agricultural crops, private residences and at the same time agrarian farms. And it was on the right bank of the Garonne and the Gironde that the first vineyards were established, partially adjacent to the city of Bourg, as evidenced by the famous villa Plassac, built between 20-40 AD. years and existed until the 6th century. It is also known that vineyards were planted near the city of Graves and in Medoc (on the territory of the village of Villa Marojallia Margo).
However, the prosperity of the vineyards came to a decline after the collapse of the Roman-Gallic Empire and the invasion of barbarian tribes, and the lost prosperity gradually returned only in the Middle Ages. This is primarily related to the spread of Christianity and the church’s need for wine for the Holy Supper. It was thanks to the bishops that the spread of vineyards was ensured in the early Middle Ages. Thus, in the 7th century AD, the chronicler Al Himyari (Al Himyari) wrote that the Bordeaux area was the most prosperous, with countless vineyards, orchards and grain crops. Unfortunately, it is not known what happened after this flourishing period in 8-10. century, as no evidence has survived. But given the growing influence of the church in the Middle Ages, we can be sure that wine was produced until the “golden” age, which began in the 12th century.
However, the prosperity of the vineyards came to a decline after the collapse of the Roman-Gallic Empire and the invasion of barbarian tribes, and the lost prosperity gradually returned only in the Middle Ages. This is primarily related to the spread of Christianity and the church’s need for wine for the Holy Supper. It was thanks to the bishops that the spread of vineyards was ensured in the early Middle Ages. Thus, in the 7th century AD, the chronicler Al Himyari (Al Himyari) wrote that the Bordeaux area was the most prosperous, with countless vineyards, orchards and grain crops. Unfortunately, it is not known what happened after this flourishing period in 8-10. century, as no evidence has survived. But given the growing influence of the church in the Middle Ages, we can be sure that wine was produced until the “golden” age, which began in the 12th century.
New English Claret
11.-12. In the 19th century, significant changes took place in large cities and important monastic communities. Vineyards were planted near monasteries and churches to provide for Christian needs. The volume of wine production gradually became larger and larger until the domestic market was saturated. And it is at this crucial moment that “manna” falls from the sky over Bordeaux in the eyes of the English, who settled in Bordeaux after the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II Plantagenet, the future king of England, in 1152. The English called these new wines, which were brought in ships to misty Albion, claret – because of their iridescent pink color. Historians believe that it was Richard the Lionheart, one of Eleanor’s sons who succeeded to the throne after his father’s death, who brought claret to England, as it served as his daily drink in Bordeaux. During the reign of Richard’s brother John Plantagenet Landless, the tax on winemaking was abolished and local wine merchants were given special privileges for shipping wine to England. But in 1214, the king confronted the rich citizens of Bordeaux and, in gratitude for their loyalty to the English crown, abolished both the wine export and import tax in Bordeaux.
During the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453), in which Bordeaux once again supported the English in their fight against the French, wine merchants gained special advantages for exporting wines from the port, thus causing losses to other remote wine regions such as Gaillac, Agen, Nérac, Condom, Cahors. The latter had to wait his turn even beyond the city limits, in the area of the current Chartrons quarter. By the way, in order to more easily distinguish Bordeaux wine barrels from other wines, a special barrel with a volume of 200-225 liters (with time only 225 liters) was chosen. But at the beginning of the 15th century, King Henry IV of England forbade the export of wine altogether from the ports of Macau, Margaux and Lamarque in the Medoc, which explains the relatively late development of vineyards in this part of the region. Thus, during this period of English rule, there was a strong monopoly of the bourgeoisie (wealthy citizens) in the hands of the local authority, La Jurade, ensuring the autonomous governance of the city. This “privilege” of Bordeaux, as historians call it, lasted practically until the French Revolution; it was annulled only in 1776.
Thanks to the favorable financial and political soil, the city prospered and whole fleets of ships regularly sailed towards England to get the coveted claret delivered by Christmas. News can be found in English archives, 1308-1309. year was the record holder in terms of the amount of Bordeaux wine – 102,724 tons (or 8,500,000 liters of wine). By the way, the tonnage or carrying capacity of ships used today is derived from the medieval “tonno”, which corresponds to four 225-liter barrels, which were tied in order to more conveniently place them in the hold and correctly determine the tax.
It should be remembered that in those days wine could not be stored, it had to be drunk as soon as possible after processing the harvest, so that it would not turn sour. The wine production process was very simple – immediately after pressing (the bunches were kneaded by foot), the juice flowed into vessels for a short fermentation, then it was poured into oak barrels, where the wine finished the process. The wine was not aged in barrels, the barrels were used for transportation. Considering that the wine was not filtered, it could be stored for a maximum of 14-16 months.
The beginning of the Hundred Years’ War slowed Bordeaux’s trade with England, but the French victory stopped it altogether. In addition, King Charles VII of France, punishing the Bordeaux bourgeoisie for helping the enemy, imposed a heavy tax on every barrel sold. Unable to compete with much cheaper Spanish and Greek wines, Bordeaux wine merchants were forced to forget about London and return home. For a relatively long time, the port of Bordeaux was paralyzed, waiting for new market opportunities!
As already mentioned, the wines did not withstand long transportation because they soured quickly. To prevent the product from spoiling, the Dutch began to burn the wine in a special steaming vessel (alambic) used to produce aqua ardente (“fiery water”), or grape alcohol for medicinal purposes. They called this wine brandevin, literally burnt wine, which is shortened to brandy. During long sea crossings, brandy did not deteriorate, but only improved its taste and aroma. It was during this period that the success story of the wine-making region north of Bordeaux, where the city of Cognac is located, which would give its name to the drink of the same name, began!
As already mentioned, the wines did not withstand long transportation because they soured quickly. To prevent the product from spoiling, the Dutch began to burn the wine in a special steaming vessel (alambic) used to produce aqua ardente (“fiery water”), or grape alcohol for medicinal purposes. They called this wine brandevin, literally burnt wine, which is shortened to brandy. During long sea crossings, brandy did not deteriorate, but only improved its taste and aroma. It was during this period that the success story of the wine-making region north of Bordeaux, where the city of Cognac is located, which would give its name to the drink of the same name, began!
As already mentioned, the wines did not withstand long transportation because they soured quickly. To prevent the product from spoiling, the Dutch began to burn the wine in a special steaming vessel (alambic) used to produce aqua ardente (“fiery water”), or grape alcohol for medicinal purposes. They called this wine brandevin, literally burnt wine, which is shortened to brandy. During long sea crossings, brandy did not deteriorate, but only improved its taste and aroma. It was during this period that the success story of the wine-making region north of Bordeaux, where the city of Cognac is located, which would give its name to the drink of the same name, began!
New french claret
- The second half of the 20th century brought so many changes to the vineyards of Bordeaux that the process could safely be called a revolution! From a simple English claret, winemakers switched to a much wider spectrum of beverage production – ordinary reds, dry whites, sweet white wines, grape alcohol. These drinks were especially popular in Holland and other Northern European countries, replacing the English market. But – if the English bought wine for their own needs, the Dutch bought it to resell to Scandinavia, the Baltics and Russia. At the end of the 17th century, three quarters of Bordeaux wines were sold in Amsterdam and Rotterdam!
Flemish merchants were accused of “treating” the wine so that it would withstand transportation. It was during this time that the term “Dutch match” was coined, meaning the fumigation of a barrel with sulfur dioxide to prevent any contamination. The Flemings also made wine coupage, decanting it from the lees, but sometimes adding alcohol. The ranks of Dutch merchants grew – until at some point on the banks of the Garonne they occupied the entire block of Chartrons, where they built warehouses for aging wine. It should be emphasized that at that time wines from the further away Cahora region were held in special esteem, which, compared to Bordeaux claret, were much richer and thicker. But the “black” wines from Verdot grapes in the Medoc began to stand out from the Bordeaux wines. Driven by the growing need for wines, vineyards near the walls of Bordeaux moved to more remote rural areas. At the same time, the region continued to produce more white wine than red wine so that it could be distilled into alcohol in case of a bad harvest.
Meanwhile, the period of colonial trade began. At the same time, Bordeaux became the largest port in Europe, because here it was possible to load everything necessary for a long voyage – wine, alcohol, flour, dried plums… Ships with these cargoes went to Santo Domingo, the Antilles and other directions, but returned with sugar, coffee, indigo. Bordeaux conquered yet another new market. However, the most important achievement of this era is the beginning of the production of high-quality elite wines, going to recapture the lost English market. These new wines of higher quality became the forerunners of the next Grand Cru.
It is interesting that in the middle of the 17th century chocolate became the main competitor of wine! This drink, initially brought to Spain, then to England, spread widely in the country and acquired the status of an aristocratic drink. Chocolate was followed by coffee, tea, gin, Spanish and Portuguese “black” and powerful wines, which more and more displaced pale and low-alcohol claret. Furthermore, as a result of the ongoing conflicts between England and France, French wines were taxed twice as much as Spanish and Portuguese wines. Bordeaux claret had no choice but to offer the English aristocrats a higher quality wine!
In 1663, London nobleman Samuel Pepys wrote: “I drank a French wine called Ho-Bryan. It has a good taste that I have never encountered before.” We are talking, of course, about the famous Château Haut-Brion, which was ruled by the de Pontac family for several centuries. Among them was Arnaud de Pontac, head of the Parliament of Bordeaux, who sold his wines in London at a higher price than others and used the name of the place where the vineyards were located, rather than the general name of the Grave region. In 1666, his son opened the restaurant Chez Pontac with refined French cuisine, which existed until 1780 and was visited by the cream of English society. Aristocrats and elites enjoyed Haut-Brion wine; a bottle of this drink cost seven shillings, or four times more expensive than modern Spanish and Portuguese wines, because this wine was completely different – strong and at the same time velvety, different from other simple wines. In 1689, the wine Haut-Brion was called the mighty wine, or Grand Vin, because of its taste and quality, as well as its ability to be stored for a long time.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the wines of Château Margaux (then called Margose), Château Latour, Château Lafite appeared in the cellars of London aristocrats, which meant that Pontac’s associates, or aristocrats and wealthy townspeople, bought properties further and further from Bordeaux, on the left bank of the Gironde, in the Medoc, where the crops replaced by vineyards. This gave rise to the concept of cru, which means “a field with a vineyard that meets certain conditions” and, accordingly, “wine produced from vineyards that meet certain conditions.” These wines
sold at the same price as Haut-Brion and called Nеw French Claret. The new red cru wines were eight times more expensive than white Bordeaux wines.
Thus, between 1730 and 1740, the hierarchical division of Bordeaux wines is marked, as evidenced by French and English historical documents. And it was the English who became the first lovers of mighty Bordeaux wines! They became known in the royal palace in Paris only in 1758, when Duke Richelieu, the godson of the cardinal mentioned in the “Three Musketeers”, became the governor of Aquitaine (at that time – Guyenne), began to send the best wines to the capital, where for a long time the wines from Burgundy, Champagne and the Rhone Valleys.
- the future US President Thomas Jefferson, at that time the American ambassador to France, noted in his diary the best cru among red wines – Chateau Margaux, Chateau Latour, Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau Lafite, and among sweet white wines – Chateau d’Yquem, after visiting Bordeaux vineyards.
In the year before the Paris Exhibition, Napoleon III ordered the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce to send samples of the best Bordeaux wines. This created the famous classification of the best red wines and sweet white wines according to the reputation and market prices of these wines, which continues to this day.
The vineyards of Bordeaux were able to survive the 19th-century yucca times, when they were overwhelmed by natural disasters such as powdery mildew, powdery mildew and phylloxera, the tragic First and Second World Wars, the severe crises of the second half of the 20th century, and proudly march into the third millennium in all its splendor and with great final results. year’s crops! The wines corresponding to the Grand Cru class have firmly established themselves in the world market and represent the elite of Bordeaux wines. They set an example for other wines, encourage producers to surpass themselves, inspire young winemakers from all over the world to strive for such quality.
This is exactly how the city of Bordeaux, conveniently located at the intersection of various trade routes, has developed over thousands of years thanks to its river and wines. The different times experienced during its existence have left their marks on the history of the city and the region. The Romans, the monks, the English, the Dutch created vineyards, produced wine, perfected the technology, sold wine all over the world and set the tone for global winemaking… they left Bordeaux vineyards as a legacy to humanity. It is no coincidence that the vineyards of Saint-Emilion were included in the UNESCO world heritage for the first time in history!
