Do you want to pay for wine in a region and want to buy wine in that region?

Mārtiņš Dženšs

The white wines of Bordeaux are slightly overshadowed by their red brothers, but Bordeaux is known for its white wines, which are blended from three classic white wines: Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. The cost of wine can go up to 500 euros. Here are some examples of some of the best white wines: Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, Château Cheval Blanc “Le Petit Cheval Blanc”, Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc.

Bordeaux is also famous for its Sauternes dessert wines, which are also made from white grapes. One of the legendary producers of this region is Château d’Yquem.

Aleksandrs Minaejevs

I have noticed that wine corks can vary. When I buy red wine, the cork is sometimes impregnated with red, and sometimes it is colorless. What should a normal cork be like?

Ivars Purmalis

First of all, this is a sign of proper storage. That is, so that the cork does not dry out and does not allow air to pass through, it is important to store the bottle in a horizontal position. Thanks to this, the wine is always in contact with the cork and moisturizes it, as a result of which the cork is painted over.

If the wine is young, then, perhaps, the cork has not yet had time to absorb the wine, and therefore it is colorless. Or if the wine has been in an upright position all the time, the cork remains intact, which is not very favorable for its storage.

Also, the staining of the cork with wine may depend on the intensity of the color of the wine itself. If it has a pale red tint, then the cork will not be very red either.

In addition, the quality of the cork itself plays an important role in this matter. Glued and processed corks absorb less wine dye than solid and natural corks.

Irina Rakēviča

Now they are actively buying plots of land in Saint-Emilion. Prices range from 2.5 to 5 million euros per hectare. Would you like to know what were the biggest deals in Bordeaux in recent years?

Mārtiņš Kokalis

A few months ago Alejandro Santo Domingo of the Moieux family acquired a 20% stake in the famous house of Petrus from Pomerol. The approximate value of the deal is EUR 200 million. This is the highest price per hectare ever paid in Bordeaux or any other region. All home ownership is estimated at around 1 billion euros (a record). House Petrus owns about 11.4 hectares of vineyards, therefore, one hectare is worth 87 million euros.

In turn, the house of Château Troplong Mondot (Grand Cru Classé) in Saint-Emilion was sold to the insurance company SCOR Group for 178 million euros, which is 7 million per hectare. This amount significantly exceeded the usual prices for Saint-Emilion, which usually range from 2 to 4 million euros per hectare of top vineyards.

Ronalds Pētersons

Tell us about the history of the Bordeaux bottle? And why do so many countries use this

Anastasija Oleha

The first wine bottle, reminiscent of the modern one, was born only in 1652 in England. Until the 19th century, most wines were bottled in the country of consumption. Until the end of the 18th century, the English wine bottle stretched upward, until its modern type came into use around 1800.

In the middle of the 19th century, the “shoulders” of the Bordeaux wine bottle became steeper, and the neck became longer. The most prestigious manufacturers set the fashion – the bottles of Château Lafite and Chaâteau Latour of 1865 differ from modern ones only by a barely noticeable sloppiness associated with the imperfection of the equipment of that time.

The popularity of the Bordeaux bottle all over the world is due to the fact that, due to its cylindrical shape, it is convenient for storage and transportation. In addition, the Bordeaux bottle has steep shoulders at the top and a concave bottom with grooves around it. Bordeaux wines have a huge aging potential, during which sediment is formed. In the upright position, part of the sediment remains in the grooves around the concave bottom, and during decantation, the sediment is retained by the shoulders in the process of pouring.

Aleksandrs Minaejevs

Why is the name of the grape variety never indicated on the labels of Bordeaux wines?

Linda Belinda 

According to local traditions, supported by the wine law in Bordeaux, several varieties of grapes are allowed for the production of wines. So, for the reds, it is allowed to use Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Carmenere and Malbec. Moreover, the last two varieties are precisely French, which were borrowed by the Chileans and Argentines. In turn, for whites they use Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle, Colombard, Merlot Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Ugni Blanc.

Traditionally, winemakers produce blends or wines from mixed varieties, of course, there are also mono-varietal wines, but this is a rarity. In any case, the main goal is to show not the characteristics of the grape variety, but the style and character of the wine of a particular production area. So, for example, using the same set of grape varieties in Medoc and Saint-Emilion, you will get completely different wines in taste, because the natural aspects differ in different zones (microclimate, soil composition, relief and proximity, for example, the ocean or the river).

Vēl viens iemesls ir dabas apstākļu nepastāvība. Klimats un laika apstākļi gadu no gada mainās, tāpēc vīndaris pielāgo savu recepti un katru gadu var izmantot citu šķirņu sastāvu, kas ir veiksmīgāks konkrētā ražas gadā.

Irina Rakēviča

More than 22 thousand winemakers grow grapes in Bordeaux. But the foundation of the region’s famous reputation is only 1% of the wine produced, and only 3% of the wines are in the Cru Classé and Grand Cru categories. If we take the price range of Bordeaux wines on the shelves of Latvian stores, then I don’t see a big difference between the first two categories and the cost of wines from other groups. Why is that? I used to think that Grand Cru wines are something very expensive.

Viktors Bušs

It should be noted that the names that are found on wine labels of Bordeaux wines can very often be misleading. If we are talking about the left bank of the region, then Grand Cru really means high quality, and the price in the store for such wines starts from 45 euros per bottle and above. But on the right bank, Grand Cru means practically nothing. Why? In Saint-Emilion, where we meet this term, 90% of all wines bear this name, and their price on the shelf in the store can be from 10 to 50 euros per bottle. In turn, Grand Cru Classé are already high-end wines, and only 81 houses produce them. Confusing, YES!

Ronalds Pētersons

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