For sheer variety, quality and value on a grand scale, France's vast Bordeaux wine-growing region leads the way. Thousands of producers offer terrific selections across crisp dry whites, refreshing rosés, beautifully balanced red blends and luscious sweet dessert wines.
Regrettably for consumers, recent decades have seen the prices for Bordeaux's famed Classified Growths reaching astronomic heights. Global conspicuous consumption has transformed the wines from beverages intended primarily for enjoyment with food.
Expanding Asian markets and the dubious consumer fetish for wines with high numerical ratings help explain the development. Even so, legions of lesser-known, but tremendously competent, Bordeaux producers still consistently deliver marvelous values.
The Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur appellations account for more than 50 percent of regional production to provide fertile bargain hunting, especially for red wines. Seeking dry whites from the Entre-Deux-Mers and Graves appellations can prove fruitful.
Consider the following:
Winegrower Hervé Dubourdieu uses vines averaging more than 45 years old for his delicious 2013 Château Graville-Lacoste Graves Blanc, France (Luxury 45215; $18.99). His relies heavily on sémillon (60 percent), a factor accounting for the wine's enticing roundness. A healthy dose of sauvignon blanc, however, accentuates the wine's fresh, crisp character. The vines grow in Graves' famous gravel, clay and limestone soils to add mineral notes.
Fermentation in stainless-steel tanks frames the fruit's innate aromas and flavors. Quince, grapefruit and melon aromas unfold on the nose. Round grapefruit and melon flavors balance with zesty acidity and mineral notes through the clean, dry finish. Pair it with sauteed snapper with a citrus and onion sauce. Highly recommended.
Two main rivers — the Dordogne and the Garonne — flow through Bordeaux before meeting to form the Gironde, a navigable estuary that flows into the Atlantic Ocean. So-called “Right Bank” reds refer to wines from vineyards on the Dordogne's eastern bank.
Merlot grapes dominate the traditional Right Bank blends resulting in wines with plumy, round fruitiness and supple tannins. Try the 2009 Château La Croix Teynac, Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion, France (Luxury 33275; Chairman's Selection on sale: $14.99), a blend of merlot (95 percent) and cabernet sauvignon.
Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion is one of the so-called “satellites” of Saint-Émilion, home of some of Bordeaux's most famous producers. But the “satellite” wines carry price tags significantly lower and represent especially good values in solid vintages such as 2009.
This well-crafted wine's dark-ruby color offers dark-plum and cedar aromas. Fruity dark-plum flavors with coffee and cocoa notes balance with elegant tannins. Pair it with traditional “banger” sausages and mash. Highly recommended.
The 2012 Château Couronneau Bordeaux Supérieur, France (Luxury 45083; $15.99) comes from vineyards in Ligueux, a Right Bank commune decidedly off the beaten track. But the property's classic clay-and-limestone soils benefits from the same regional climate enjoyed by more famous Bordeaux producers.
“Biologique” vineyard management features only natural fertilizers and traditional pesticide practices to ensure healthy soils. During harvest, a combination of manual and mechanical picking takes place. The latter features state-of-the-art equipment with sorting capacity to send only undamaged grapes to the winery.
There, the grapes receive a second sorting by hand on the “table de tri.” This extra attention to quality again aims to translate unadulterated fruit aromas and flavors in the final wine. Similarly before bottling, aging the wine in a combination of large foudre casks and new and previously used smaller French barrels create understated oak notes to support the fruit.
The wine's dark-ruby color unfolds plum, cassis and bell-pepper aromas with earthy hints. Dark-fruit flavors with hint of cacaotées — caramelized almonds dusted with cocoa powder — layer with smooth, elegant tannins. The dark-fruit finish lingers pleasantly. Pair the wine with grilled filet mignon with a mushroom and red wine sauce reduction. Highly recommended.
The charming 2010 Château Loupiac-Gaudiet, Loupiac, France (Luxury 46949; $13.99 for 500 milliliters) offers a tempting taste of Bordeaux's famed sweet dessert wines. Made from grapes grown on the Garonne River's “Left Bank,” the wine blends sémillon with sauvignon blanc and muscadelle.
Honeysuckle, ripe pineapple and mango aromas unfold in the glass. Ripe pineapple and honey flavors balance with zesty acidity in the lingering, fruity finish. Highly recommended.
Dave DeSimone writes about wine for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at ddesimone@tribweb.com.
