French wine sets the international standard simply
because French is, and has always been, the
consistent best.
French offers an incredibly varied selection of wines
from which to choose. It is as every village in every
part of France has a different wine waiting to be
discovered; no two quite the same, or ever standardized
or explained away.
Three factors make Bordeaux the most important
region of all: its quality, size, and the variety of wines
its produces.
The region of Bordeaux is divided into several smaller
areas such as Graves, Margaux, and Saint Emilion,
each producing wines with a style of their own and
many of them among the world's finest: Chateau
Margaux, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau
Haut Brion, Chateau Latour and Chateau Lafite-
Rothschild.
Vintage wines from these chateaux are found at
the top end of the wine price list and old wines
can command huge prices at auction.
Whatever your budget, the Bordeaux name
indicates a fine, reasonably priced drinking wine
that's perfect with food. For Bordeaux wines
that don't break the bank, look for the name of
a reliable 'negociant', such as Barton & Guestier,
an agent who has blended several wines of the
region to create one good wine which is ready
to drink.
The great name of Burgundy region include
Chablis, Beaujolais, Macon, Beaune and
perhaps twenty others.
Classification in Burgundy begins with
Grand Cru, which means grapes from the best
vineyards will have been used to make the wine.
Premier Cru, produced from the second best
vineyards sites come next, followed by wines from
individual villages.
Wines named after regions within Burgundy and
non-specific wines such as Burgundy Red complete
the choice.
Burgundy also has a system of 'negociants', agents
whose name appears on the label together with
the name of the area in which the grapes were grown.
This system dates from the French Revolution when
large estates were sliced into small sections and given
to the local people.
The negociants buys freshly picked grapes or ready
made wine from individual farmers and completes
the wine making process and sells the wine.
Perhaps the best known region of Burgundy is
Beaujolais which provides light, fruity red wine
made to be drunk young.
A region to the south of Burgundy, is famous
for its red wine and probably the most famous
is Chateauneuf-du-Pape which is blended from
thirteen different gape varieties.
The red wine from Rhone can be quite delicious,
deep, fruity and low in acid.
Good years keep well.
South-west of Paris, on the banks of the river
Loire is a region known for its light, white wines.
These divide between the dry wines to the east
(Sancerre and Pouilly) and west (Muscadet),
and the sweeter wines of Touraine and Anjou
in central Loire.
The area of Touraine also has red wine which is
a match for Beaujolais, while much of the wine
of Anjou is first class rose.
No comments:
Post a Comment