Bordeaux

Located in the southwestern part of France, Bordeaux is one of the most famous and prestigious wine regions in the world. It became famous for its legendary red wines produced by the most important estates, châteaux, characterized for the most part by a dry, elegant and fairly full-bodied profile, with intense aromas, the result of the classic Bordeaux blend based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot is also a land of excellent quality white wines made from Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes, both dry and moldy and botrytized, as in the case of the famous Sauternes or Barsac. The climate is mild not only for the latitude of Bordeaux, exactly halfway between the Equator and the North Pole but also and above all for the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the presence of several rivers including the Dordogne, the Garonne and the estuary of the Gironde. Bordeaux, which could translate as "close to the waters", takes its name from the port city of the same name, the fulcrum of the region's commercial success, while internal trade was favored by the presence of the aforementioned waterways. The thick pine forest to the south, the Foret des Landes protects Bordeaux from the brackish winds of the Atlantic Ocean. The composition of the soil is also an important factor for Bordeaux viticulture. The gravelly soils of the region ensure excellent water drainage, and it is thanks to this characteristic that one of the largest wine-growing areas in Bordeaux has been named Graves. The first and most famous classification system adopted, still in force today, to recognize the value of Bordeaux wines was that of 1855, concerning only wines produced in the Médoc, which rewarded the quality of the producer more than the specific production area. , or terroir, with the term Cru Classé and a category that assigned a level of quality, from Premier Cru to Cinquième Cru. The 1855 classification also established quality levels for Sauternes and Barsac which were divided into Premier Cru Supérieur Classé, Premier Cru Classé and Deuxième Cru Classé. But other classification systems have been sanctioned: for the wines of the Grave to which wines of greater quality and prestige, the mention Cru Classé was assigned; for the wines of Saint-Émilion, the only one to be revised every 10 years, which considered Premier Grand Cru Classé the first category divided further into groups A and B, of which group A constituted the division of superior quality. Other famous areas of Bordeaux, including Canon-Fronsac, Entre-Duex-Mers, Fronsac and Pomerol, have never been regulated by any classification system. Generally the producers included in the categories of the various classification systems operate with very rigorous and quality production criteria, with the consequence of a considerable increase in prices. These classifications include only a small part of the wines produced in Bordeaux, leaving out hundreds of châteaux which nevertheless deserved attention. For this reason, in 1932 a special category was established for the châteaux of the Médoc excluded from the classification of 1855 and which took the name of Cru Bourgeois.