A Look into the Sweeter Side of Bordeaux Wines

I’m thrilled to finally join the French Winophiles group and gain some knowledge into the world of French wine.  I’m so immersed typically in Italian wine that branching out here and there is important to get a better grasp on wine from around the world.  This month the feature are the sweet wines of Bordeaux, which I’ve written about in the past.  If you follow my blog you know I truly enjoy dessert wines so this was a treat. 

Sweet Bordeaux wines are primarily made of semillon, sauvignon blanc and/or muscadelle.  They are sweeter because the grapes are typically harvested about a month or two after regular harvest of the other grapes.  This dehydrates the grapes concentrating the sugars.  What makes the sweet wines of Bordeaux special is the fungus known as botrytis cinerea or noble rot.  I know it may sound unappealing a fungus growing on the grapes, but it transforms creates complexities in the flavors and aromatics of the grapes lending more toward honey notes.  Noble rot develops due to the climate, which in Bordeaux develops from the misty mornings and the heat and humidity of the day.   

Botrytis Cinerea ~ copyright of Bordeaux.com

Copyright of Bordeaux.com

The appellations 

I sampled four wines from 2 of the 8 AOC’s, appellations, in Bordeaux that make sweet wine, Loupiac and Sainte-Croix-du-Mont.    Loupiac occupies about 865 acres that located about 18 miles southeast of Bordeaux on the right bank of the Garonne River. It’s hilly terrain made primarily of gravel and chalky clay soils.  The appellation follows strict laws around density and even weight of the grapes harvested.  Romans were the first that cultivated vines in this area and an ancient Roman villa still exists today that can be visited. 

Sainte-Croix-du-Mont is located on the right bank of the Gironde River as well south of Loupiac.  The soils here are more limestone with clay on steep hillsides occuping 1,100 acres.  The sweet wines of this area are known for being more powerful and intense. 

The Wines 

2014 Chateau du Cros Loupiac: Part of the wines of Famille Boyer.  This wine is made of 90% semillon, 5% sauvignon blanc and 5% muscadet.   It spends 12 months in barrique.  The most golden in color of the 4 wines.  An intense nose mostly of honey and apricot.  Rather delicate on the palate, but with concentrated, complex flavors including apricot.  A beautiful silkiness to this wine.  ABV 13% SRP $15 

2015 Chateau Dauphine Rondillon Loupiac: This winery is operated by 8 generations.  These grapes are harvested from the oldest vineyards onsite planted in 1910 and are considered the best of their production.  The wine is made of 80% semillon and 20% sauvignon blanc and aged for 1 year in barrels that are a year old.  Light golden color with a nose lending more towards citrus compared to the previous wine.  Elegant and balanced on the palate with the citrus (orange) showing up more on the palette.  ABV 13% SRP $25  

2016 Chateau La Rame Sainte-Croix-du-Mont: One of the oldest estates of the area.  Made of 95% semillon and 5% sauvignon blanc.  The grapes spend 2 years in stainless steel with 30% oak.  My favorite wine of the group here.  Light golden in color.  Raisins, apricots and peach showing up on the aromatics.  The palette is layered with flavors in harmony showing lots of vanilla with a hint of the raisins and apricot.  ABV 13% SRP $34 

2019 Chateau La Hargue Moelleux Semi Dry: These vineyards in Entre-Deux-Mers occupies all of the AOC’s and have been part of the family since 1954 acquired by Henri Ducourt.  Made of sauvignon blanc, sauvignon gris and semillon and aged on lees in stainless steel.  The only full sized 750ml bottle, while the rest are 375ml.  Pale straw colored, almost colorless in the glass.  The sauvignon blanc shines on the nose showing grassiness.  Definitely semi-dry showing up crisp and clean with tropical notes and white peach.  ABV 11% SRP $18 

Copyright of Sweetbordeaux.com

Join us live on Twitter this Saturday @ 11am EST at #winophiles and chat with our food and wine loving friends on more sweet wines of Bordeaux.

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla: “Surprise! Pairing Spicy and Savory Dishes with Sweet Bordeaux”
• Terri at Our Good Life: “Spicy Hot Tacos and Sweet Bordeaux”
• Martin at ENOFYLZ: “Pairing Golden Bordeaux with Southern Fare”
• Lauren at The Swirling Dervish: “Golden Bordeaux Meets Savory Pumpkin and Smoked Bacon Tart: a Delicious Thanksgiving Twist!”
• David at Cooking Chat: “Pairings for Sweet Bordeaux Wine
• Katrina at The Corkscrew Concierge: “Golden Bordeaux Delights in Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole Cuisine"
• Jane at Always Ravenous: “Golden Sweet Bordeaux Wines: Tasting and Pairings”
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm: “Hot Chocolate and Halva Pudding paired with Lion De Tanesse L'Amour”
• Jeff at foodwineclick: "Sweet Bordeaux Meets the Smoke"
• Jill at L’OCCASION: “Sweet Bordeaux Wines Aren’t Just for Dessert”
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest: “Sweet Bordeaux Wines Get Savory Pairings”
• Rupal at Syrah Queen: "Sweet Bordeaux Is A Sweet Delight - Savor These Perfect Food Pairings"
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles: “Sweet Bordeaux Wines and pairings from opposite sides of the globe”
• Pinny at Chinese Food & Wine Pairings: “Sweet Bordeaux Paired with Asian Carbs - Chinese Sticky Rice and Korean Japchae”
• Susannah at avvinare: “Delightful Sweet Wines from Bordeaux”
• Nicole at Somm’s Table: “Château Loupiac Gaudiet with Cinnamon Apple Crème Brûlée”
• Gwendolyn at wine predator: “Successful Pairings of Salty and Savory with Sweet Semi-Dry Bordeaux”
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass: “Appetizer, entrées and yes, dessert please, with sweet Bordeaux”
• Payal at Keep the Peas: “Four Sweet Bordeaux Wines With Four Courses”

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*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are always my own. 

A Holiday Celebration with Golden Sweet Bordeaux Wines

For those of you that know me from reading my blogs you know that I have a sweet tooth.  So when the opportunity presented itself last month for me to receive bottles of sweet bordeaux from France I jumped at the opportunity.  My husband used to drink and experiment with me on a variety of wines, but I lost him along the way in the wine journey.  He'll never hesitate though when I'm opening a dessert wine or something sweeter in nature so he participated in the tasting festivities.

I attended a virtual tasting with Snooth whom provided these wonderful wines hosted by the owner of Snooth, Mark Angelillo, and Master of Wine, Mary Gorman McAdams.  It was a very informative tasting on this region I admitingly didn't know too much about, but Mary's delightful manner and passion was shining through during the session and was a fantastic learning experience for myself.  Hopefully I can pass along some of that information and make you want to try some of these wonderful wines as well.

I'm always intrigued by wine pairings and what this tasting proved to me is that it's ok to try something outside of the box and go a little crazy.  You never know, it may just work!  That is what we discovered with this pairing.  We had a variety of snacks that included everything from sweet potato and beet crackers to salami, sriracha cashews and jalapeno chicken crisps.  No one ever said you had to go all out to experience a treat.  Most would think of more desserts or cheeses to pair with these wines, but savory was showing to be a great way to go.  Mary's choice hands down was pairing these sweet bordeaux wines with fried chicken.  Now I'm intrigued myself to try it.  She is the expert and all.

The wine region of Bordeaux is about a 2 hour train ride from Paris in the southwestern part of France.  What makes this area special for producing sweet bordeaux is the climate.  There is a balance of heat and humidity at times that allows the grapes to develop what is known as noble rot, or in more technical terms botrytis cinerea.  Plus, its proximity to the Gironde river also contributes to the right conditions for these grapes.  The grapes on the vine shrivel concentrating the sugars and allowing this good fungus to develop on the grapes.
Sweet bordeaux are produced primarily from semillon with sauvignon blanc and muscadelle grapes.  As Mary mentioned that semillon is "king" in Bordeaux.  These thin skinned grapes lend a certain texture and richness.  The sauvignon blended in brings freshness and acidity while the muscadelle gives it a little body and spice.  They are typically a beautiful golden color. 

We tried wines from a few of the appellations of this region including Cadillac, Loupiac and the ever famous Sauternes.  I loved Mary's expression that in the "Medoc it takes a vine to make a bottle of wine and in Sauternes it takes a vine to make a glass of wine".  This expresses the labor that goes into making these wines and the yields that must be used to produce these 375 ml bottles. 

Copyright of Wine Folly

The great thing about these wines is that they can age for decades.  Mary referenced that when she visited one of the wineries below, Chateau du Cros in Loupiac, that she had a bottle from the 1920's that was still drinking wonderfully.  If that doesn't show you how ageworthy they are I'm not sure what will. 

Mary recommended the following vintages to seek out: 2001, 2007 and 2011.

Now to the wines......

2016 Chateau Manos Cadillac
Located in the Cadillac appellation made up of only 22 communes along the right bank of the Gironde river.  This is a newer appellation created in the 70's in comparison to the others created in the 30s.  Made of 98% semillon, 1% muscadelle and 1% sauvignon.  This wine was fresh with good acidity and lots of tropical fruits (banana) and stone fruits (apricots).  Honeyed with a smooth texture.  SRP $14.

Pairing: I enjoyed this wine with the Wilde Jalapeno Chicken Chips.  I'm not one for spicy sot he chips alone had enough kick for me, but was balanced out by the sweetness and texture of the wine.

2014 Chateau du Cros Loupiac 
This wine came from the Loupiac appellation also on the right bank of the Gironde river.  It's larger in size than Cadillac.  Made of 90% semillon, 5% sauvignon and 5% muscadelle.  This wine had a florally nose and juicy, ripe tropical and stone fruits on the palate combined with lemon zest.  SRP $23

Pairing: I chose the Emerald sriracha cashews.

2016 Chateau Loupiac-Gaudiet
80% semillon with 20% sauvignon.  This wine was lighter in body with fresh fruit notes of peaches and some marmelade with a little spice. SRP $20

Pairing: I went with the 3 seed sweet potato and 3 seed beet crackers on this one from Trader Joes. 

2011 Chateau Dauphine Rondillon Loupiac
Made of 80% semillon and 20% sauvignon blanc. Mary described this vintage as AMAZING!  This wine was complex with lots going on as the wine opened up.  Lots of fresh fruit on the nose.  Very clean on the palate with high acidity and orange citrus with even some butterscotch notes.  SRP $28

2015 Chateau la Rame Sainte Croix-du-Mont
This wine hails from the Sainte Croix-du-Mont appellation.   Mary described this area as having more limestone than the prior appellations, which lends to the wine showing more purity.  It's comprised of 75% semillon and 25% sauvignon.  2015 was a very lush vintage and the wine expressed that.  Lots of orange, apricot and honey.  A very concentrated wine.  SRP $20

2015 Chateau Filhot Sauternes
We've made it to the appellation of Sauternes.  This wine is comprised of 60% semillon, 36% sauvignon and 4% muscadelle.  Mark shared a great descriptor of orange creamsicle on this wine.  Along with some citrus this wine was very luscious.  SRP $30 

2016 Chateau Lapinesse Sauternes
Made of 100% semillon this wine was rich, full-bodied and silky on the palate.  Plenty of floral notes with luscious apricots and peaches on the palate. SRP $20

Pairing: I contrasted this wine with the Olli Gusto Calabrese Salami. 

2006 Castelnau de Suduiraut Sauternes
90% semillon and 10% sauvignon.  Mary wanted to just "snuggle up with this wine" based on it's beautiful amber color.  Aromatic with toasty notes.  A wine with depth and creaminess with vanilla, spice and everything nice!

Pairings: Mary recommended grilled lobster with this.  Sounds like heaven! 

Have you experienced sweet bordeaux or any savory pairings?  Would love to hear them.
 

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*All wines were provided as samples, but as always opinions are my own. 

Crafting Small Lots at Murrieta's Well

Of course Vine Travels is all about educating on Italian wines, but every now and then I like to mix it up and share some other wines from around the world with you. This week we are venturing to Livermore, CA and sharing the wines of Murrieta's Well to you with an inside scope from winemaker Robbie Meyer. In full disclosure these wines were received as samples courtesy of Murrieta's Well and Snooth, but opinions shared and recommendations are personally my own.

The name Murrieta's Well stems from Joaquin Murrieta who discovered the Livermore Valley in the early 1800's. Robbie Meyer has been the winemaker at Murrieta's Well for 2 years now and believes in terroir driven wines that are produced in limited batches from small acres, but are of high quality. Through his career he has also produced over a hundred 90 point rated wines so without having the background knowledge going into the virtual tasting that I had with him he must be doing something right, wouldn't you say?! ; )

Murrieta's Well courtesy of Balzac Communications & Marketing

Actually never having been to California I don't know much about the Livermore area, but Robbie shared that the weather is relatively cool influenced by the fog at the bay, along with plenty of sunshine. Murrieta's Well has about 500 acres, but their grapes are sourced only from select blocks that they feel are performing at their best.

I tasted the following:

2014 Small Lot Chardonnay - retails about $44

2014 The Whip- retail about $24

2013 Small Lot Cabernet – retails about $58

2013 The Spur – retails about $30

The Murrieta's Well Small Lot wines are a small production of about 200-250 cases annually. Robbie believes in farming “acre by acre” and managing all aspects including canopy management. It's important for him to make sure there is some sunlight on some portion of the grapes for some part of the day.

The 2014 Murrieta's Well Small Lot Chardonnay is made in about 50-75% new French oak barrels, but Robbie believes in accenting the wine with oak and not dominating it so for those of you that like a hint of oak influence without completing taking over the wine you'll want to seek out this wine. Robbie actually mentioned that 80% of the chardonnay grapes in California originated from the Wente clone including these grapes. Picked at night, this wine goes through about a 3-8 week fermentation where the malolactic fermentation is innolcated. The target is to have a slow, consistent and cool fermentation that provides an integrated presence. It's then aged for 15 months in barrel to provide a silky wine combined with plenty of tropical fruit and peach and that hint of oak. Robbie suggested pairing this week a flaky fish, maybe halibut.

The 2013 Murrieta's Well Small Lot Cabernet goes through a whole berry fermentation where it is aged about 22 months in barrel. Inky purple in the glass with ripe dark fruit, nice structure and notes of dark chocolate. Who doesn't like some dark chocolate in their glass?! Robbie thinks this wine can be enjoyed up to about 10 years of age and is best paired with some grilled meats.

For value 2014 Murrieta's Well The Whip and 2013 Murrieta's Well The Spur are the wines to consider. With The Whip containing some muscat and viognier that provide a beautifully, aromatic wine. The semillon and chardonnay grapes give it that mouth feel and body. Lastly, the sauvignon blanc gives it some of that acid and zest.

 
















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