Claret Or Bordeaux The Choice Is Yours
Author: Fiona Muller
Date Created: Mar 31, 2008 - 3:10:07 PM
Claret
is a term that is used almost exclusively in the
United Kingdom
. Coined from the
Bordeaux Claret or Clairet which was the most common style of wine exported
from the region until the eighteenth century, it has stuck around and become
part of the English language. The French refuse to use this term, however, and
Claret is what they call red
Bordeaux
in the
UK
nowadays.
Bordeaux
is a region of
France
which has nearly
120,000 hectares of vineyards and produces over 700 million bottles of wine a
year. It produces everyday wine, but is also synonymous with some of the
greatest and most expensive wines in the world.
Both
red and white wines are created in
Bordeaux
. The wines are
generally made from a mixture of grapes. Reds are commonly made from: Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet
France
, Petit Verdo and
Malbec. Whites are produced from: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle.
The
Bordeaux
region is divided into sub-regions
and these are then organised into six main families which characterise the
different types of wine produced here. There are four red and two white
families, and for the purpose of this article we are going to concentrate on
the ‘red regions’. The four regions are:
Red
Bordeaux
and
Bordeaux
Supérieur
These
are the cheapest wines which are fruity and are meant to be drunk young.
Red
Cotes de Bordeaux
This
is the hilly region on the outskirts. The wines are dominated by Merlot. None
of the really famous growers are situated here and so the prices are really
reasonable
Red
Libourne or ‘
Right Bank
’ wines
These
wines are produced, as the name suggests, around the city of
Libourne
. This area includes
the appellations of Saint Emilion and Pomérol. Saint Emilion has an official
classification. The classification system represents a historic judgement of
excellence and is still an accurate guide to the best wines of the area. It is
based on the performance of wines over the years.
Red
Graves, Pauillac and Medoc or ‘
Left Bank
’ wines
This
area is situated north and south of the city of
Bordeaux
. The wines produced
here are concentrated and long lived, they are best kept in a cellar for a
while before drinking. The Medocs, Pauiilac and the
Graves
have official
classifications.
As
you can see from these descriptions,
Bordeaux
wines range in style
and taste. Add to this the historic classification system and the resulting
progress made through long-running competition, and you are buying into some of
the best wines available in the world.
Why
not take a look at what is on offer at Averys (Dot) Com.
Fiona
Muller has been writing for over 20 years. She is a qualified journalist and
has worked in food and drink writing for the last few years. This information
is freely available at http://www.averys.com
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