Bordeaux

Bordeaux is the greatest pool of fine wine on earth. Few red wines anywhere can match Bordeaux as mid-weight, refreshing reds with the uncanny ability to modulate, change and grow still more appealing with age. Few red wines anywhere on earth are as digestible as good Bordeaux; no fine-wine region is easier, either, to understand, thanks to the all-important notion of the château. This is a single property (often large: Château Lagrange in St Julien is larger than the whole of Condrieu, for example) producing a single grand vin every year. Most châteaux also produce a 'second wine' into which they blend all the material deemed not adequate in quality for the grand vin.

There are four main wine styles in Bordeaux. Dry white wines vary from the light and refreshing to something much richer and more sumptuous (in Pessac-Léognan). The sweet white wines of Bordeaux are always rich and lush, given ample time in oak. Sauternes is the main appellation name under which they are sold, though Barsac is an alternative appellation for a sub-zone within Sauternes: its wines have a slightly lighter and more lemony style.

The red wines of Bordeaux are divided into two groups, depending on the grape variety dominating their blend. Cabernet Sauvignon leads on the 'left bank' (Pessac-Léognan and Médoc, the latter including Margaux, St Julien, Pauillac and St Estèphe), producing wines of firmness, structure and grandeur. Merlot dominates on the 'right bank' (especially Pomerol and St Emilion), producing richer, warmer, more voluptuous red wines.

The last decade has seen a quality revolution in Bordeaux, with a large range of wines of dazzling quality produced even in lesser vintages and from properties whose potential was previously considered modest. Why? More fastidious vineyard and harvesting work combined with lower yields has been one reason; another has been the readiness to take risks late in the season in order always to pick very ripe grapes. The Right Bank consultants Michel Rolland and Stéphane Derenoncourt have been at the forefront of these developments, together with the influential St Emilion 'garagiste' Jean-Luc Thunevin. (A garagiste is someone who tries to make great wine from previously unpropitious vineyards via huge efforts in the vineyard and winery - even if that winery is merely a converted garage ...) The result is a range of Bordeaux wines of great wealth, power and sensuality to compare with those made in a more traditionally restrained and elegant style.