Today’s Vintages release features both red and white Bordeaux wines. The best Bordeaux Reds, while truly amazing, are clearly out of the price range of most people and typically require several years of cellaring before they come of age. With the help of www.winealign.com I’ve picked a dirty dozen today; a few red and white from Bordeaux that are afforadable and drinkable, but don’t be mistaken, there are no hidden Chateau Margaux here. I have also classified picks into over $20 and under $20. Enjoy and let me know what you think.
Bordeaux Reds
The need for a classification of the best Bordeaux wines arose for the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris. The result was the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, a list of the top ranked wines, named the Grand Crus Classés (Great Classified Growths). With several thousand different Chateaux producing their own wines in Bordeaux, to be classified was to carry a mark of high prestige.
Within the Grand Cru Classé list wines were further ranked and placed in one of five divisions. The best of the best wines were assigned the highest rank of Premier Cru; only four wines, Château Latour, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Margaux and Château Haut-Brion were deemed worthy. Of all the 61 great classified wines, all but one came from the Médoc region. The exception was the premier cru Château Haut-Brion, produced in Graves.
The 1855 list remained unchanged for over a hundred years until finally Mouton Rothschild was promoted to Premier Cru status in 1973, after decades of relentless lobbying by its powerful owner, Baron Philippe de Rothschild. Of lesser importance, in 1988 the premier cru Château Haut-Brion was changed in appellation from Graves to Pessac-Leognan to represent apparent changes in soil structure caused by the urbanization of areas surrounding Bordeaux.
Value Reds
Château Grand Maison Cuvée Spéciale 2006, Ac Côtes De Bourg
Bordeaux, France
#194217; $16.95 Rating – 86
Quinta Da Falorca Colheita Seleccionada 2005, Doc Dão
Portugal
#131854; $12.95 Rating – 86
Ravoire & Fils Le Prieure Côtes Du Rhône Villages 2007, Ac
Rhone, France
#175687; $14.95 Rating – 88
Château Fongaban 2006, Ac Côtes De Castillon
Bordeaux, France
#192401; $16.95 Rating – 89
Cat Amongst The Pigeons Nine Lives Shiraz 2007, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Australia
#93138; $17.95 Rating – 91
Premium Reds
Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils Beaune Du Château 2007, Ac, 1er Cru
Burgundy, France
#901199; $39.95 Rating – 91
Château Reverdi 2006, Ac Listrac Médoc
Bordeaux, France
#194209; $25.95 Rating – 90
Tokara Director's Reserve Red 2006, Wo Stellenbosch
South Africa
#183962; $26.95 Rating – 90
White Wines
La Crema Chardonnay 2008, Sonoma Coast
California, USA
#728352 $16.95 Rating – 89
Millton Riverpoint Vineyard Chardonnay 2008, Gisborne, North Island, Bio Dynamically Grown Grapes
New Zealand
#92486; $17.95 Rating – 90
Domaine Moillard Bourgogne Hautes Côtes De Nuits 2009, Ac
Burgundy, France
#642033; $ 17.95 Rating – 89
Louis Bouillot Perle Rare Brut Crémant De Bourgogne 2006, Ac
Burgundy, France
#178137; $19.95 Rating – 89
This looks like it will be a wonderful Sparkling wine (champagne style)
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