Past Issues:
Tasting Bordeaux -- Medoc & Haut-Medoc
If you look at a map
of Bordeaux, you can see that the Medóc
is essentially the left bank of the Gironde
inlet – and the term "Medoc"
is used to refer to both the entire left
bank region, as well as the specific Medoc
appellation in that region.
Only red wines from this region
can use the Medoc appellation name, and
these wines are made from the classic combination
of red Bordeaux grapes – Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and occasionally
Petit Verdot and Malbec.
As compared to the generic
Bordeaux wines that we started with,
Medoc wines should generally have more color
and concentrated flavor, can benefit from
more bottle age, and have more oak and tannins
balanced with clean fruit flavors and a
focused finish.
Included in the Medoc region
are many of Bordeaux’s most famous
appellations: Margaux and Pauillac, to name
two. We’re going to begin with the
"basic" Medoc and Haut-Medoc appellations
and build up to the more exclusive (and
pricey) ones.
So it was off to the wine
store. The rules were the same -- we didn't
go in search of well-known bottles, we didn't
take a wish list, we just bought a selection
at random from a well-stocked wine store.
Here's what we scored:
($22)
($24)
($11)
($11)
($30)
($15)
We’ll report back next
issue with our
tasting notes on these wines, as well
as the introduction to the next part of
our Bordeaux tasting –
Listrac and Moulis...
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