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Welcome to our selection of Bordeaux wines.
Bordeaux is undoubtably the most famous wine region in the world, to the extent that the city itself, epicentre of the vineyards of the Gironde, is often considered to be the world’s wine capital. The first vineyards appeared in the first century. And from the Roman era to now, the wines have been globally influential. Here you will find an eclectic selection, since we want to represent the diversity of Bordeaux wines: you will find the big classics, the most prestigious wines, crus classés and fine cellaring wines. There are also little gems that typify the new wave of the region’s wine, organic, biodynamic, sometimes natural, often more supple, fruity and voluptuous, which don’t necessarily require much ageing.
Bordeaux has been a legendary region of fine wine for centuries. Though the region no longer wields the overarching power it once did – having to share the stage with other wine regions such as Burgundy, Rhône, and Tuscany, for example – it remains the star of the show and offers some of the world’s most exquisite wines. Petrus, Château Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild, Haut-Brion, Latour, Margaux, Yquem: all of these crus classés are the stuff of dreams. A fascinating region in a number of ways, which has made its mark in the history of wine and continues to occupy an important place in the industry.
The 17th century was a new era of prosperity for Bordeaux, thanks to the Dutch, the Hanseatic League and those from Brittany. This can be explained by the arrival of Dutch engineers in Aquitaine, who came at the request of Henry IV to drain the wetlands in order to increase agricultural land. These new trade opportunities influenced the very nature of the wine made in Bordeaux since the Dutch encouraged the production of sweet, white wines, and reds that were darker and more powerful than before, more to their taste. It’s notably during this period that Arnaud III of Pontac experimented with a new method of producing and selling red wine from his Haut-Brion (Pessac) domain. He preferred to carry out his viticulture in poorer, more gravelly soil which gives wines that are coarser, more colourful and more apt for ageing – until then, the Clarets had more often been grown in clay soil. The Pontac family were equally the first to commercialise their wine under the name of its cru, Haut-Brion, notably in England. This practice was to be taken up by other Bordeaux estates when they observed its success, as well as the climbing prices of Haut-Brion wines. This ‘New French Claret’, highly appreciated in England, relaunched a prosperous era for the wines of Bordeaux from the 18th century. The vineyards grew further, extending to Médoc, Sauternais, and Blayais. It was during this period that the Médoc domains were created. At this point, the reputation of these wines was reaching Paris and Versailles. Bottling on site was a practice that developed on the best estates. It was also at this time that English, Irish, Flemish and German merchants began to set themselves up in Bordeaux and buy property there. Indeed, wine exportation from the region was stimulated by trade with the colonies.
