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Cabernet Sauvignon:
Despite being so prominent in the winemaking industry, the origins of this variety were shady up until the 1990s. Prior to this, many felt that the variety was ancient origin – perhaps even the Biturcia grape used to make ancient Roman wine. However, these romanticised and altogether dubious origins were placed on the shelf when DNA typing, undertaken by the UC David Department of Viticulture and Enology, determined that Cabernet Sauvignon was the offspring of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc – most probably due to a chance crossing in the 17th century.

Cabernet Sauvignon can grow in various different climates and soil types – in fact the wine usually gives a sense of the terroir in the taste. Naturally prone to vigorous yields, winemakers must be careful not to compromise the quality of the wine. Practices such as using less vigorous rootstock, green harvesting and aggressive pruning of grape clusters ensure lower yields.

This variety is most famously found in Bordeaux blends and thrives on the gravelly soils of the Medoc, being both well drained whilst also radiating heat to the vines. However, internationally varietals are very common – especially in warmer climates.

Merlot:
Used for both blending and varietal wines, Merlot is the foremost grape in the Bordeaux. Merlot wines usually have a medium body with hints of berry, plum and currant. Its softness and fleshiness, combined with earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, with its higher tannin levels. Its name comes from the Occitan word “merlot” which means “young blackbird” – a nod towards the grape’s beautiful dark-blue colour. An offspring of Cabernet Franc (and therefore a sibling of Cabernet Sauvignon), it was first mentioned in 1784 where a labelled wine made from the grape attracted praise from all quarters.

The grape can easily be identified by its loose bunches of large, plump grapes. The colour is less or a blue/black hue than Cabernet Sauvignon and it has a thinner skin, with correspondingly fewer tannins. Pruning has a massive impact on the outcome of the wine, with reduced yields giving higher quality wine. Merlot has a propensity to quickly over ripen after hitting its initial ripeness level, sometimes in a matter of a few days. The renowned Chateau Petrus favours early picking to ensure acidity and ageing potential, while other growers favour late picking and the added fruitiness that comes with the additional ripeness of the fruit.

Merlot is now the most commonly grown grape in France, which claims two thirds of the world’s total Merlot cultivation.

Cabernet Franc:
Cabernet Franc is one of the major red grape varieties worldwide, principally being grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as is the case with the Loire’s Chinon.

As might be expected it is in general it is very similar to its offspring Cabernet Sauvignon, however it buds and ripens at least a week earlier. This allows the vine to thrive in slightly cooler climates, such as the Loire and even Canada. The winged bunches are elongate and small-medium in size, with the berries being quite small and blue-black in colour, with fairly thin skins. The grape is highly yield sensitive, with over-cropping producing wines with more green, vegetal notes than is usual.

In France it is found predominantly in the Loire Valley and in the Libournais region of the Bordeaux. As of 2000, it was the sixth most widely planted red grape variety in the country. Internationally speaking it can be found in Italy, Canada, and the USA in significant quantities. Interestingly in the USA it is used by ‘Meritage’ wines that aim to emulate the Bordeaux blend in California, while in Canada it is used to produce superlative ice wines with immensely concentrated flavours.



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Wine Spectator: Updated: April 15, 2010. A fruity and clean wine, with chocolate and berry character. Delicate finish. —J.S.Stephen Tanzer: May/Jun 10. By Ian D'Agata. Inky ruby. Captivating aromas of strawberry, violet, graphite and sexy new oak. Enters very smooth, offering a beautifully tactile mouth feel and flavors of very ripe plum and red cherry complicated by sandalwood and cinnamon. An in-your-face yet serious style of wine that will be perfect for short-term drinking. The long finish is a bit warm and saline.

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A fairly recent arrival in contrast to most other Bordeaux properties. The estate was a mixture of arable, pasture and moor-land owned by the Duc de Duras, marshal of France. In 1772 it was bought up by a certain Henri Labarthe who painstakingly cleared and drained the land in order to establish his very own vineyard. It only took the name Beaumont when it was acquired by M Bonnie in 1824, before in turn falling into the hands of Marquis d’Allegre – one of the most obscenely wealthy men in France at the time.

The chateau itself is in the Mansard Renaissance style which became something of an architectural craze after Napoleon declared the Second Empire in France. Especially prominent are the exotic octagonal turrets put up in 1854 by the Bonnin brothers who acquired the property from d’Allegre in 1849. After this the estate was handed down to a number of noteworthy individuals – Comte de Gennes (1860), Jean-Victor Herran, Minister for Honduras (1872) and the French industrialist Joseph Germain (1890). The latter poured money into the estate vineyards which trebled in size.

During the 1900s the estate came into the possession of various owners in rapid succession including Della Grazia company of Milan, Lieutenant Colonel Ignacio Andrade, a retired Venezuelan senator called Dionisio Ramon Boliar Carvajal, a relation of the Latin American revolutionary Simon Bolivar, before finally coming into the hands of Bernard Soulas – who refurbished the grand chateau.

In 1986 the property was acquired by the Société Grands Millésimes de France – a result of the partnership between Groupe GMF and Suntory. The new owners were delighted to find themselves with 105 hectares of vineyard planted on drained, gravelly and deep soils.

Cabernet Sauvignon makes up 60 percent of the land with 35 percent Merlot and the remaining 5 a mix of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The vines average out at 25 years of age. Stainless steel, temperature-controlled vats are used with three weeks of maceration. 4000 cases are produced a year.
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For most of its history, the Haut-Médoc was a vast region of salt marshes used for animal grazing rather than viticulture. In the 17th century, Dutch merchants began an ambitious drainage project to convert the marshland into usable vineyard area. Their objective was to provide the British market a wine alternative to the Graves and Portuguese wines that were dominating the market. Using technology that was advanced for that time, the Dutch were able to convert enough marshland to allow large estates to form all along the Gironde. Soon the Bordeaux wine regions of Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe took shape. By the 19th century, the wine region of the Haut-Médoc was one of the most prosperous in France, with wines that had an international reputation that would be unparalleled till the late 20th century.

The area covers ca. 4,600 hectares of declared vineyards, constituting 28.5% of the Médoc total, annually producing on average 255,000 hectolitres of wine. The variation in types of soil is greater than other appellations in the region, ranging from less than ideal terrain, to conditions on a par with some of the enclaved appellations of more celebrated reputation.

Of the permitted grape varieties of Haut-Médoc, 52% of the viticultural area is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, with additional cultivation of Merlot, Petit Verdot and to a small degree Malbec (locally called "Cot"). Also permitted under the regulations of the AOC are the varieties Cabernet Franc and Carménère.

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Vintage Overview

A truly phenomenal year for the Left Bank, where the dominant, late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon really flourished in the warm, dry climate. The softer, more alcoholic Merlot had less success on the Left Bank (with some growers finding themselves with 15.5% alcohol wines), but still enjoyed a fantastic year – 2009 really is about degrees of success, rather than hits or misses. However, if the Right Bank needed fine-tuning to achieve perfection, the Right Bank has it in spades:

“The finest 2009 left bank reds managed to be unequivocally Bordeaux - no "Napa Valley" or "New Worldy" in the tasting notes - while harnessing 2009's exceptional natural bounty: a dry, warm-but-not-scorching summer that lasted until mid-September when a downpour revitalised vines that were on the point of suffering from the prolonged drought. This was followed by another long, unusually fine period.” – Jancis Robinson, MW.

Jancis Robinson wrote that “The perfect 2009 red bordeaux - and there are many of them, at all levels and from virtually all appellations - are exceptionally luscious and were an absolute delight to taste, but still have that quintessentially Girondin raciness, appetising quality, capacity to age and imprint of terroir that distinguishes the best of them from Cabernets, Merlots and Bordeaux blends produced elsewhere” adding also with respect to the top wines in particular..” I have never given so many really high scores when tasting en primeur anywhere..”

"It may turn out to be the finest vintage I have tasted in 32 years of covering Bordeaux.” - Robert Parker

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