Best of Bordeaux. Rolf Bichsel

The best wines come from the limestone plateau and its slopes of

       clay over limestone around the town, and from a gravel, clay and sand terrace

       to the north-west of the region (commune of Figeac – Cheval Blanc). The soils at

       the foot of these slopes (Pied de Côtes) consist of clay, sand and gravel. Merlot

       (around 60%) is supplemented by Cabernet Franc and a little Cabernet Sauvi-

      gnon. Specific locations have a signi

       fi

       cant impact on the style: subtle and excep-

      tionally elegant but with good aging potential (plateau), lively and dense medi-

      um-bodied wines (slopes and lowlands), particularly fruity with character and

       finesse (Figeac), characterised by woody notes and rich in extract in the style of

       a Bolgheri (modernists), or compact and sharp (lowlands along the Dordogne).

       Pomerol

       800 hectares of vines I 150 winemakers I 4 million bottles a year

       Pomerol, an oval four kilometres long and three kilometres wide on the right

       banks of the Garonne and Dordogne, is the smallest of the large Bordeaux ap-

      pellations in terms of size. The best ferrous loam soils with varying proportions

       of clay and gravel can be found on the ‘plateau' around the church. In the west

       towards the Isle – the Gironde's third river – the soils contain clay and sand and

       produce lighter wines. In the east, Pomerol adjoins the vineyards of Saint-Emil-

      ion (Figeac and Cheval Blanc estates). Merlot is the main variety at 80% and

       produces elegant, velvety, full-bodied yet smooth wines.

       Fronsac / Canon-Fronsac

       1,100 hectares of vines I 150 producers I Around 8 million bottles a year

       These two neighbouring appellations stand on a horseshoe-shaped chain of

       hills between the Dordogne and the Isle, at a somewhat higher altitude than

       those in Pomerol and Saint-Emilion in a relatively windy location, which has a

       major impact on the maturation process and style of wine. Only a few winemak-

      ers, mostly members of the Expression de Fronsac cooperative, produce great

       wines. Clay over molasse and limestone soils, around 80% of which are planted

       with Merlot, produce the most ‘Italian' of all the Bordeaux wines with angular

       yet also astonishingly fresh tannins, offering extract and high levels of alcohol

       which ensure long aging in the best examples.

      

       The best wine bars,

       restaurants, hotels

       and other selected

       addresses for visitors

       to Bordeaux

       Beginning on page 274

       58

       Map Pessac-Léognan, Graves, Sauternes, Bordeaux

       Pessac-Léognan, Graves,

       Sauternes, Bordeaux

       5 Château Bastor Lamontagne

       14 Château Bouscaut

       18 Château Brondelle

       20 Château Caillou

       27 Château Carbonnieux

       33 Château Climens

       36 Château Couhins

       37 Château Couhins Lurton

       38 Château Coutet

       39 Château Crabitey

       44 Château D‘Yquem

       48 Château de Fargues

       50 Château de Malle

       51 Château de Myrat

       54 Château de Rayne Vigneau

       56 Château Doisy Daëne

       57 Château Doisy Védrines

       66 Château Filhot

       73 Château Gilette

       81 Château Guiraud

       83 Château Haut Bailly

       86 Château Haut-Brion

       99 Château La Mission Haut-Brion

       100 Château La Mission

       Haut-Brion / Laville Haut-Brion

       102 Château La Tour Blanche

       107 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey

       112 Château Lamothe Guignard

       120 Château Latour Martillac

       126 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion

       130 Château Malartic Lagravière

       143 Château Nairac

       145 Château Olivier

       148 Château Pape Clément

       163 Château Rabaud Promis

       164 Château Rahoul

       167 Château Raymond-Lafon

       168 Château Respide Medeville

       169 Château Rieussec

       171 Château Seguin

       172 Château Sigalas Rabaud

       174 Château Smith Haut Lafitte

       177 Château Suduiraut

       180 Château Thieuley

       190 Clos Floridene

       192 Clos Haut Peyraguey

       197 Dourthe N° 1

       The next six pages list all of the chateaus portrayed in this book. They are

       divided into the three main areas (south Bordeaux, Médoc, right bank) and

       listed in alphabetical order: the number represents the page