Wrapping Up in Bourg and Blaye

When pop and I looked at our schedule for the final day it seemed to be a bit of a let-down. We were to visit two chateaux neither one of us had ever heard of in the virtually unknown appellations of Bourg and Blaye. Little did we know what a pleasant surprise we were in for.

The drive to these “satellite” appellations took an hour and a half, though to be honest we somehow got routed north through Montagne St. Emilion on that frosty morning, rather than taking a more direct route. Also, we had to stop for gas (for the first and only time, clean-burning diesel engines are amazing). After going northwards on the A10 (which eventually gets one to Paris), we took the N137 a ways before taking another left, than another, and finally reaching our first destination for the day, Chateau Fougas.

The appellation of Bourg is about the size of Saint-Emilion and is equally varied. The western edge of the appellation stops at the banks of the Gironde (one is approximately across the river from Margaux) while the eastern edge makes a meandering semicircle around several plateaux and small valleys. Like other right bank appellations Merlot is king here, making up 61% of all plantings. Cabernet Sauvignon (21%), Cab Franc (6%), and Malbec (6%), make up the remainder. There is also an AC white wine which consistently seems to flirt with mediocrity made of Sauvignon Blanc, Colombard, Semillon, and Muscadelle (the presence of Colombard is never a good omen). Soils here are also varied, with clays and silts common towards the banks of the Gironde and more gravel inland.

The riverfront vineyard in Bourg, the vineyards at Ch. Fougas.

As would be expected from such a varied terrain of relatively meager vinous historical importance the wines here are quite varied in quality. Chateau Fougas is clearly one of the best, it actually gets reviewed and reviewed well by certain American critics. That said, operations and budgeting here are clearly tight. Parts of the vineyard are machine-harvested, though the best sections are picked by hand (one needs remember that the vast majority of acreage in Bordeaux is picked by machine). Fermentations are undertaken in open-top stainless tanks and pigeage is used rather than the more classical methods of remontage and delestage. Wild yeasts are used when possible, though the owner was clearly willing to to use selected yeasts if he felt it necessary.

The Cellar at Ch. Fougas

What is to be appreciated is the complete candor expressed here about winemaking. Rather than the normal smoke and mirrors, things like micro-ox and reverse osmosis are used here with no apology. This might be one of the few perquisites to be found in making wine from a region long used as a lake of mediocre red wine by negociant firms. Living on the margins and clamoring for market recognition is the standard, daily burden here. Even at the best chateaux there is no guarantee that a negociant will pick up your wine each year like in many of the better appellations. Rather, often times merely the best vintages are cherry-picked and the chateau is left to its own devices to sell the lesser vintages. At Fougas, the owners rather despondently noted that it was no wonder why none of their children wanted to return from Paris to run the estate after they passed on.

Another benefit of visiting is that more vintages are opened for you! At our lovely tasting, accompanied by the chateau’s thoroughly awesome mastif de bordeaux named terroir, we tasted an array of vintages dating back to 1993. The 1993 was a rustic beauty showing aromatics of fading red-fruit, tobacco leaves, gravel, tar and a touch of spice. Though it finished with expectedly austere tannins there was a remarkable amount of fruit and freshness remaining in the wine. To think that one would have paid about $6 for this wine in 1995 made it that much more remarkable. The pretty 1996 was full of plummy dark Merlot fruit, resinous spice and leather. Again, the tannins were firm, perhaps “old-school” is a better word, but the wine was delicious. Starting in 2000 the estate started using a heavier percentage of new oak and the remaining 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2005 all showed beautiful interlacings of dark smoke, coffee and coco. The 2005 in particular was a beauty showing thick, rich fruit, great persistence, and better managed tannins than on the earlier wines.

Bottle of Fougas, and “Terroir”

All in all, it was a great visit and a nice introduction to a region of which I had little previous knowledge.

Our final stop for the trip was in the Cotes de Blaye at Ch. Monconseil Gazin. If Bourg was diverse and the Cotes de Blaye is absolutely enormous- on most maps it looks to be close in size to Graves. The Cotes de Blaye is broken down into two qualitative subregions– the Premieres Cotes de Blaye and Blaye. The lattermost was created in 2000 and the AC regulations regarding vine density and crop levels are the same as those for Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. And, in contrast to the gravel and clay of the more southerly Bourg, the best growing areas of the Blaye share in common with Saint-Emilion the much vaunted limestone subsoil. Additionally, the wines seem to share the perfume, richness, and more of the suaveness of Saint-Emilion than the coarser power of Bourg.

At Monconseil Gazin we were met by the energetic, fifth generation owner of the chateau Jean-Michel Baudet and his wife Francoise. The organically farmed 24 hectare estate is planted on a gently sloping south/south-west hillside. Merlot composes 60% of the plantings, while Cabernet Sauvignon (30%) and Malbec (10%) make up the rest. Additionally, and a bit atypically for the region, an additional 2 hectares are planted to Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon that are destined for the surprisingly complex and refreshing Bordeaux Blanc made by the estate.

At the beautiful chateau which dates to the 1500’s the usual aspects of top-quality winemaking are found. Strict adherence to low yields, manual sorting, gentle fermentation techniques, extended maceration, and in the case of the upper-end Blaye wine, a large percentage of new oak.

And I must say, the wines are amazingly well-made and polished. Blind, I would have placed them firmly in Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. In particular, the 2004 Blaye, which saw 70% new oak, was a doozy. It had beautiful dark-red and purple tones, with excellent torrified oak aromas of vanilla, along with kirsch, and loads of red fruit. Though well-structured, the wine had remarkably well-knit tannins and just seemed outright polished. The 2001, a similar vintage, was showing the development one looks for in a great wine.

Though I am not sure if these wines are even available in the states, they should be. They offer as much quality as many much more expensive right bank wines at a small iota of the price. We are talking like $15 even with the shoddy value of the dollar. For those of you, like me, who simply cannot afford to stock up classed growths, it was really refreshing to fine such fine claret being made in the Blaye.

Conclusion:

And that wraps up one of the greatest, most fascinating weeks, I have yet experienced. Traveling with my pop– who has a world class palate and is a winemaker to boot– was an absolute joy. We are already hatching a scheme to go to Italy next year. The greatest thanks though needs to be given to the Institute of Masters of Wine and the Commanderie de Bordeaux. The latter organization, via Peter Sichel, spent an amazing amount of time planning the trip. I owe the Masters of Wine a huge amount of thanks for having faith that I will one day pass the MW exam by giving me their top scholarship for an American student. To those MW’s who decided– Mark de Vere, Jean-Michel Valette, Pat Farrell, Mary Ewing-Mulligan, Joel Butler, D.C. Flynt, Peter Marks, Lisa Granik, Bob Betz, Charles Curtis and others– I give you my huge thanks and I certainly owe you all at least one bottle of champagne. I look forward to the day that I will decide with them which student gets this amazing trip and honor!