The Review - FOOD & DRINK - The Wine Press with DON & JOHN Published: 11th October 2007
Chateaux Margaux, one of the great Medoc estates
Buyers are happy going into the red for Medoc
Wine production in Bordeaux’s historic Medoc vineyards has survived war, revolution and a loss of consumer confidence. It is now enjoying another golden age
THEY are harvesting the grapes in Bordeaux. In its premier wine-making area, the Medoc, the annual circus is about to begin. Although it will take about two years to produce the wines, and many more for them to be drinkable, the best will be sold for big money in early spring 2008 only a few months after the process has begun.
It is easy to criticise Bordeaux wine and it is trendy to mock the Medoc. But in the kingdom of the vine, Medoc is royal. Steeped in wine history, it has been threatened by war, revolution and devastating pestilence, but always survives and manages to remains on top.
The Medoc has a story to tell.
That story began more than 500 years ago, when the first Medoc vineyards were founded. Somehow, in a wild and lonely expanse of poor farm land, a handful of lawyers and local politicians recognised wine-making potential. The vineyards they founded began to produce wines, which are still the greatest and most expensive in the world.
These were never local wines: the English, Dutch, Germans and the Irish were their main markets. Ireland then had a population half that of England’s.
War between England and France soon threatened this booming trade. Fortunately, every year during the conflict, English privateers captured French ships laden with Medoc wine and the contents were sold in London. The respective governments never appeared to smell a rat.
Later, when Thomas Jefferson was sent to France as US ambassador, he was appalled by the terrible conditions of the French peasantry, but enthused over the wines, particularly those of the Medoc. A new market beckoned.
The middle of the 19th century found the Medoc revelling in a golden age. Driven by the coming of the railways, steam ships and the growth of the cities, demand for Medoc wine soared. More and more vineyards were created. Many produced poor-quality wine, leading to a consumer loss of confidence in the Medocs. Again the merchants and wine-makers of the Medoc rose to the challenge.
The Bordeaux merchants had always graded Medoc wines for commercial purposes. These unofficial ratings were studied and an official list, the famous 1855 classification, was created. This was not a snapshot based on tasting the current vintages. The big idea behind the classification was to base it on the area’s long history of wine-making. It represented “the apex of the evolution of Medoc wines over the centuries”.
At the top were placed the great Medoc wine estates of Lafite, Latour and Margaux and one outsider, Haut Brion. The list has developed over the years and currently there are five top-ranked premier cru wines. Below them are 56 other estates, graded from second to fifth class; next are the Cru Bourgeois and Cru Artisan.
It was simple and it was very successful. Russian counts, American entrepreneurs and British industrialists now knew which wines were worth the high prices they were being asked to pay. Also, because it was based on a historical perspective, it did not change from year to year.
Today the Medoc is experiencing another golden age. The top wines fetch unprecedented prices. Each spring, the world’s wine writers blow into town and taste the still unfinished produce. One, the American Robert Parker Jnr, will book into a hotel and the world’s greatest wine-makers will bring their wines to be judged. He will eventually make his forecast, prices will be set and the wines sold. Before the wines are even produced the money will be banked.
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