South West France: The Bordeaux Fringes
South West France is one of France’s most varied and scattered wine regions. I like to split it into two parts: the Bordeaux Fringes and Everything Else.
Today I’m going to tell you about…
The “Bordeaux Fringes”
These are just a bit further up river (i.e. inland) from Bordeaux in the “High Country,” as they used to call it. The grape blends are similar to that of Bordeaux and the wines (thanks to it being a bit warmer and the high clay content of the soils) have rich fruit, deep color, and round texture. Like a plumped-up Bordeaux.
In fact (history lesson alert 🚨)…
The wines used to be super popular in the 13-14th centuries and, because they were ready for export before Bordeaux (the warmer weather, quicker ripening), they beat Bordeaux to the international markets.
Long story short, Bordeaux got jealous and put a law in place stating that “no one else” could export their wines until after most of the Bordeaux wines had been exported. (The Bordelais controlled the port, so they could easily enforce this.)
This completely ruined the High Country’s export market. By the time their turn came, the wine wasn’t as good and the demand was no longer there (people were satiated by all that Bordeaux).
To add insult to injury, Bordeaux started using the High Country wines, because they were richer and darker, to plump up their own wines. And that was that. The High Country fell into obscurity.
The good news?...
Today, you can find some super-excellent Bordeaux-esque wines for a fraction of the price of a Bordeaux.
Here are some of the specific Bordeaux Fringe appellations to look out for:
Bergerac (the most commonly seen Bordeaux Fringe appellation)
Producers: Tour des Gendres, Chateau du BloyMontravel (a subappellation of Bergerac)
Producers: Château Puy Servain, Château LaulerieCôtes de Duras
Producers: Château Haut-LavigneCôtes de Marmandais (you’ll also find the super sexy grape native to Marmande—Abouriou)
Producers: Domaine Elian Da RosCahors (based on Malbec, or called Côt here)
Producers: Château la Coustarelle, Chateau La CaminadeCôtes de Gascogne (lots of whites based on Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gros Manseng)
Producers: Domaine Duffour, Domaine Chiroulet, Domaine de Pajot
The two grapes that really steal the show in your Bordeaux reds are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. There’s a big difference in style between the two. So, how do they taste different, and how do you know which one you’re getting (cause it won’t say on the label)?