Bordeaux Wine Basics - St. Emilion Wine Region
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 พ.ย. 2022
- St. Emilion is named Benedictine Monk Emilian, who created a limestone church, which is landmark in the city to this day. St. Emilion is a town near the Dordogne River but in the wine world, it is actually a wine region.
St. Emilion was officially classified as a distinct wine region in 1954. Their classification system is updated periodically and since 1954, has been updated 5 times: 1969, 1985, 1996, 2006, 2012 and 2022
St. Emilion is Bordeaux’s largest appellations and produces more wine that Listric, Moulis and all of the Left Bank classified growth regions (Pauillac, St. Julien, St. Estephe and Margaux) combined. It is known for its clay and chalk rich soils and Merlot is the primary grape grown in St. Emilion (2 notable exceptions: Cheval Blanc (Cab Franc) and Figeac (which grow a significant amount of Cabernet Sauvignon).
There are 3 basic regions within St. Emilion: 1/ Limestone plateau; 2/ South of plateau is alluvial sandy plain gently slopes down banks of Dordogne (most of the more well known wineries are not from here) 3/ Northwest of the plateau there is alluvial terrace. Gravel soils that drain well. Then there are 4 satellite areas to the northeast of the limestone plateau.
Twice as much Grand Cru is made each year compared to regular St. Emilion wines (3,739 hectares of Grand Cru, 1,826 hectares of non classified terroir). This is because the criteria to be labelled Grand Cru is not that difficult to meet. The criteria for a winery to label itself as a Grand Cru wine is: 1/ yield is lower than 550 litres per hectare; 2/harvested must weight of grapes at least 189 grams of sugar per litre (except Merlot); 3/wine must reach alcohol level of 11.5% and 4/wine be stored for 14 months before release. Because the criteria is so easy to meet, out of the entire production of St. Emilio wines that is released each year, (2.4 million cases), 1.5 million cases or almost 2/3 of the wine is labelled Grand Cru.
At the higher end, there are around 60 wines that are judged to be Grand Cru Classe. The addition of the word Classe denotes a quality level. At the top of the quality hierarchy in St. Emilion is Premier Grand Cru Classe wines. There are 14 in all divided into:
Premier Grand Cru Classe A: Figeac, Pavie
Premier Grand Cru Classs B: Beausejour (Duffau-Lagarrosse), Beausejour Becot, Belair Monange, Canon, Canon La Gaffeliere, Pavie Macquin, Troplong Mondot, Trottevielle, Larcis Ducasse, Valandraud, Clos Fourtet, La Mondotte
In 2022, Ausone, Angelus, Cheval Blanc, La Gaffeliere all decided to take their wineries out of the classification system. They were upset that 35% of the rating was based on the reputation, advertising and value of the wine and only 15% was based on the terroir and methods in producing the wine.
Like some other commenters, I have had bad experiences with St. Emilion Grand Cru's and now thanks to your video, I know that the plain Grand Cru label on a St. Emilion bottle doesn't mean much.
Henri: at least this helps me justify why some St. Emilion wines taste so bland. Cheers!
Totally correct! Same view here.
Trophy, thanks to your channel I had bought several bottles of the Double Diamond. Now that it’s WS Wine of the Year it will probably become hard to find. Thanks for the recommendation!
doublewides: did you get 2019? If you did, great but I would really like to know how it is compared to 2018, which I already thought was stunning. Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunter well…. now that I look a little closer I have the 2018. Nevertheless, a fantastic wine and I can’t wait to try the 19 and do a comparison.
I agree with your opinion about Château Quintus. It will be better and better…
Cheers!
I’ve had the Petit Figeac but not the big brother, Valandraud, and B. Becot. Cheval Blanc is on my bucket list but price may get in the way with that one. Really enjoy the region and very interesting to hear about the controversy with the ratings
doublewides: Cheval is one of my favorite wines so I should do a review on a bottle. It is a really large region so very hard to really get to know it unless you focus on the top tier wines. Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunterI wasn’t very aware of Cheval Blanc until I started following this channel. Now it’s a bucket list item. By the way, recalling back to your Super Tuscan video, I had the Flaccianello tonight with dinner. Absolutely love it!
@@doublewides I am saving my Flaccianello. I have to 2015 & 2016 and just waiting for a few more years. What vintage did you have? Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunter I had the 2017. I know it was probably a bit early for it but I wanted to try it so I could decide if it was worth buying a few more for my ‘cellar’ before the price goes up. I decanted it for about a half an hour which helped.
@@doublewides I had a bottle of 2016 with the same purpose as you. I thought it was young but quite impressed with the wine. Cheers!
What do you think of Chateau Mangot? It’s a Saint Emilion Grand Cru I got as a gift. I didn’t taste it yet I think it is too young 2017. It is not a high price wine but I am looking forward to drink it.
Axel: thank you for viewing my video and your question. I have had Mangot and like lots of Grand Cru, it is OK but not going to be mind blowing. So as long as your expectation is line with the quality of the wine, you should enjoy it. Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!
Thank you for a very informative video trophy. Can you weight in a little bit more on why you think Quintus will elevate in status in the future? (Apart from the ambition of Clarence Dillon Group)
GY: just talking to the group, it is a desire that they produce a wine on the Right Bank equivalent to growth status. Where there is money and a will, I would think they are not gong to fail. So I don't have any specific details of what changes they are making at the winery level but I can tell you that is the plan. Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunter Thank you for the information, great video!
@@GY_ye cheers!
I still prefer the dynamic st. emilion classification despite all the controversies and drama. The fact that we are still referring to an 1855 document for the medoc is a joke...
Angelus's owner was also accused of trying to influence the selection process back in 2012 to get them to premium classe A, I think that was also part of the reason they dropped out.
@@willhaowu thanks for viewing my video and your comment. That is a good point about Angelus dropping out.
I think you are right that at least they reclassify every 10 years. But you can see with every classification, there is always controversy so perhaps that is why the other regions don't reclassify.
I don't know if you have seen my series on the 1855 Classification System but it was never meant to be a classification of quality but rather a ranking of price per bottle. It has held up pretty well and it is still relevant in the auction/investment world. Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!
@ Trophy Wine Hunter,I think Bordeaux is definitely where you come into your own. I like the dynamic classification but it seems to have lost relevance when 3 of your top echelon decide to jump ship. With regards to the 1855 classification, I think the market sort of sets it's own rules Chateau Palmer sells for more that the second growths and Beychevelle is moving up to almost second growth price levels
What do you think of tour st christophe? Mr Kwok poured in alot of money and the price of their wines are a steal!
Koala Bear: unfortunately, I have never had the wine. I don't think we get it here in BC? Look at it on google and looks like very high ratings. Cheers!
I have visited and tested and bought their wines…I believe this wines are very value wines…
@@sanjaypatelmd4669 thanks for your comment. I will look out for it in my travels. Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunter
Not the prettiest or most elegant winery but good wines and great service. I think the guy who gave us tour was awesome.
@@sanjaypatelmd4669 nice!
Valandraud 2019 is great.
Oscar: thank you for viewing my channel and your comment. I haven't had it...where did you have it? En primeur or already released where you are? Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunterI had it at the Union des Grands Crus tasting in SF this July.
@@oscarayala1366 cheers!
Indeed, 2019 was good for right bank
There is no doubt, I am a right bank guy!!!!
😀😀
My first Bordeaux wine was from St. Emilion. Not a really special wine, still tasty.
Dividenden: thank you for viewing my video and your comment. Do you remember what wine it was? I am guessing it was a Grand Cru wine so the taste did not meet your expectation. Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunter it was Chateau Rocher Gardat. It was advertised as having some connection to Angelus. Me only knowing big names at that stage in my wine journey I just jumped on that wine.
@@Dividenden_Hai Yes, a mistake a definitely can relate to! Rocher Gardat is from Montagne-St.Emilion one of the satellite regions of St. Emilion that I did not discuss in this video. That is why so many people are confused/disappointed with St. Emilion. I would encourage you to pick up a bottle of one of the Premier Grand Cru B wines and you will see the step up in quality. Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunter thats the plan. I am currently exploring the left bank.
@@Dividenden_Hai cheers!
Emilion you pronounce the ‘L’. You’re pronouncing it like it’s a double LL.
Scott: Yup...something to improve upon in 2024! Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!