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BORDEAUX
– TRAVEL –
Nicolas Ballande, owner of Château Palais Cardinal
Some 9,000 winegrowers call the Gironde department home,
working year in year out to offer wine enthusiasts the
best of their expertise. Across nearly 120,000 hectares
spanning myriad sites, they perpetuate over 2,000 years of
winegrowing traditions. This variety allows Bordeaux to run
the gamut in terms of wine styles, which each appellation harnesses to
form a consistent yet unique whole. Over the years, these appellations
have witnessed the birth of wines that are so prestigious that their
reputation now comes with a hefty price tag.
Pomerol, Saint-Emilion and Margaux, to name a few, are the cradle
of properties that are so renowned that their reputation spills out
over national borders and has helped garner Bordeaux’s global
acclaim. But just a stone’s throw from these standard-bearers, on the
same soils whose quality is unrivalled and undisputed, are estates
producing wines that are admittedly lesser-known but can hold their
own in comparison with their neighbours. Tended to by men and
women showing faultless determination and passion, these properties
successfully combine quality and accessibility so that consumers can
indulge, without breaking the bank. On our trip across Gironde,
we met some of these winegrowers who think outside the box and
make a point of producing elegant, no-fuss wines. These are wines
that manage to offer an honest, elegant rendition of their distinctive
vineyard sites, yet remain affordable. To achieve this, some producers
have freed themselves from appellation rules to gain greater freedom
in terms of varietal choices, whilst others have enthusiastically made
the demanding commitment to switch to organic. Whatever the tack
46 WINTER 2021 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE