Famous throughout the world, Bordeaux wine benefits from an extraordinary know-how. The worldwide reputation of Bordeaux wines is indisputably its main strong point. No other region in the world can claim to have as many strong brands as the Bordeaux region. Here are 5 things that may blow your mind about them.
2000 Years of History
Bordeaux has been a wine region since the first century AD. It was the Bituriges Vivisques, a Celtic tribe and the ancestor of today’s Cabernet, who planted the first vines in the part of France. It seems that it was the Bordeaux notables who decided to create their own vineyard because of the high price of wines from Narbonne and Italy. Thus, we can say that a bottle of bordeaux wine is the result of two millennia of experience.
The Club of Five
Since 1855 and the Universal Exhibition, Bordeaux wines have enjoyed an official classification. At the request of Napoleon III, the brokers used the prices of the time to classify the best Médoc and Sauternes wines. After two modifications, only five chateaux were credited with the title of Premier Crus. They are precisely Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, Mouton Rothschild and Haut-Brion.
Most Expensive Bottle of Wine Ever
The most expensive bottle in the world is produced in Bordeaux. It is Château Lafite 1787. Its price is currently displayed at nearly 125,000 euros. In addition to the fame of this domain and the age of the bottle, it is the initials “Th. J” engraved on its glass which justifies this cost. Indeed, Château Lafite 1787 belonged to the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson.
A Story of an Egg
Even if the origin of the cannelés that make Bordeaux famous remains unclear, everyone agrees that their creation is intrinsically linked to the wine produced in the region. It is the important stage of vinification, fining, which would have encouraged the manufacture of small cakes. During this period, the wine is filtered in vats using whipped egg whites. At the time, the unused egg yolks were given to the poor, who would have used them to make the cake.
How Many Winemaking Chateaux?
On the thousands of hectares that form the Bordeaux region, there are more than 9,000 wine castles. But in reality, the region is home to only about sixty real castles. The very definition of a Bordeaux château has nothing to do with architecture. In regions that produce wine, a chateau is a winery that deals with winemaking and viticulture.