What does a Bordeaux wine taste like?

Bordeaux wine is vast wine region in France. It has 57 appellations making it the largest appellation producer of the country. Of course, if you’ve never tasted it, you may be wondering what does a Bordeaux wine taste like.

Let me help you with a few hints. But keep in mind, that will all the different appellations, regions within Bordeaux and wine producers, these are mere guidelines.

What is Bordeaux wine?

Bordeaux produces not only the red wines, known worldwide but also dry and sweet wines. Bordeaux also produces rosés and sparkling wine.

Rosés wine will more or less have the same aromas and flavours as the reds (just less concentrated) and sparkling will have the taste of the base wine.

So let’s concentrate on the white and red wines in Bordeaux.

When we taste a wine, we are going to taste flavours of course, but we will also feel the texture (low-bodied to full-bodied) and the acidity, which is a very important component.

What is a red Bordeaux wine?

Red wines are a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot mostly. The other grape varieties (such as Malbec, Petit Verdot or Carmenère are usually in small quantities so they don’t influence much).

The Right Bank will have Merlot-dominated blends whereas the Left Bank will have Cabernet-dominated blends.

Merlot has a medium acidity with medium tannins and offers different fruit characteristics according to its level of ripeness. It can deliver red fruit and herbaceous aromas and flavors to cooked black fruit.

Cabernet Sauvignon is a grape with thick skin which bring color and tannins to the wines. It has high acidity and herbaceous and black fruit aromas.

These two grapes are often blended because Merlot will help lower the tannins and acidity levels and make the wines more ready to drink at an early age. It will also add red fruit flavors to the blends.

Cabernet Sauvignon will balance a wine’s acidity and add tannins.

So Bordeaux wines are usually dark colored and full-bodied wines that can seem austere in its young age.

What does the red Bordeaux wines taste like?

Let’s start with acidity.

The Left Bank wine will be more acidic than the Right Bank wines seeing as Cabernet Sauvignon is more acidic. It is lower in pH and has less sugar than Merlot.

This acidity will make the wine feel fresh on the palate.

Concerning tannins, it is often said that, when drunk in their youth, Bordeaux wines tend to leave your mouth dry. This is due to unripe tannins indeed.

ANECDOTE : By the way, do you know WHY your mouth feels dry? -it’s actually the same as with black tea when you leave it to infuse for too long-. The proteins, found in your saliva, and the tannins produce a chemical reaction reducing the amount of lubrication. Your mouth will thus feel dry afterwards.

However, today, the trend is to riper fruits, to have riper aromas and flavours but also to reach phenolic maturity. This means the tannins, that come from the skin, will be riper. And riper tannins leave a velvety effect in your mouth. With age, these tannins will mellow and the wine will seem silky on the palate.

Yes, I can hear you say it : what about the bad vintages? We know now that the vintage effect is a well-known phenomenon. Well the winemaker will use tricks in the cellars to help soften these tannins. These tricks consist in cold maceration and micro-oxygenation. It will also influence the type of vessel he will use for aging (oak, concrete…).

Concerning the aromas and flavours! I will be going by the books. Indeed, we all have different noses and different palates and we smell and taste differently. And I’d like to give you the most accurate picture. So don’t try to find ALL the aromas when you drink a Bordeaux wine but recognize the ones YOU smell and taste.

Young wines from the Left Bank, Cabernet-dominated wines, will present aromas of cassis, blackberry, black cherry, liquorice, vanilla, coffee bean, spices… When aging, these aromas will become tobacco leaf, truffle, cigar, leather, spices, wet soil…

What about the whites?

Bordeaux’s white wines, dry or sweet, both have high acidity which makes it refreshing, especially for sweet wines. Indeed, it makes us want to come back to it, to pour another glass.

Dry white wines are usually low to medium bodied and will present aromas of grapefruit, lemon, gooseberry, lemon curd, chamomile and will often be mineral.

Sweet wine will have riper notes such as apricot, marmalade, quince, honey, ginger, grilled nuts, vanilla, spices. They will be full-bodied and complex. Bordeaux’s sweet wines, especially Sauternes, are the best sweet wines of the world and its due to its complex aromas and high acidity. It has the perfect balance between acidity and sweetness :the bliss point!

Conclusion : What does a Bordeaux wine taste like?

All in all, a dry white Bordeaux wine will be low-bodied with citrus and mineral aromas. A sweet white wine will be full-bodied and have riper and more complex aromas. Sauternes balances acidity with sugar perfectly, which explains their number one position in terms of sweet white wines.

Red Bordeaux wine will taste as red fruits if on the Right Bank and black fruits on the Left Bank. But be careful, these are broad generalizations and it highly depends on the regions within the Bordeaux region and especially on the winemaker.

So the best way to know how a Bordeaux taste is … to taste it! If you can’t travel to Bordeaux, sign up for SomMailier, which brings Bordeaux wines directly to your doorstep!

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