Wine, Women and Bordeaux

MANILA, Philippines - I finally had the chance to visit the Bordeaux region in France as the Global Summit of Women organized a Culinary and Wine tour after the event in Paris. I was so looking forward to add to my little knowledge about wine, most especially Bordeaux. And I did learn not a little, but a whole lot about wines. Thanks to all the women who run these vineyards.

Chateau smith haut lafitte

Founded by two ski champions who in 1995 decided to hang up their skis and pick up farming tools, Florence and David Cathiard bought the Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte which covers 78 hectares of vineyards and 65 hectares of forest. Florence toured us around their cellars and her able guide, yet another lady named Alix, showed us how differently they do things in the chateau.

First, they of course pick only the best ripened grapes from among seven grape varieties. I heard from some obviously unenlightened souls before that Bordeaux wines are “heavy.” This opinion immediately changed as soon as we were served the reds at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte. The wine was pleasant and paired well with our magret or duck course.

Second, you cannot discount the “terroir” in Bordeaux brought about by their location, the  mixture of gravel and sand (if you will) called Graves made of “silica for finesse, limestone for power and clay for richness,”  the topsoil of pebbles that reflects the sun’s rays which helps the grapes ripen beautifully.

Third, they are also advancing in technology, using satellite imagery, soil surveys, computerized optical sorting while growing their grapes in an organically suitable way. They use bio dynamic agriculture practices of planting as most vineyards in Bordeaux do, where planting is done when the moon is in the right phase, and harvests are also done in a manner in tune with Nature.

Florence and David have two daughters who have followed their entrepreneurial journey. One runs a five-star hotel on the chateau while the other has patented five recipes using polyphenols from grapes (discards from the winemaking process) to make special cosmetic preparations. Now, how’s that for women power at the Chateau?

La Fitte actually means “small hills”  or rises which the chateau naturally has. Now, it’s no longer a surprise for me to drink and appreciate  a good Bordeaux and dispel the “heavy” reputation it once had for me.

Sauterne

The trip to Bordeaux would not be complete without trying sweet wines called Sauternes. Located in the area called Sauterne, these wines use a different approach to wine-making. The fungus called Botrytis is responsible for entering the grapes in the cool mornings and in the warmer afternoons, the water evaporates and somehow the fungus develops the sugar while seemingly “rotting” the grape. These grapes are picked by hand, as optical sorters will not do the job of checking which grape was entered by the fungus and which was not. Further, because of this method of ripening the grapes, the yields are low, as not all the fruits may be affected by the fungus, and the unaffected ones are discarded in the manufacture of Sauternes.

The tree has to be checked maybe eight times in one harvest and this demands a lot of time and close attention. The grapes are ripened until there is 350 grams of sugar per liter. These grapes are then pressed and the resulting liquid is preserved in oak barrels until their sugar reaches a level of 150 grams per liter, which is helped by the addition of sulfites to prevent further fermentation. The resulting liquid is filtered and allowed to stand to separate its sediments from the clear golden liquid that is now allowed to age.

We had the opportunity to taste three vintages of Sauternes which will make one appreciate the subtle differences in taste, aroma and body of new vs aged wines in this category.

In Sauterne, we visited Chateau Suduiraut, just a stone’s throw from Chateau D’Yquem, the source of the world’s most expensive Sauterne, which is now owned by Bernard Arnault of the LVMH group. Many big corporations acquire vineyards because of their investment potential. This Chateau we visited is owned by AXA International, the global insurance  company. Wines make good money.

Caroline Chevalier, the lady winemaker, introduced us to these wonderful Sauternes, which they say can be taken alone as aperitifs or eaten with a strong cheese like Roquefort. I remember having a Sauterne with a calamansi pie in one of my visits to our very own Enderun’s Restaurant 101.

St. Emilion

Again, it is a label I  have seen many times in our Cheese Club cocktails and never bothered to check what the region really stood for.  We were given four wines to taste over our light lunch at Salle de Dominicains, a monastery that has been converted to an event hall. One of them which I right away tasted is Chateau Dassault. I immediately liked it as St. Emilions are largely Merlots (80 percent Merlot usually) and I love the lightness of Merlot.

To my surprise, our chateau visit would be at Chateau Dassault, now run by a lady named Laurence Brin. She took over from her father in 1995 and since then has improved the vinification with a mix of old and new technology. While she also uses optical sorters, there is nothing like the human touch when it comes to actually sorting grapes and checking the aging of the recent harvest. She prepared for us to taste a 2003 and a 2006 and by memory to compare it with the 2007 served at lunch. I asked her if Bordeaux wines are “blended” and she clarified that they indeed are blended from the many varieties at the chateau, but bottled on site which is the term we always see on bottles “Mis en bouteille en chateau.”

The AOC or the Appellation d’Origine Controllee, or the controlling and certifying body, is very strict and does annual visits to the chateaux which carry the mark AOC. They also change the rules and qualifications every 10 years, to ensure that winemaking traditions are preserved while technology is also adopted in a way that only makes the wines better. AOC wines comply with all the standards to ensure the best quality.

There is nothing pretentious about getting more knowledge about wine. It is actually just like coffee, except it can make one woozy if you take too much. But paired with the right dishes or taken alone as an aperitif, these wines are truly one of God’s gifts to man.

Here’s a toast to Bordeaux and the women who taught us more about their wines!