Online Encyclopedia

Lynch-Sages, Pauillac. Lynch-Moussas, Pauillac. Dauzac, Labarde. Mouton-d'Armailhacq, Pauillac. Le Tertre, Arsac. Haut-Bages, Pauillac. Pedesclaux, Pauillac. Belgrave, St Laurent. Camensac, St Laurent.

Cos-Labory, St Estephe. Chateau Clerc-Milon, Pauillac. Croizet-Bages, Pauillac. Cantemerle, Macau. The quality of the Medoc red wines (and this applies also to some of the finer growths of the other See also:

BORDEAUX

Bordeaux districts) is radically different from that of wines similar in type grown in other parts of the See also:

WORLD

world. The See also:

GIRONDE

Gironde red wines have sufficient See also:

BODY

body and See also:

ALCOHOL

alcohol to ensure stability without being heavy or fiery At the same See also:

time, their acidity is very See also:

low and their bouquet characteristically delicate and elegant. It is to this relatively large amount of body and See also:

ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of an excess of See also:

ACID (from the Lat. root ac-, sharp; acere, to be sour)

acid and of See also:

TANNIN, or TANNIC ACID

tannin that the peculiarly soft effect of the Bordeaux wines on the See also:

PALATE (Lat. palatum, possibly from the root of pascere, to feed)

palate is due. It has been said that See also:

chemistry is of little avail in determining the value of a See also:

WINE (Lat. vinum, Gr. oivos)

wine, and this is undoubtedly true as regards the bouquet and flavour, but there is no gainsaying the fact that many hundreds of analyses of the wines of the Gironde have shown that they are, as a class, distinctly different in the particulars referred to from wines of the claret type produced, for instance, in See also:

Spain, See also:

AUSTRALIA

Australia or the Cape. The quality of the wines naturally varies considerably with the vintage; but it is almost invariably the See also:

case that the wines of successful vintages will contain practically the same relative proportions of their various constituents, although the See also:

ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free)

absolute amounts See also:

PRESENT

present of these constituents may differ widely. It is the author's experience also that where a wine displays some abnormality as regards one or more constituents, that although it may be See also:

sound, it is rarely a wine of the highest class. The tables below will give a See also:

FAIR

fair See also:

IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea of the See also:

variations which occur in the same wine as a result of different vintages, and the variations due to See also:

DIFFERENCES, CALCULUS OF (Theory of Finite Differences)

differences of " growth " in the same vintage. These figures are selected from among a number published by the author in the See also:

Journal of the See also:

INSTITUTE (from Lat. instituere, to establish or set up)

Institute of See also:

BREWING

Brewing, See also:

APRIL

April 1907.and at a maximum in 1907, when See also:

close on moo hogsheads were obtained.

Similarly, the Chateau Margaux, which yielded 1120 hogsheads in 1900, produced 28o hogsheads in 1903. The prices of the wines also are subject to See also:

GREAT

great fluctuation, but in fair years will vary, according to class and quality, from J, to to £3o per See also:

HOGSHEAD

hogshead for the better growths. The See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal claret vintages of See also:

MODERN

modern times have been those of 1858, 1864. 1869, 1870, 1874, 1875, 1877, 1878, 1888, 1893, 1896, 1899 and 1900, while it was thought probable that many of the wines of 1904 to 1907 inclusive would turn out well. From 1882 to 1886 inclusive, the vintages were almost See also:

TOTAL

total failures owing to See also:

MILDEW (0. Eng. meledeaw or mildeaw, explained as " meal-dew," cf. Ger. Me/zit/tau, with more probability, as " honey-dew," Goth. melith, honey, cf. Lat. mel, Gr. µEX)

mildew. In 1887 to 1895 a number of fair wines were produced in each See also:

YEAR

year, and the first really See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good vintage of the See also:

POST

post-mildew-See also:

PHYLLOXERA (Gr. 4suXXov, leaf, and Erlpbs, dry)

phylloxera See also:

period was that of 1888. Most of the wines grown on a purely gravelly See also:

SOIL

soil are termed " See also:

GRAVES, ALFRED PERCEVAL (1846— )

Graves," but there is a specific See also:

DISTRICT

district of Graves which lies See also:

south of Bordeaux and See also:

west of the See also:

RIVER

river, and extends as far as Graves. Langon. The soil is almost a pure sandy See also:

GRAVEL, or PEBBLE BEDS

gravel with a subsoil of varied nature, but principally alios, gravel, See also:

clay or See also:

sand. This district produces both red and See also:

white wines. The vines, the methods of viticulture and vinification as regards the red wines of the Graves district, are similar to those of the Medoc. The wines are, if anything, slightly See also:

fuller in body and more alcoholic than those of the latter region.

They possess a characteristic flavour which differentiates them somewhat sharply from the Medoc wines. The Graves contains one vineyard, namely Chateau Haut-Brion, which ranks in quality together with the three first growths of the Medoc. The See also:

REMAINDER, REVERSION

remainder of the red Graves are not classified, but among the more important wines may be mentioned the following: in the See also:

commune of Pessac, Chateau La See also:

MISSION

Mission and Chateau Pape-See also:

Clement; in the commune of Villenave D'Ornon, Chateau La Ferrade; in Leognan, Chateau Haut-See also:

BAILLY, JEAN SYLVAIN (1736-1793)

Bailly, Chateau Haut-Brion-Larrivet and Chateau Branon-Licterie; in Martillac, Chateau See also:

Smith-Haut-Lafite. The district of Sauternes produces the finest white wines of the Gironde, one might say of the whole of See also:

France. Whereas the white wines of the Graves are on the whole fairly dry and Sauternes. See also:

LIGHT

light in See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character, the white wines of Sauternes are full and sweet, with a very See also:

FINE

fine characteristic bouquet. The district of Sauternes covers the communes of Sauternes, Bommes and a See also:

PART

part of Barsac, Preignac, Fargues and St Pierre-de-See also:

MONS (Flemish Bergen)

Mons. The See also:

general configuration of the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country is markedly different from that of the Medoc, consisting of a See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of low hills rising easily from the river. The soil consists chiefly of mixed clay and gravel, or clay and See also:

lime-See also:

stone, and the vines chiefly used are the Sauvignon, the Semillon and the Muscatelle. The wines are made entirely from white grapes, and the methods of See also:

COLLECTING

collecting the latter, and of working them up Analyses of Chateau Lafite of Different Vintages.' Alcohol See also:

EXTRACT (from Lat. extrahere, to draw out)

Extract Total Vintage. Description. Per Cent. Total (Solid Ash.

Tartaric See also:

GLYCERIN, GLYCERINE

Glycerin. See also:

SUGAR

Sugar. by Vol. A cidity. See also:

MATTER

Matter). Acid. 1865 Chateau Lafite 11.26 4.17 26.83 2.18 2.28 7.99 1.10 1875 ', 10.31 3.67 .. .. .. 7.25 1892 „ 11.00 4.38 25.92 2.42 2.11 4.60 1.25 1896 „ 11.05 3'51 26.08 2.68 1.71 8.64 1.69 1899 11.47 3'49 27.91 3.01 1.78 7.11 1.74 1905 „ 10.75 3.02 25.34 2.42 2.42 7.52 2.12 Analyses of Different Clarets of the Same Vintage.' Alcohol Extract Total Vintage. Description. Per Cent.

Total (Solid Ash. Tartaric Glycerin. Sugar. by Vol. Acidity. Matter). Acid. 1900 Ch. Margaux 12.14 3.06 26.32 2.58 I.50 8.76 1.93 Ch. Mouton-Rothschild 11.82 2.97 28.98 2.69 1.23 7'53 2.56 Ch. Larose I2•o6 3.23 29.01 2'29 1.50 8•o2 3'97 Ch. Batailley 12.14 3'15 26'54 2'39 1'48 8'45 2.27 Ch.

Palmer (Margaux) 11.73 3'19 28.64 2.72 1.52 8.23 2.27 Ch. Smith-Haut-Lafite 13.76 3.10 27.48 2.10 1.56 7.48 2.32 Second growth 10.91 3.32 29'44 2.84 1'75 6'99 I.72 See also:

Bourgeois growth 12.71 3'32 29'57 2.16 1.56 9.01 2.49 See also:

PEASANT (O. Fr. paysant, Mod. paysan; Lat. pagensis, belonging to the pagus or country; cf. " pagan ")

Peasant growth 11.47 3.58 20.97 1.71 2.50 7.18 1.20 'Results (excepting alcohol) are expressed in grams per litre, i.e. roughly parts per thousand. The See also:

ANNUAL

annual output of the Gironde during the last few years has been roughly 70 to See also:

LOO (formerly called " Lanterloo," Fr. lanturlu, the refrain of a popular 17th-century song)

loo million gallons. In the See also:

DECADE (from Gr. Oka, ten)

decade 1876 to 1886 the See also:

AVERAGE

average amount was barely 30 million gallons owing to the small yields of the years 1881 to 1885. In the years 1874 and 1875 the yield exceeded Too million. gallons. The output of the classed growths varies considerably according to the vintage, but is on the average, owing to the great care exercised in the vineyards, greater than that of the See also:

LOWER

lower-grade areas. Thus within See also:

RECENT

recent years the output of the Chateau Lafite was at a minimum in 1903 when only 229 hogsheads (the hogshead of claret =46 gallons) were produced, into wine, are entirely different from those prevalent in the red wine districts. The grapes are allowed to remain on the vines some three to four See also:

WEEKS, EDWIN LORD (1849-1903)

weeks longer than is the case in the Medoc, and the result is that they shrivel up and become over-ripe, and so contain relatively little See also:

WATER

water and a very large quantity of sugar. This alone, however, does not See also:

account for the See also:

PECULIAR

peculiar character of the Sauternes, for during the latter period of ripening a specific micro-organism termed See also:

BOTRYTIS

Botrytis cinerea develops on the See also:

GRAPE

grape, causing a peculiar See also:

CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition termed pourriture See also:

NOBLE, SIR ANDREW (1832- )

noble (See also:

German Edelfaule), which appears to be responsible for the remarkable bouquet observed in the wines. When the grapes have attained the proper degree of ripeness, or rather over-ripeness, they are gathered with the greatest care, the berries being frequently cut off from the branches singly, and sorted according to their See also:

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance. The grapes are then not crushed, but are immediately pressed, and the juice alone is subjected to See also:

FERMENTATION

fermentation. As a See also:

RULE

rule, three wines are made in the principal vineyards in three successive periods.

The first wine, which is termed the vin de bite, is generally the sweetest and finest, the next (called the milieu) being somewhat drier and the last (vin de See also:

QUEUE

queue) being the least valuable. For some markets these wines are shipped separately, for others they are blended according to the prevalent See also:

TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

taste. The musts from which the Sauternes wines are made are so concentrated that only a part of the sugar is transformed into alcohol, an appreciable portion remaining unfermented. These wines, therefore, require very careful handling in See also:

order to prevent undesirable secondary fermentations taking See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place at a later period. They are subjected to frequent racking, the casks into which they are racked being more highly sulphured than is the case with red wines. This is necessary, not only to prevent fermentation recommencing, but also in order to preserve the light See also:

GOLDEN

golden See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour of the wine, which, if brought into contact with an excess of See also:

air, rapidly assumes an unsightly brown shade. The Sauternes generally are full-bodied wines, very luscious and yet delicate ; they possess a See also:

SPECIAL

special seve, or, in other words, that special taste which, while it remains in the mouth, leaves the palate perfectly fresh. The finer growths of the Sauternes are classified in much the same way as the red wines of the Medoc.

End of Article: CLASSED GROWTHS OF THE

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
CLASS SYMPHYLA

[next]
CLASSICS