Graves and Pessac-Léognan. Where Bordeaux claret was born.

From Clairet to Haut-Brion

The first red wines of Bordeaux were pale, light and almost pink. This style, Clairet, was exported from Graves to England as early as 1152, helped by the Garonne River and easy shipping. Over the centuries it evolved into the deeper, oak-aged style the English called claret. In 1663 Samuel Pepys wrote about a wine called Ho Bryan, today’s Château Haut-Brion, in the first known description of a Bordeaux red close to what we drink today.

Graves stretches south from the city of Bordeaux along the left bank of the Garonne, sheltered by the Landes forest. Its name comes from gravier, gravel. The soils grow sandier and the wines generally less prestigious as you head south, which is why Pessac-Léognan was created in 1987 for the finest northern sites. Some of its estates, like Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion, now sit inside the city itself.

Red and white from the same estate

Pessac-Léognan reds use a little more Merlot than the top Médoc estates and come from a slightly warmer climate, so they show roundness and generosity, often with a dry, earthy character described as warm brick. They usually drink well a little earlier than Médoc wines. The whites, blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon often fermented and aged in barrel with lees stirring, can age for decades and develop honey and candied fruit.

This is one of the few Bordeaux fine wine appellations that allows dry white wine. Names to know include Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion, Smith Haut Lafitte, Pape Clément and Domaine de Chevalier. Only Haut-Brion made the 1855 Classification, so Graves created its own, confirmed in 1959. It names 16 Crus Classés without tiers, for red, white or both, and is Bordeaux’s only major historic classification to include dry whites.

The Bordeaux blend and new grapes

The episode explains the grapes of the Bordeaux blend. Merlot is now the most planted variety, more than twice the area of Cabernet Sauvignon, while Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carmenère play supporting roles. Malbec was once widely planted until the frosts of 1956. In 2021, to adapt to climate change, six new varieties were authorized in small proportions, among them Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets and Alvarinho.

The hosts also visit a cooperage at Smith Haut Lafitte to see how barrels are toasted, and why a light toast is chosen when the terroir speaks strongly. Then they try to build a barrel themselves.

Liber Pater: Bordeaux before phylloxera

The hosts walk through the vines of Liber Pater, a dense, low-trained vineyard of ungrafted vines and forgotten local varieties on sandy, gravelly soil. Later, owner Loïc Pasquet joins them in the studio to explain his idea: to recreate the taste of Bordeaux before phylloxera, with up to 20,000 vines per hectare and old grapes such as Castets and Tarnay. Some of these are not permitted under the appellation rules, so recent vintages are sold as Vin de France.

Liber Pater is often called the most expensive wine in the world. Hear what Andreas compares it to, and judge for yourself whether such a price can be justified.

Three classics and fish with red wine

Susie also brings Domaine de Chevalier 2016 white, Château Malartic-Lagravière 2016 and Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2015, a chance to compare two vintages and two styles of Pessac-Léognan red.

For food, chef Alexandre Baumard takes on a classic Bordeaux challenge: fish with red wine. He serves meagre in a sauce Bordelaise enriched with foie gras, with crisp soufflé potatoes. Find out how the red wine sauce bridges fish and tannin, and why some fish make tannins taste bitter.

Go furtherStudying Bordeaux in depth? The Bordeaux Master-Level program from the Wine Scholar Guild is a natural next step after this episode.