White Bordeaux
White Bordeaux is a dry or semi-dry made from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Sauvignon Blanc, a crisp, lively, herbaceous grape, makes up 60-100 percent of the wine. Sémillon, a fuller-bodied, viscous, honeyed, lower-acidity grape makes up the remainder. When young, White Bordeaux are crisp, and when older, they develop a honeyed flavor.
White Bordeaux is good with chicken, turkey, veal, and fish, along with hard cheeses and fresh goat cheese.
Château Haut Rian 2002 Bordeaux sec with Queso de Varé. This cheese is grassy (herby) and lightly goaty, salty, nutty – delicious! The wine is crisp, very slightly frizzante, and clean. I get some citrus fruit from the wine, but I don’t lose the earthiness of the cheese. This is good together.
Château Haut Rian with Ibores, Hard Spanish goat cheese. Not so bad. It is not perfect, but a decent match. It’s not as good as the Varé.
Château Haut Rian with Brinata bouncy sheep cheese from Italy. I don’t like this at all. It leaves a metallic, bitter taste.
Château Haut Rian with Pavé Sauvage goat cheese with herbs on the outside. This was horrible. It made my entire face pucker up. The wine was completely lost, and the cheese just turned rancid in my mouth. I think it needs maybe a sweeter or fruitier wine.
Château Moulin de Poncet 2002 (Tasted in 2003). 12% alcohol. There is a picture of a windmill on the label. Metallic, bitter, floral, citrusy, and tangy. It is also a little spicy. It tastes like shrimp or seafood. from Daignac, France. I think this was about $12-15 a bottle at Grapevine. I wanted to try a White Bordeaux that was not completely Sauvignon Blanc. This one is 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Sémillon, and 30% Muscadelle du bordelais. It is aged in oak and comes from old vines.
Château Moulin de Poncet with Crottin Frais. A little bitter. It is ok, but not as good as I expected. I wanted a goat cheese to go with this, and it's not.
Château Moulin de Poncet with Gevrik baby soft-ripened goat cheese. Too bitter.
Château Graville-Lacoste 2002 (Tasted in 2004). $13.75 at Austin Wine Merchant. 12% alcohol. This is from Graves, which is one of the Bordeaux regions that makes less expensive wines. It is most likely a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and maybe Muscadelle. The Sauvignon Blanc makes the wine crisp, lively, herbaceous, and light-bodied. This grape develops early. The Sémillon develops later. It is fuller-bodied, viscous, and honeyed. It has lower acidity. These wines are very crisp when they are young, and taste more honeyed as they age. I would like to try this with a Crottin or maybe a Grafton 4 Star Cheddar. This smells great. It smells like perfume and almonds. It is a deep yellow color, not so clear as Sauvignon Blanc. It smells like marzipan. I also smell some honey. It has a great nose. When I taste it, it's different -- tart and crisp at first, and then the honey and marzipan that I smelled comes out.
Château Graville-Lacoste with Cantalet. This cheese tastes like an extremely mild quality Cheddar. Not bad together, but not so great, either. They don't do much for each other. I like the flowers in the wine. They are a little bitter together. It's not awful, but just not very interesting.
Château Graville-Lacoste with Capriati Crottin. Great together. The cheese is so citrusy and sour. It brings out intense flower flavors in the wine. It makes the wine taste less acidic. I like the acidities together. It tastes so fresh and light. I love these two together. Delicious nuts and flower flavor in the wine that counters the citrus in the cheese. They really mesh well together.
Château Graville-Lacoste with Quebec Vintage Cheddar. Sharp, yet smooth, Cheddar. Surprisingly, this is really good. The cheese is stronger than the wine, but they work out together. Older Cheddars sometimes have a citrus flavor that works well with Sauvignon Blanc. They taste nutty and exciting together.
On my "to buy" list:
Château Carbonnieux Pessac-Léognan Graves Grand Cru 2002 $29.99 at Austin Wine Merchant. I tried this at a demo at the store and it was excellent. Creamy, fruity, nutty, floral, and complex. It felt very full-bodied and didn't have too sharp of an acidity. It tasted very lush. I wanted to buy it, but I was out of money.