It is a mistake to think that “Bordeaux has become too expensive”. In fact, bordeaux is one of the regions in France that has an incredible wealth of good-value, affordable wines, provided you cast your net just a little bit wider than the famous Grand Cru Classes. They represent only a few percent, if event that, of what is made.
One very good source where you can go looking for exciting drinking wines from Bordeaux is Les Cotes de Bordeaux. It is also one of the rare examples of when the French appellation system has been simplified and made more consumer friendly. But more importantly, here you can find plenty of family-owned properties that sell their wines based on the merits of the wine, and not based on the fame of the chateau name or the appellation.
Les Cotes de Bordeaux will be celebrating its 10 year anniversary next year.
Read more on this in Per’s article on Forbes: A Successful Wine And Marketing Strategy For Bordeaux, Les Côtes.
Here’s the introduction:
A little bit over ten years ago a group of winemakers in Bordeaux decided to band together to be more effective in marketing their wines. They created Les Côtes de Bordeaux, or simply Les Côtes. It is one of the rare occasions when French appellations have been simplified to make it easier for the consumer, rather than complexified. I can think of only one other occasion where that has happened (read through to the end and I’ll explain that too).
The tendency is otherwise to create more and more, and smaller and smaller appellations, often with names that few have heard of. For example, have you ever heard of La Clape? No? It is an excellent appellation in the Languedoc. But don’t snigger and think “oh là, là, the crazy French”. The same thing happens in other countries, not least in the USA. There are now some to 250 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Ever heard of Lewis-Clark Valley AVA? Just like La Clape, it was created recently. France has 320 or so geographic appellations with about twice the total acreage of the US, so America is actually more fragmented than France.
Read more on this in Per’s article on Forbes: A Successful Wine And Marketing Strategy For Bordeaux, Les Côtes.
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