Château Lezongars
It is a sad fact that although Bordeaux receives perhaps more column-inches than any other wine region, it is perhaps also the most systematically ignored. Not the grand châteaux of the left bank communes of Pauillac or St Julien, of course, nor the ancient estates of Sauternes or Pessac-Léognan. There is no shortage of writers keen to wax lyrically about the wines of Latour, Yquem or Haut-Brion. Nor, of course, the somewhat smaller but nevertheless equally famous estates of the top right bank appellations of St Emilion and Pomerol. Although Le Pin, Ausone, Petrus and Cheval Blanc are priced beyond the reach of many of us, there is no difficulty in finding words, opinions and reviews of the properties and their wines.
But these estates, which might appear to constitute Bordeaux in its entirety if we fail to look beyond the annual en primeur campaign and the writings of leading commentators, constitute only a small percentage of the wines of Bordeaux. Beyond these hallowed names there are thousands of vineyards, millions of vines, and more wine produced per annum than by all of Australia. So where are the value wines, that we would find so easily when exploring the Loire, or the Rhône, or even Burgundy?
