Les Champs Libres
The white wines of Bordeaux have a small but loyal band of followers, level-headed drinkers who are ready to bang the drum in support of this largely under-appreciated style. And while I applaud their efforts, and feel ready to join them in their remonstrations against the seemingly interminable march of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (in a region which was, two centuries ago, predominantly white), I also remain acutely aware that there are controversies concerning the white wines of Bordeaux which are too readily swept beneath the carpet.
A consequence of the Bordeaux mindset, which naturally marries the greatest terroirs with the region’s principal red varieties, is that the white vines are too often relegated to lesser soils, on sites chosen not for their suitability for white vines, but their unsuitability for red. I have seen this time and time again, on the light and gravelly soils of Graves, Pessac-Léognan, the Médoc peninsula and, looking to the right bank, even on the alluvial sands and gravels of St Emilion and Pomerol. For years I visited these vineyards and tasted the wines, all the while wondering why nobody seemed able to draw inspiration from the evident synergy between Sauvignon Blanc, in current times the region’s most frequently planted white variety, and limestone, a terroir which dominates the right bank, found particularly in the appellations of St Emilion, the St Emilion satellites and Fronsac.
One taste of Le Grand Chemarin from Vincent Pinard, Les Monts Damnés from Gérard Boulay, or Luminance from Jonathan Pabiot, should be enough to convince the Bordelais that they are missing out, despite having both components of this symbiosis in abundance.
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