Bordeaux Wine Guide: Region 8 - St Emilion

[Matthias R WHT]

If there is one Bordeaux appellation where terroir truly matters, it
is here.

I suppose, reflecting on this statement, that I should not make it so
boldly. After all, it is terroir that defines the best sites in all
the appellations of the left bank that have so far come under the
inspection of this guide to Bordeaux. It is the gravel croupes, close
to the Gironde, which host all the most reputable Grand Cru Classé
estates, and it is notable that estates in possession of a lower
ranking, but a gravelly terroir, are often properties that punch well
above their weight when the wines come up for tasting. And further
north past St Estèphe, where the gravel gives way to denser clay in
the Médoc appellation, the wines can be very good - but not up to the
quality of those from the Haut-Médoc.


St Emilion Soils

So terroir matters everywhere, so perhaps it is just that here in St
Emilion it is so much more apparent to the eye. Whereas the Médoc is a
land of gently rolling hills where an incline that climbs a mere 20
metres affords you a vantage point over much of the surrounding
countryside, in the east of the St Emilion appellation, where the town
lies, there is a more imposing escarpment, with vineyards on the
slopes and plateau where the soils are rich in limestone, with some
areas of clay on the slopes. This plateau, and the slopes or côtes as
they are sometimes named, are two of the most important terroirs of
the appellation. It is divided into two sections; to the west is the
St Martin plateau, home to many of the leading estates of the
appellation which are dotted around the town. To the east os the St
Christophe plateau, extending eastwards towards the limit of the
appellation; although the soils here are favourable the estates are
not so prestigious. Then, at the very western end of the appellation,
there is Graves-St-Emilion, the smallest of the four principal
terroirs; here the vineyards are contiguous with those of Pomerol, and
gravel soils predominate. The Gunzian graves de feu, the gravel after
which this region of St Emilion is named, was borne to this place by
the Isle and Dronne rivers and originates from the Quaternary period.
It is gathered in five mounds, of which two bear the vines of Cheval-
Blanc, the remaining three being entirely Figeac. They have an
altitude typically of 36 to 38 metres above sea level, and the
gravelly soils are generally 7 to 8 metres deep; beneath this there is
the clay that can be found throughout the region.

After limestone, clay and gravel comes sand, the fourth terroir that
is typical of St Emilion. There are two main areas of sand; the first
is stretched out across the plain to the west of the town of St
Emilion and the limestone côtes. Here there are 1200 hectares of
vineyards on aeolian (meaning eroded, transported and deposited by
winds) sand, and it hosts a number of estates worthy of our attention,
but none that yet - as far as the classification committee are
concerned - challenge the upper echelons of the St Emilion ranking.
Nevertheless, these are certainly not estates that can be ignored;
there are many properties here on the up, turning out wines of either
excellent quality, excellent value, or indeed both. The second main
area of sand is to the south of the town; here there are about 2000
hectares available to the vine, again the terroir is sandy, but this
time alluvial, having been deposited here over the years by the
Dordogne, which runs just to the south.

Naturally even this subdivision into four terroirs is, in fact, a
simplification; for example, the côtes are often thought of as a
blending of limestone and clay, but in fact there are silty loam
topsoils in places, sometimes sand, with a subsoil that may be more
sandstone than limestone in places. Nevertheless, it is the terroirs
where limestone, clay and gravel dominate that are of most interest.
These regions play host to a collection of estates of superb repute,
and indeed these soils might be regarded as sharing equal position at
the very top of the St Emilion classification. There are two Class A
Premier Grand Cru Classé estates that preside over the St Emilion
listing; Cheval-Blanc on the gravel, and Ausone on the limestone and
clay, although predominately the former. The classification, unlike
that of the properties of the Médoc which was set in stone (almost) in
1855, is open to regular review every ten years or so. Unfortunately
this process does not run as smoothly as might be imagined, and the
2006 revision was subject to a legal challenge which seemingly put an
end to the existence of any classification at all; only a court ruling
in late 2007 saved it. More details, including the reclassification
debacle, are provided in my guide to the St Emilion classification.


St Emilion - Appellation, Classification and Wines

As with all the most significant appellations in France, the
regulations for St Emilion were laid down very soon after Baron Le
Roy's initial work in Châteauneuf du Pape, work which paved the way
for the creation of the Appellation Contrôlée system. The St Emilion
appellation dates from 1938, when the committee met to draw up the
boundaries for the eligible vineyards, which are the town of Libourne
and the Pomerol vineyards to the west, route nationale 10 to the
north, where the the adjoining communes of St Emilion and Pomerol,
such as St-Georges-St-Emilion and Lalande-de-Pomerol, may be found,
the Ruisseau la Capelle and the Dordogne to the south, and to the east
the vineyards of the Côtes de Castillon.

The permitted varieties match those allowed elsewhere in Bordeaux,
namely the Cabernets Franc & Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenère and Malbec.
Naturally it is the first three that dominate, but the lead role goes
to Merlot, which copes much better with the limestone and clay soils,
as opposed to Cabernet Sauvignon which is better suited to gravel. One
or two estates, with Cheval Blanc being perhaps the prime example,
feature Cabernet Franc ahead of all the other varieties.


Notable Chateaux

Limestone Plateau

Ch. Ausone
Ch. Balestard-La-Tonnelle
Ch. Bélair-Monange
Ch. Cadet-Piola
Ch. Canon
Ch. La Couspaude
Clos Fourtet
Ch. Magdelaine
Ch. Pavie
Ch. Pavie-Decesse
Ch. Pavie-Macquin
Ch. Soutard
Ch. Troplong-Mondot
Ch. Trottevieille

Côtes & Pieds de Côtes

Ch. Angélus
Ch. L'Arrosée
Ch. Bellevue
Ch. Beauséjour
Ch. Beau-Séjour Bécot
Ch. Berliquet
Ch. Faugères
Ch. Fonplégade
Ch. Fonroque
Ch. Franc-Mayne
Ch. La Gaffelière
Ch. Grand-Mayne
Clos des Jacobins
Ch. Larcis-Ducasse
Clos de l'Oratoire

Gravel

Ch. Cheval-Blanc
Ch. Figeac

Sand

Ch. Corbin
Ch. Corbin-Michotte
Ch. La Dominique
Ch. Grand-Corbin-Despagne
Ch. Haut-Corbin
Ch. Larmande
Ch. Monbousquet
Ch. La Tour Figeac



The appellation regulations also allow for a Grand Cru designation,
although the term is misleading. In Burgundy it is the highest honour
for any plot of land, a designation intrinsically intertwined with the
terroir of the region; here in St Emilion, where terroir is also so
vital, a wine qualifies for Grand Cru status based on little more than
a few details of the harvest - a maximum of 40 hl/ha rather than 45 hl/
ha for basic St Emilion - and a minimum alcoholic strength of 11%,
hardly a pressing requirement considering what I have already written
of the New Bordeaux in my piece on climate change and new
technologies. Thus the distinctions between St Emilion and St Emilion
Grand Cru are very minor, rather akin to the difference between basic
Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur. As such, the Grand Cru designation is
effectively meaningless to the consumer. The appellation regulations
make mention of the more interesting tiers of the St Emilion
classification, Grand Cru Classé and Premier Grand Cru Classé, but is
clear that these designations are awarded by - or at least on behalf
of - the Minister for Agriculture and the Secretary of State. Both
rankings are determined by committee, who make their judgements based
on visits to the domaines in question and on tasting ten vintages. For
the 2006 classification, the decision was made on the strength of the
1993-2002 vintages.

A listing of the most notable estates is given here on the right, but
rather than using the regional classification as a framework for the
list, as I have done with other communes and appellations, here I have
summarised the top properties according to the predominant terroir. It
is not an unquestionable or hugely robust method (but then neither are
any of the Bordeaux classifications in my opinion), especially as many
properties possess vineyards that encompass several (or indeed all) of
the St Emilion terroirs. It is not uncommon for properties on the
plateau to have some vineyards on the côtes, and for some at the pieds
de côtes where the limestone gives way to clay to also have some
vineyards on the sandy plains to the west and south of the town. Where
one terroir seems more significant for a particular property I have
listed it appropriately; hence Cheval-Blanc and Figeac are both listed
under gravel, although there is a component of sand in the vineyards.
Likewise La Tour Figeac is listed under sand, although there is a
gravel component here. Naturally not all estates are listed, merely
those that seem most significant for the St Emilion appellation.

Of these estates, which you favour most will naturally depend on
personal preferences. There are some wines which tend towards a dark
colour, rich texture, plentiful extract, low acidity and high points.
It is easy to be swayed by such a style, especially when tasted among
a line up of comparable wines. But taken to an extreme, as seems to be
the case in St Emilion more than any other Bordeaux appellation, it is
not a style I favour. Without sufficient acidity there is no
freshness, and when extraction goes too far the wines must carry a
heavy burden of tannin for the rest of their lives, and will never
possess a balanced composition on the palate. Over-extraction,
something I have already discussed in my osmosis and extraction
chapter of this guide, is very much a right bank disease, with St
Emilion being the more afflicted of the Libournais communes.

Despite my preferences for fresher, more balanced wines, however, I
have no problem with the more opulent style per se; I do not think of
it as inherently 'wrong'. Also I have nothing against the garariste
movement - a trend for opulent, low yield, microvinifications - which
was born in St Emilion and which is typified by estates such as La
Mondotte, Le Dôme and of course, the archetype, Valandraud - as some
of these wines can be delicious. Interestingly, however, it seems to
me that many of those who do enjoy this style of wine - or at least a
vocal minority - do not hold a corresponding view. They view the less
opulent, less extracted wines - read fresh and balanced - as
underperforming, underachieving, insults to their palate, which they
must regard, I suppose, as being the universal palate. They send the
wines packing with 'could do better' scrawled on their reports, as if
they were teachers judging miscreant pupils. Fortunately for me, the
influence of these self-appointed teachers has not spread across the
whole commune, and there are many wines produced in St Emilion which
still suit my palate. To enjoy the wines of this region - which yields
more bottles of wine than all four of the Médoc's most famous communes
combined - all that is necessary is a little exploration, and perhaps
an open mind, open to the thought that high-scoring, hedonistic, low
acid, over-extracted wines might not be the best - to your palate -
that the commune has to offer.


- Wine Doctor.