Bordeaux is home to red: 85% of production in 2022, compared to 8% for dry whites (1). But this is far from always being the case. “Until the 1970s, my father, then a cooperator, mainly produced white, sweet, which left for Germany by whole wagons,” remembers Antoine Le Grix de la Salle, 73, at Château Le Grand Verdusin Sadirac in Gironde.
We are here in the Entre-deux-Mers region (between Dordogne and Garonne), where most of the department’s whites are produced. ” Leaving…
Bordeaux is home to red: 85% of production in 2022, compared to 8% for dry whites (1). But this is far from always being the case. “Until the 1970s, my father, then a cooperator, mainly produced white, sweet, which left for Germany by whole wagons,” remembers Antoine Le Grix de la Salle, 73, at Château Le Grand Verdusin Sadirac in Gironde.
We are here in the Entre-deux-Mers region (between Dordogne and Garonne), where most of the department’s whites are produced. “Leaving the cooperative, at the beginning of the 1980s, we took a turn: uprooting white to plant red. Our development took place with this color, in France and for export,” adds the winemaker. In 2009, when Le Grand Verdus reached 80 ha of vines, there was no longer a single white vine.
Six references out of 16, already
It was on returning from New Zealand, a country where Sauvignon Blanc is king, that Thomas Le Grix de la Salle suggested to his father the idea of planting it to complete the range. The first plots come quickly, then the movement amplifies. The property currently has 26 hectares of white wine out of a total of 120 exploited.
While in the past we uprooted red in Gironde to plant white, today it is the opposite
“Bordeaux white is gaining in quality and notoriety,” adds Édouard, Antoine’s other son, who joined the family business. He makes his place and attracts people (2). These are six references out of 16 here and 150,000 bottles sold, two-thirds for export. » The Grand Verdus white (AOC Bordeaux, mainly Sauvignon), the house reference, is €8.50 per bottle; and the property also offers three 100% Sémillon vintages, an originality in the region (3).
Grape varieties
You can make burgundy with six red grape varieties : merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, petit verdot, malbec and carménère; and seven whites: Sauvignon, Sémillon, Muscadelle, Colombard, Merlot Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Ugni Blanc. If other grape varieties are planted (Syrah, etc.), the bottle will not be Bordeaux but Wine of France (formerly Table Wines). On this subject of grape varieties, the novelty came in 2021 with the authorization given by Inao to test six others, in small doses, to adapt to global warming. Four reds: Arinarnoa, Castets, Marselan and Touriga Nacional; and two whites: alvarinho and liliorila.
While in the past we uprooted red in Gironde to plant white, today it is the opposite. Especially since red is suffering. “Young people like tannic wines less, white is better suited to an aperitif, the French eat less meat and hot periods – where fresh, thirst-quenching wines are favored – are more numerous,” summarizes Thomas Le Grix of the Room.
He therefore goes further by planting 2 hectares of Chenin (the flagship grape variety of Val-de-Loire) and 1.5 hectares of Colombard, for its aromatic contribution to a blend. “Arriving at a wine merchant with such new products is always a plus. » Also coming are an orange wine and a sweet wine.
The reasons for a choice
Of course, the family remains cautious and decisions mature: we plant a vine for thirty to forty years and it is expensive: around 20,000 euros per hectare (Brussels can provide aid). But everyone can also overgraft, that is to say, put a graft of white grapes on an already existing red vine, which will allow you to have a harvest the following year. While a new plantation will require the soil to rest (after uprooting), then a minimum of three years of harvest before claiming the AOC; hence a wait of five to six years.
“With the whites, the money comes in faster: we sell them in the year following the harvest while it takes longer for the reds, which require aging,” says Antoine Le Grix de la Salle. Conversely, if the white does not sell well, it will deteriorate quickly (like a rosé). Whereas a red can better wait for better days.
(1) Rosés (4%), Crémants (2%) and sweet whites (1%) complete the production.
(2) The Médoc requests the creation of an AOC for its whites.
(3) The region also includes the AOC Entre-deux-Mers (100% white) claimed over a small area (2,000 ha).
Bordeaux Tasting
Organized by “Terre de Vins”, the 12th edition of Bordeaux Tasting will be held on December 9 and 10 in Bordeaux between three locations: Palais de la Bourse, customs museum and Gabriel restaurant. Hundreds of producers will taste their vintages: Bordeaux, Champagne, spirits… The emphasis this year will be on environmentally friendly wines.
