Red Blend from Bordeaux - Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classe

Reminding Emilio that non-Spanish wines do exist...

We dined at the old Merchant's Guild House (Schlüsselzunft) in the centre of Basel a couple of weeks ago. The streets were still and we just couldn't stop ourselves from comparing the unnerving Saturday night scene to Sao Paulo, or Zaragoza, or Hong Kong or in fact any other city we've been to where we detected a greater sign of life! At the restaurant, we ordered a bottle of red Bordeaux – a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classe - Chateau de Ferrand, 2007, but only after I reminded my 'Saint Emilio' of the need to deviate away from his usual choices. 

Bordeaux, situated in the southwest of France, is naturally separated into two areas by the Gironde estuary and carries 57 appellations (AOCs or Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée). The "right bank" (west) of the estuary produces mostly Merlot blend while the warmer "left bank" (east) is extremely well known for their Cabernet Savignon. Saint-Émilion sub-region, located about 40km away from the centre of Bordeaux, is on the "right bank". 

Saint-Émilion has been producing wine since the Roman era and consists of the historic and picturesque village of Saint-Émilion (a UNESCO world heritage site) as well as 8 other nearby villages. Wines from this area are typically made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes, grown from soil with varying mixtures of limestone, clay, sandy plains with alluvium and gravels. There are a number of appellations within this sub-region and in addition to this, a separate classification at work that labels the finer wines as "Grand Cru Classé" and the even higher quality wines as "Premier Grand Cru Classé A" and "Premier Grand Cru Classé B". There seem to be a lot of debate and drama going on regarding the classification system which is reviewed every 10 years and I am glad to see that I'm not the only one who finds it confusing. 

Anyhow, here you can find an interactive wine map of France and here, an appealingly colourful map of Bordeaux.   

A blend of Merlot (76%) 
 Cabernet Sauvignon (13%) 
Cabernet Franc (11%)

The wine we drank - Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classe by Chateau de Ferrand, 2007 (priced at CHF89/Euro73 at the restaurant) smelled of red berries. This translated to the taste, accompanied by a combine flavour of minerals, wood and smoke. We also discerned high tannin and  acidity which was followed by a decent finish. Chateau de Ferrand goes back to the 17^th century and is owned and managed by the family of Bich (founder of the Bic biro company) and Chandon Moet (Champagne house). The vineyards are planted with mostly Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Interestingly, the website for this Chateau is not only in French and English, but also Mandarin.