The World of Fine Wine

The Chicken Or The Egg -- Terroir in Bordeaux and Burgundy

The revelation of terroir in two of France’s greatest wine regions is different in many ways. But François Mauss argues that Bordeaux certainly has its share of special sites, even if they are less well defined and more recent than those in Burgundy, and that more are still being discovered today.

Of all wine topics, the most controversial is surely the notion of terroir – from the definition of the word itself to the role it plays in winemaking. Never mind the expert opinions of soil scientists. The views expressed here are those of a wine enthusiast trying, as best as he can, to understand a concept that is accepted as axiomatic by some and dismissed, even ridiculed, by others.

Rather too hastily, perhaps, people these days tend to classify wines into basic types – “technological wines” and “terroir wines.” So-called technological wines are mainly the product of tank fermentation and cellaring processes in which dozens of variables are manipulated by cold-hearted enologists and technicians, using chemical and mechanical means that would make a purist weep. Many of these wines play down the overly obvious effects of the vintage so as to offer a style of wine that remains as consistent as possible from year to year. It’s a gross over-simplification, of course, but many would say that technological wines are synonymous with New World wines.

Terroir wines, by contrast, are held up as the product of the vineyard rather than the wine cellar. Manipulative techniques in the course of the fermentation and maturation are kept to a minimum. These wines make no attempt to downplay the effects of the vintage for the sake of consistency, instead making the most of whatever nature has to give.
One of the crucial questions arising from this (often false) dichotomy is, does the terroir “make” the winegrower, or is the winegrower in fact the “inventor” of the terroir?

A symbiosis between man and nature
It is generally agreed that the term “terroir” refers to that subtle interaction of natural and human factors – climate, grape variety, soil, subsoil, and winegrower – that defines the characteristics of each winegrowing region. It is also generally agreed that terroirs are a feature of all the great vineyards of Europe (France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Hungary, Greece).

That definition becomes easier to understand if we look at the empirical evidence for the existence of terroir. Ask yourself why it is, for instance, that a winegrower from Chambertin and another from Corton will produce two quite different wines in terms of nose, structure, complexity, and length – even though both were made with the same respect for the vine, using identical winemaking and aging techniques. If those differences exist, they must come from somewhere – and where else if not the terroir?
It looks like an obvious open-and-shut case. And yet … the magic of this terribly French notion is that it depends on a symbiotic relationship between man and nature. No-one ever heard of a terroir that was not worked by man, nor of a winegrower with the power to turn any patch of land into terroir. This is about a slow process of discovery and exploration – and it takes time.

Monks and merchants
Time is what the monks brought with them to Burgundy, that land of terroirs par excellence. It has rightly been said that it takes several centuries for a terroir to emerge. A vine takes 30 years to give of its best, and a winegrower can easily take a lifetime getting to know his vineyard, especially since no one vintage is quite like another. It is this that over the course of 400 –500 years has produced the unique patchwork of vineyards we know as Burgundy. It takes no time at all to get from Romanée-Conti to Romanée-Saint-Vivant, but discussing their wines is a journey in itself.

There is no question that the kingdom of terroirs is Burgundy. Its principalities, we could say, are Alsace, the Jura, the Loire, the Rhône, Piedmont, Tuscany and the Valais.

It’s an altogether different story in Bordeaux, where the monastic tradition that has shaped Burgundy as we know it simply did not exist. The Burgundian monks kept careful records, and on their routine travels from one monastery to another passed on their experience and expertise. Such exchange was key to the discovery of new terroirs.

In the Bordeaux region, great families such as the Pontacs certainly didn’t take long to identify the best plots. Here, too, lands were cleared on the basis of empirical evidence, taking into account such factors as the prevailing microclimate. Bear in mind, however, that on any one estate a winegrower will experience no more than 50 harvests in his whole lifetime – not much when you consider the number of factors involved in the development of a special vineyard.

Burgundy today continues to reap the benefits of the monastic system that was the making of its landscape and wines. Bordeaux, meanwhile, relied entirely on rich entrepreneurs and merchants, whose particular focus on tasting led to the ranking of vineyards based on the quality and value of wines offered for sale. All the same, the notion of terroir in Bordeaux is much more vague than it is in Burgundy.

The great Burgundian terroirs have been created over the ages by the religious orders and generations of patient winegrowers. Each one has a well-established reputation and takes its place within an exhaustive hierarchy that is hard to fault and universally accepted (even though it might be nice to see Meursault-Perrières, Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques, and one or two other premiers crus promoted to grand cru status). All of the grand cru wines are a cut above the average premier cru, and markedly superior to the more humble village wines. The impact of the terroir is in each case incontrovertible.

Things are quite different in Bordeaux. No-one can deny that the great families were quick to spot the best vineyard sites, but neither they nor anybody else has ever kept a systematic record of all the terroirs contained within this vast winegrowing region, stretching across some 110,000 hectares (271,810 acres).

A new hierarchy in Bordeaux
Consideration of Bordeaux estates suggest that they fall into at least seven different types:

1. The undeniably great terroirs, worked by great winegrowers at the pinnacle of their profession. Good examples are Latour and the three Léovilles on the Left Bank, Ausone and Pavie on the Right.

2. Other undeniably great terroirs that are worked by winegrowers who care less about vineyard expression. The sleepy Rauzan-Gassies estate is just one example among many.

3. The great terroirs that have still to be revealed. Are there any and, if so, where are they?

4. Good terroirs worked by great winegrowers - Haut-Marbuzet, for instance, owned by the Duboscq family, and some of the best properties in the commune of Poujeaux.

5. Moderate terroirs - often under-exploited due to lack of resources - worked by unassuming winegrowers.

6. Vineyards, but not terroirs as such, worked by great winegrowers who earn an honest living by producing so-called "minor" appellation wines of clearly superior quality that enjoy strong customer loyalty. There seem to be a few of these in the Côtes de Castillon appellation.

7. Other vineyards that are not terroirs as such, and have little opportunity at present to produce good wine that is not "technically" made. Some 30% of vineyards in the Bordeaux area are due either to be ripped up or to become part of a new cooperative approach that will compete on a level playing field with New World producers by taking full advantage of their winemaking techniques. That would of course require new legislation (in the pipeline) but it does seem that the plan is generally accepted.

Each one of us, according to our lights, will have our own views on which names to place in the above categories. A concrete example of the third type, for instance, is Sociando-Mallet, owned by Jean Gautreau, privileged proprietor of a gravel outcrop by the Gironde that is now acknowledged, albeit reluctantly by some, as a terroir as good as, or almost as good as, Latour. We've come a long way since the 1980s, when this claim caused outrage, being regarded as lese-majesty against a premier cru classé, and tantamount to treason against the system as a whole.

Young estates unknown just 30, 20 or even ten years ago might well have been founded on still-to-be-revealed terroirs. It seems senseless to deny it. Worse still is the dismissal of the aging potential of their wines, based on the flimsiest of reasons - particularly when you remember that the reputation of many a famous cru classé rests entirely on its glorious past in 1855.

It is conceited nonsense to say that if there were a terroir in Reignac we would know about it. Those who say so cling slavishly to the 1855 classification, hoping no doubt that they will be noticed by some historic cru classé and receive the red-carpet treatment on their next visit - which will no doubt give them even more to crow about. But they are missing the point altogether. What about Yves Vatelot, who has undertaken a systematic study of many potential vineyard sites? The results of his analysis, complete with detailed technical reports, are available for consultation by all seriously interested parties.

Dedicated winemakers will, without doubt, continue to discover original terroirs that are the distinguishing mark of every great wine. It is absurd to deny such wines an aging potential, especially when we so readily take it for granted in wines of lower quality but higher reputation, thanks to the efforts made in 1855 by the estate owners of the time.

As Robert Parker often says, there is no reason to suppose that a wine that tastes good when young will mature into something less tempting; but it is highly unlikely that a wine that tastes bad when young will turn out to be splendid in ten years' time. We might not be sure that a Reignac or a Monbousquet will stand the test of extended aging (fewer and fewer wines do these days, judging by the 1982 crus classés that are mostly past their prime). But we can be confident that they will happily outlive their decade, and will no doubt still provide real tasting pleasure at the end of it.

So let's drop the elitist exclusion, this senseless clinging to the 1855 classification in the misguided belief that no unclassified wine produced today could ever be as good. Let there be no mistake: fellow members of the Grand Jury Européen and I are the first to applaud the quality of the most recent vintages from Château Ausone, probably the greatest Bordeaux wine since 1998. We are filled with respect when we taste the great Haut-Brion wines from the 1960s, or the Vieux Château Certan or Trotanoy wines from the 1970s. Likewise, the immense 1961 Palmer, the splendid 1982 Pichon-Comtesse, or the outstanding 1990 Sociando-Mallet.

We warmly salute Jean-Michel Cazes for his sterling efforts not only at Lynch-Bages but throughout the Médoc. Also Jean Boivert for everything he achieved before his untimely death in 2004. We watch with great interest as someone like Patrick Maroteaux strives to take Château Branaire-Ducru to the top. We even accept the borderline arrogance of a few top producers who don't like the blind tastings that we conduct as the Grand Jury Européen - why should we care, especially when we still get to taste their wines?

Hidden terroirs
At the same time, in the name of what decree, what law, or what body of research can anyone say that all the terroirs in Bordeaux have been discovered? Back in the 1980s, Bernard Enjalbert published a fascinating book on the subject; it is a great pity that it has not been republished since, and that no-one has followed up on his research. The book introduced new terroirs alongside estates such as Climens in the Sauternes and La Conseillante in Pomerol, both given top ranking by Enjalbert. He also included Sociando-Mallet and some of the Fronsac estates, which were in fact recognized as early as the 17th century but then stupidly left to languish in oblivion for far too long.

In light of recent Bordeaux tastings (organized by the Grand Jury Européen and others), anyone with an open mind should at least ask themselves the following questions:

Whether or not the Bordeaux winegrowing region has terroirs beyond those that are already classified and universally recognized?

Whether or not the criteria used to define terroir are as objective as possible, and whether terroirs dating from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries might not receive special treatment?

Whether or not a winegrower in Bordeaux can produce a great wine from a vineyard that was not recognized as a special terroir in the 19th century?

Whether or not the ultimate test of terroir should not rather be the wine's capacity to improve over time, complexity of aroma, balance, harmony, and - that most basic criterion of all - length on the palate?

Take the case of Lafite, for instance (or Pétrus, that expanded after the war by acquiring a very fine piece of the Gazin estate). In 1855, Lafite was nothing like as big as it is today. In Burgundy it would be unthinkable for the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti estate to increase production of its La Tâche or Romanée-Conti by merging with its own adjoining vineyards. But nobody objects to Lafite, Pétrus, or Beychevelle - each one of them a brand name, remember - retaining their classifications and rankings even though the land they work is now quite different from what it was at the time.

For some, this only goes to show that the concept of terroir is much less important in Bordeaux than in Burgundy. But if that is the case, then why do good wines from new wine estates get such negative press for no reason other than that "they do not come from recognized terroirs"?

Take the case of Monbousquet versus Le Dôme: who would have thought that a St-Emilion from the plain could be as good as one from the slope? The sage members of the panel in charge of revising the classification got the point, and Monbousquet was promoted to a grand cru classé. The work of Gérard Perse definitely had a lot to do with that.

Bordeaux is not frozen in time. Bordeaux is on the move, home to hidden terroirs just waiting to be discovered. I am willing to bet that many of those wines that the Grand Jury Européen is criticized for liking today will indeed age gracefully and perform well in blind tastings for many years from now. Two of the finest examples come from our most recent tasting of the 1995 vintage. In addition to the best California wines and the most highly-prized Bordeaux châteaux, it included Haut-Condissas and Rollan de By - two wines that skeptics used to say would flatter the palate for five or six years then collapse altogether. Not a bit of it. Both are still going strong and scoring exceptionally well. Technique alone cannot account for quality of this standard. It can only come from terroir. Period.

What it all comes down to is this: only blind tasting - judging a wine on its own merits and not by what you read on the label - can do justice to wines made by uncommonly enterprising winegrowers who set out to rival, if not surpass, the benchmark Bordeaux châteaux.

And who can blame them for harboring that ambition? Who says we can't talk about this? Why should the 1855 classification be taken as gospel? We do not deny that its reputation is worth preserving, or that it has done a great deal for Bordeaux as a whole. The truth is, however, that the crus classés today tend to become detached from the rest of the vast Bordeaux appellation, and to enter the luxury goods market where a rather different set of rules, not necessarily conducive to quality, pertain. With the spirit of solidarity weakening, wine enthusiasts have every right to expect these 61 crus to live up to their reputation - something they do not always do by any means.

Praise and blame
To sum up, we have nothing but praise for the cru classés when they are magnificent and worthy, but we demand the right to be merciless with those that fall short. Moreover, no-one will stop us from singing the merits of lovingly crafted, new, and little-known wines from quality vineyards. The winemakers there have our greatest respect - even if they do challenge the status quo in Bordeaux with their millionaire ways. They deserve our thanks for having the nerve to venture into a land that has never welcomed newcomers - especially those who are not afraid to display their wealth. Such ostentation will remain taboo for a long time - a legacy, no doubt, of the art of understatement practised by the English, for many years the rulers of this noble wine region.

Bordeaux, home of great wines, remains the unchallenged benchmark for those based on Cabernet or Merlot. It is blessed with an ingenious system of classification that developed under Napoleon III, and is envied by many other great winegrowing regions around the world. Bordeaux certainly has its terroirs, even if they are less well defined and more recently discovered than those in Burgundy.

Burgundy will forever remain the most perfect example of the symbiosis between man and nature. Let us hope that the present stewards of this unique land will treat it with the respect it deserves - something that has not always been the case since the end of the Second World War.

The wine culture that includes both Bordeaux and Burgundy is part of our history, which should be defended at European level and treasured. France is in danger of losing the battle, engaged in political hypocrisy of the worst kind. But that's another story.

François Mauss

This article originally appeared in Issue 14 - 2006 of The World of Fine Wine magazine, a quarterly magazine devoted to wine and all thing vinous.

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