When the word Bordeaux is mentioned, we tend to think of red wine. Most of the time we are correct; over 80 per cent of production is red wine, with the remainder being comprised of sweet, rosé, sparkling and white.
The dry white wines have been a Bordeaux insider secret for many years. Well-priced and usually well-made, they can offer great value. Those made from pure sauvignon blanc are typically aromatic and fresh with racy green fruits. Fans of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé should enjoy them. Some producers blend in Sémillon grape, which lends texture, a waxy note and sometimes exotic fruit, and/or Muscadelle which adds floral notes of honeysuckle and acacia. Either way, the wines can be very good and often very reasonably priced.
The best come from the Péssac-Léognan subregion. Wines such as Domaine de Chevalier, Châteaux Haut-Brion, de Fieuzal, Pape-Clement, Smith-Haut-Lafitte and Carbonnieux are all very well priced compared to similar wines in Burgundy. Most of these wines also age very nicely.
At a less exalted level, there are plenty of well-priced white Bordeaux priced between €15-35. I feature three today. I also enjoyed the Le Dauphin d’Olivier 2023 (€33) and the Château Marjosse (€22), both from Whelehans. However, while there are plenty of inexpensive red wines, I was unable to find any white Bordeaux at €10 – strange given that Bordeaux is going through a crisis at the moment. I feature the Haut-Poitou sauvignon blanc from the Loire Valley instead.
A very tasty aromatic sauvignon blanc with lifted aromas and plump green fruits. This would make a nice aperitif or partner for light salads.
Fresh green apples with a touch of pineapple, some herbs and a crisp dry finish. This would be better with food; plain grilled white fish with lemon or goat’s cheese.
Avoca; Boxofwine.ie; MacGuinness Wines, Dundalk; Higgins Family Butchers, Dublin 13; Worldwide Wines, Waterford
Herbal aromas, vivid grapefruit and peach with a long dry finish. Great value for money.
WinesDirect.ie, Athlone, Mullingar, Co Westmeath
A dry wine from Sauternes producer Château Suduiraut. Rounded, lightly honeyed notes balanced nicely by some citrus. Try it with grilled black sole or scallops.
Searsons, Monkstown, Co Dublin, Searsons.com