The Médoc, which produces not far from half of the world's supply of really distinguished red wine, is a little triangle of gently rolling country, bounded on the west by the dunes and pine woods that fringe the Atlantic beaches, and on the east by the estuary of the Gironde. There are a few sleepy, gray villages (most of them world-famous) set down among the vines, and, scattered over the landscape, each with its little parc or formal garden, its clump of trees, and its extensive vineyard, there are several hundred large country houses, which the French call châteaux.
Wines from the less celebrated of these châteaux are usually purchased by Bordeaux wine merchants, blended, and sold either as Médoc, or under the name of the village from which they come, such as Margaux, St. Julien, or St. Estèphe. The better châteaux, on the other hand, usually practice what is known as “château-bottling”—the wine, unblended, is bottled at the château under the owner's supervision. A few particularly careful growers refuse to château-bottle their wines in poor years, but unfortunately such scrupulousness is the exception rather than the rule, and the mise du château, although a guarantee of authenticity, is not the assurance of quality that it could and should be.
Here are the main wine-producing villages of the Médoc, south to north:
Lndon, Macau, and Arsac—three comparatively unimportant townships which produce light, delicate wines. You will rarely see these names.
Margaux—one of the greatest of all. Clarets celebrated for their delicacy and finesse. The nearby hamlets of Cantenac and Soussans are also good.
Moulis and Listrac—sound, lesser wines, generally inexpensive.
St. Julien—another “great.” Wonderfully balanced wines, generally fuller than those of Margaux, but less big than those of
Panillac—in the opinion of most connoisseurs, the greatest of the great.
St. Estèphe—produces the biggest and fullest clarets, sometimes lacking in sublety and finesse.
A claret which goes to the market under any one of these names (or as Médoc, St. Emilion, Pomerol, or merely Bordeaux Rouge) is a “regional wine,” or blend. Its quality depends entirely upon the honesty and competence of the merchant who selects and blends and ships it—the better the shipper, quite obviously, the better the wine. It is important, however, to understand that a Bordeaux wine is invariably sold under the most specific of the well-known geographical names to which it is entitled. A Château Margaux, for example, is a Margaux, a Médoc, and a Bordeaux Rouge—it is sold as Château Margaux. But a wine from an obscure château in the township of Margaux will be blended with other similar wines and sold as Margaux. A wine from the lesser Médoc townships will be sold as Médoc. A wine from an undistinguished district in the Bordeaux country will be sold as Bordeaux Rouge.
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