In Rex Pickett’s book Sideways, the wine that Miles is saving for a special occasion is Château Petrus Pomerol, a rare and expensive Bordeaux made with Merlot– a grape that he dismisses and downplays in both the movie and the book while elevating thin skinned Pinot Noir, a grape which metaphorically represents him. The book explains his disdain more clearly than in the movie: Merlot is the favorite wine of his ex, and the Petrus was a bottle they were saving together for an occasion that never occurred. Feeling rejected himself, he rejects her via her favored wine, and when he finds out she’s not only happily married but pregnant, he finally opens the bottle at a fast food restaurant and drinks it out of a paper cup. When Sideways producers weren’t allowed to use Petrus, they went with Château Cheval Blanc, also a Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend.

Most people miss these points, just as many people miss that a lot of Bordeaux wine is made from Merlot–and can be had for $20 or less!

Since October is #MerlotMe Month (read here about a marvelous Mendocino Merlot from Ettore with an Italian, vegetarian feast), we decided to highlight a mostly Merlot from Bordeaux’s St-Émilion for this month’s Winophiles prompt “Cru Bourgeois and other Bordeaux Beauties” — and help maligned Merlot overcome the Sideways effect! (Yes after the movie, while all wine sales went up significantly, Pinot Noir was the biggest winner and Merlot the biggest loser.)  

Bordeaux is the largest appellation in France–six times the size of Napa. The region produces about 650 million bottles a year averaging only $20 a bottle, and of the 5300 winegrowers, 75% of them use a certified environmental approach. While only 74 estates are biodynamic, the number of organic and biodynamic farmers continues to increase even considering the challenges from Bordeaux’s humid climate.

In Bordeaux, 85% of the production is red with 66% of plantings merlot. 

New red and white grapes resistant to drought and that can handle humidity have been approved to be included in small amounts to traditional blends. With climate change, it’s easier for grapes to ripen, so the challenge today is to balance that while maintaining freshness and acidity. Other climate related challenges include late spring frosts, poor weather at flowering, hail, and heat.

Keeping with the Sideways theme,  we went with “other Bordeaux Beauties;” St-Émilion, a UNESCO World Heritage Site lies next door to Pomerol, on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. Here Merlot grapes are blended with Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon to produce sought after and collected wines. Grape production in Bordeaux began in St-Émilion back in the 8th century with a monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit and lived in a limestone cave there. 

The best wines of Saint-Émilion come from chateaux located on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. Among the four Premier Grand Cru Classés is Chateau Cheval Blanc– the one that Miles drinks in the movie. Most wines are grown on flatter land with soils a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial materials. Learn more about Saint-Émilion.

 

For our pairing, we usually go with foods that are traditional to the region, which we did with the various cheeses. But for a main dish, we went with a variation of Chilean Beef Cazuela de Vacuno which features new world heritage ingredients like potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and squash– all unknown in Europe before the 1590s– and we served the stew in an heirloom squash. We used stew beef instead of beef shanks (like we did here paired with Chilean wine), we used butternut squash instead of pumpkin, and instead of corn on the cob and the Chilean ground corn for thickening, we used polenta. We did not include the bell pepper. 

Menu

• Cheese board with St Andre, mushroom brie, blue cheese 
• Green Salad with heirloom tomatoes, fennel flowers with pollen
• Heirloom Squash filled with Butternut Beef Stew 

2015 Château Bardoulet Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

ABV: 14%
SRP: $20
Grapes: 85% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon
Importer: Evaki Inc
purchased at Grocery Outlet ($15?)

I did my best but couldn’t find any information about this winery, even though I searched the importer’s site, the Bordeaux site and the Saint-Emilion site.

Appearance:  Ruby going to garnet, garnet rim; clearly older.

Aroma: Lovely cherry tobacco, mushroom, violet, cherry pipe tobacco, carnations, potpourri, rich muskiness.

Palate: Bright tart cherry, cherry tobacco, cigar box, leather, very textural, oxalis, fresh grass on the finish, black currant tea, sticky tannins, nice acidity, nicely balanced with fruit, but not a cocktail wine– bring on the food!

Pairing: Saint Andre cheese is wonderful with the wine, the creamy butter like cheese brings out the fruit in the wine. So great with the mushroom brie on a piece of  olive bread; the wine loves the rich and creamy of the wine while responding perfectly to the salt in the olives on the bread. Beautiful with the blue cheese, rich and creamy salty cheese enhances the fruit and acidity in the wine.

For the main course, the beef and butternut squash stew in the roasted heirloom squash was a great companion. We know that Merlot works well with pumpkin soup and various squash dishes, and the wine also was delicious with the umami of the heirloom tomato chunks in the stew. The stew also had creaminess, body and heft from polenta, which further paired well with the merlot. While the stew meat was solid, this would be even better with the beef shank version of this dish.

For more Bordeaux red wine stories here on Wine Predator, check out:  

• Wine Women Working Sustainably in Bordeaux
• La Crema Monterey Pinot Noir and Les Cadrans de Lassegue Saint-Emilion Grand Cru: Two Jackson Family Wines from Two Countries Paired with Pork Roast
• A Julia Child Inspired Menu with Petit Verdot from Bordeaux  

For more Cru Bourgeois and Other Bordeaux Beauties, you’re invited to check out these articles from the French #Winophiles and join our live X/Twitter Chat tomorrow (Sat 10/21) 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. Pacific time. See the preview from our host @vignetocomm https://avvinare.com/…/cru-bourgeois-perfect-for-fall…/

• Cam of Culinary Cam brings Slow-Roasted Lamb Shanks + 2018 Château Magnol Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois “
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm adds Barton & Guestier Chateau Magnol and Instant Pot Beef Brisket’
• Susannah of Avvinare posts “Chateau Tour De Pez from Saint Estèphe, History in A Glass”

During the French Winophiles Twitter Chat on Cru Bourgeois and Other Bordeaux Beauties on Saturday. Oct. 21 at 8am Pacific, we will discuss: