The Bordeaux region is home to some of the world’s most celebrated and expensive red wines*. The famous five – Chateau Margaux, Chateau Latour, Mouton Rothschilde, Lafite Rothschilde and Haut-Brion, and around the corner, in Pomerol and St Emilion, Petrus and Cheval Blanc. These wines are the reason the new world went mad planting Cabernet Sauvignon, which is now the world’s most widely grown wine grape. Of course, there’s more to Bordeaux than just the old Cab-Sauv, and so the world has also embraced the likes of Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and in some more Francophile vineyards, Petit Verdot.

But that may be about to change.

For centuries, Bordeaux has enjoyed a temperate climate, with the surrounding waters of the Atlantic and the Gironde cooling the fierce summer sun, and limiting the winter frosts. This has resulted in a long ripening season, which brings out the best in the vines. But global warming is bringing a blow torch to the region and people are worried. The harvest is now, on average, three weeks earlier, and alcohol levels have gone from an elegantly firm 12.5% to 14.5% and more. I’ve just has a 2018 Prelude, the second wine of Grand Puy Lacoste which, at 14.5% was simply too much. That’s Barossa Shiraz territory. The higher alcohol can unbalance the wine – you can feel it burning your throat, like someone has dropped a shot of vodka into your glass. Given that the temperature will continue to rise we can expect even earlier ripening and yet more alcoholic wines. That’s probably a good thing if you have a cellar full of 20^th century first growths, but a bad thing if you are hoping to sell the 2030 vintage for over $1000 a bottle.

Climate change is forcing winemakers to plant vineyards in cooler climes. Even Norway has vineyards now. But if your wine is famous because of its origin, you can’t really move it (actually you can, and maybe they should. The Champagne houses are successfully extending their range, after all. There is so much equity in those brands I reckon they could; imagine, ‘Eric the Red’ by Latour.) Instead, the powers that be, at the Institut Natrional de l’Origine et de la Qualiteé have approved the use of four new red varieties in the Bordeaux region; Arinarnoa, Castets, Marselan and Touriga Nacional for reds. Planting started in April 2021 so it will be some time before the world knows how good they are. My money is on Touriga Nacional which makes excellent Dão in Portugal. Initially, these new varities will only be used in cheaper wines with a maximum quantity of 10% of the blend.

Winemakers are also looking at ways to new viticulture to combat increasing heat. For years Mondavi has used massive fans to circulate the air in their Napa vineyards and braziers have been used to combat frost for aeons.

It’s the age-old problem of provenance. So much easier to consider where the wine takes you, rather than where it comes from. Which reminds me, you can now purchase Avalon Rosé on-line at avalonwine.co

We should be ok growing Grenache and Mourvèdre in the McLaren Vale for a while yet. Enjoy.Ignoblw

*and some incredible white wines too, most notably d’Yquem, and Haut-Brion, but that’s another story.