UNCORKING BORDEAUX

In many ways a story can always be written and, at times be told. If I have to start mine, I would like to begin in the region of Bordeaux. This is a story about passion, patience, and tradition. Like stories of this nature, there are mêlées involved; women and men of surprising talent, as well as body parts, such as the nose and palate. They are all put to the test.

In most stories of this nature, the landscape will have castles, vast stretches of land allowing for the grapes to grow on undulating hills alongside serpentine rivers. If you were to locate the southwest of France on the map, you would probably think that in this region close to the Atlantic Ocean, this would be a perfect setting for a fairy tale. After all, Bordeaux has long known as ‘La Belle Endormie’ or The Sleeping Beauty.

Once upon a time, along came the modern prince, Bordeaux’s mayor Alain Juppé, and finally freed La Belle Bordeaux from the spell. The former French prime minister laid out his cape of leadership throughout the city, and Bordeaux re-emerged with vigor. Not to mention its revitalized UNESCO-listed old town, seamless hi-tech public transport system, and a lively university hub that seemed to keep this maiden from sleeping again.

“Take Versailles, add Antwerp, and you have Bordeaux”, the French poet and novelist Victor Hugo once put it. While it’s hard to keep a still gaze on its grand pediments, cornices, and Roman-inspired verandas, upon closer inspection, this is a region whose best-kept secrets are served in a bottle.

The idea to visit this wine region of France first came to me in midflight while traveling from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Paris. Of course, there’s the promise of a beautiful spring waiting on the banks of the Garonne River. But after some festive sips of champagne and wine on Qatar Airways during my 14-hour flight (with a layover in Doha), I felt the timing couldn’t be better.

Eager to learn more about Bordeaux’s secrets, I seamlessly connected and hopped on a train at Charles de Gaulle Airport via TGV Atlantique service. As codeshare partners, my Qatar Airways ticket became my train pass and was punched to my next destination.

In a streak of silver and blue, we raced towards the Atlantic, covering 310 miles in a quick three-hour rail journey while imagining a life in the fabled wine chateaux. Wouldn’t it be grand to casually drop lines like ‘I’m staying at Mouton’ or ‘Can I meet you later at Lafite?’ or ‘I’d better head back to Margaux before noon’? To be invited and spend a week at one of the great chateaux is surely a reason in itself to visit Bordeaux.

While most chateaux and country estates like to keep themselves private, the Bordelais are pragmatic by nature. They have successfully converted vacant barns and empty spaces into profitable guest receptions along with tasting rooms, catering halls, and even small museums with souvenir shops. Of course wine tasting doesn’t come without a brief brush with history. So how did Bordeaux become a legendary French wine region, I asked?

The wine cultivation mostly like began after 43 AD, when the Romans established the first vineyards for its soldiers as legend has it. But the prominence of Bordeaux wine came after the union of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry Plantagenet, ruler of Normandy and the Loire Valley. When Henry Plantagenet ascended to the English throne as King Henry II, it paved the way for trade, and the wines of Bordeaux gained popularity in the English market and eventually in the world.

Remembering my 2007 Chateau Cantenac-Brown, Grand Cru Classe, Margaux, that I drank on my Qatar Airways flight, it became clear to me why some labels of Bordeaux wines carry English names like Barton, Palmer, Lynch, and certainly Brown. Wines do speak for themselves, I said loudly to myself before the lecturer ushered us to move along to the next chateau.

Clearly, if this was Fetes des Fleurs, which is held in springtime, or ‘Ban des Vendanges’ (harvest) in the fall, or perhaps Vinexpo, the major wine trade show that runs every two years, there probably would be no room left for me to put my wine glass down.

I’ve heard for years that while some private and corporate jets are double-parked at the Bordeaux airport, chartered helicopters hover from one vineyard to another, transporting distinguished visitors. Much to my surprise, over a hundred chateaux in Bordeaux are now owned by wealthy Chinese. China very recently became the world’s fifth largest wine consumer, bagging the top consumer of red wine title last year and having swigged 1.865 billion bottles.

I was never good at judging wine, but I trust what appeals to the heart. After all, like most wines of substance, the relationship becomes emotional. I tried to recall my mental notes on the wines I tasted. If by chance some of them are not quite right, I could certainly blame the wine itself for blurring my recollection.

I think Margaux is voluptuous and elegant and the exact opposite of St. Estèphe, which is masculine and structured. St. Julien is refined and well-balanced, while Pauillac is quite powerful and classic, I should say. Though I’m confused about which wines belong to the Left Bank and which ones are from the Right Bank. Most Bordeaux wines are red and known as claret. However, there are also dry and sweet whites that, when opening a bottle, you feel like you are embracing an old friend.