Try a Classic Claret For Autumn: St Emilion

Of all the French red wines, St Emilion is perhaps my favourite, especially enjoyable in Autumn and Winter months in front of the fire. It goes particularly well with game, roast lamb and hard cheeses, such as reblochon and tomme de savoie, local varieties of which are available. It even complements a fine Scottish salmon so well that it debunks forever the notion of serving only white wine with fish.

St Emilion, generally regarded as the most robust of the Bordeaux reds, is a generous wine, with a good colour, and it reaches its maturity quicker than the other red Bordeaux wines. In other words, it drinks well after a few years. For example, the fine 2005 vintage is ready for drinking later this year and next.

So, who was St Emilion? He was a hermit who was born in 767 and lived in a cave, with an underground spring, near Libourne. Over some 500 years, this cave was enlarged into an underground cathedral, which is a worth a visit today. Over the years, a cult grew up and St Emilion gave his name to the town we know today, which is situated on a hill top on the right bank of the Gironde, about 26 kilometres (16 miles) east of Bordeaux.

And what about the growing conditions of the area? According to wine connoisseurs, the soil conditions are particularly important in the case of the St Emilion appellation. In fact, UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization, has recognised the great terroir of Saint Emilion and put the site on its World Heritage List in 1999.

Wine production is centred on the town of St Emilion and the eight surrounding villages. In the east, where the town lies, there is an imposing escarpment, with vineyards on the slopes and the plateau. Here the soils are rich in limestone, with some areas of clay on the slopes. This plateau, and the slopes - côtes - are two of the most important terroirs of the appellation. It is divided into two sections: to the west is the St Martin plateau, home to many of the leading estates of the appellation, which are dotted around the town. To the east is the St Christophe plateau, extending eastwards towards the limit of the appellation. Although the soils here are favourable, the estates are not so prestigious. At the very western end of the appellation, there is Graves-St-Emilion - the smallest of the four principal terroirs - where the vineyards are contiguous with those of Pomerol, and gravel soils predominate.

Now on to the wine itself! The grape varieties used in St Emilion are the same as those found elsewhere in the Bordeaux wine area: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carménère and Malbec. However, the first three dominate - the lead role going to Merlot - and these give the wine its character and full-bodiedness. Those of you who like to analyse the flavours in wine will, I think, be struck by the predominance of cooked red berries.

The appellation of St Emilion covers a small area of some 5,500 hectares - 13,600 acres. With a modest annual production of some 36 million bottles producers focus on quality not quantity, and this is reflected in the prices particularly of the great vintages, such as those of 1995 and 1982.

A very good St Emilion, which is drinking well at present, is a 2001 ‘Andeli’, a cooperative wine, named after Henri d’Andeli, a 13th Century clerk and writer, who reputedly was the first Medieval poet to celebrate the wine of Saint-Emilion in verse. His poem is printed on the back label of the bottles! So, not just a good wine, but a fun wine too, and a nice talking point at a dinner party!

by Ian Blackshaw

Ian Blackshaw, is an International Lawyer specialising in Sports Law. He is well known for his magazine articles about expat life in France and he is the owner of 7 Valleys Bed & Breakfast www.7valleysbandb.com

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