From €6.20, CHF14.80, $10.99, £8.50
Find Ch Thieuley
Find Ch Bauduc
The Entre-Deux-Mers region in Bordeaux is indeed between two seas. One is an ocean of money washing around the luxurious grands crus of the Médoc, the other is a great lake of unwanted plonk. Both are choppy waters, and charting the right course between them can be as tortuous as this metaphor.
I visited Entre-Deux-Mers last year and was impressed not only by the quality of most wines, but also by the resilience and fortitude of the producers. Two in particular impressed me with their humility and determination. Both happen to produce delicious white wines at excellent prices: Châteaux Thieuley and Bauduc.
Thieuley is run by the Courselle sisters, Marie and Sylvie, who inherited the estate from their father. Their self-proclaimed philosophy is 'to combine tradition with modernity' – a sentiment not unfamiliar in established European regions, but the Courselles are women of action not just words, even going so far as to heretically plant Syrah and Chardonnay within the Bordeaux appellation, and release it as Vin de France. However, half of their production is devoted to Bordeaux Blanc, and it was these that particuarly impressed me.
Ch Thieuley 2014 Bordeaux is 45% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Sémillon and 15% Sauvignon Gris and reminded me of Margaret River whites with its shimmering, verdant fruitiness, backed up by savoury, leesy flavour. With no oak influence and 12.5% alcohol, it's an easy drinker that has substance and plentiful flavour, worth every bit of the £8.50 it costs via The Wine Society in the UK.
Also worth checking out is their Cuvée Francis Courselle, the oak-aged version. This is a 50/50 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, fermented in 60-70% new oak barriques. This is classic Graves-style wine, with that strange contrast between sweet oak and sharp citric fruit. As such it is perhaps an acquired taste, but for aficionados, this delivers huge satisfaction at a very reasonable price. It is moderately ageworthy too, though the current 2014 vintage is drinking very well now. See also Julia's recent assessment of older oaked Sauvignon Blancs.
A short drive away is Château Bauduc, run by genial ex-pat Brit Gavin Quinney – familiar to these pages through his regular progress reports on each year's growing season in Bordeaux. He also makes two dry white wines, but segregates the varieties. Ch Bauduc Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Bordeaux is a welcome change from the Loire model of piercing citrus and slate, relying instead on ripe yellow fruit flavour and viscous mouthfeel. Les Trois Hectares is a majority Sémillon blend from a single vineyard planted in 1947. It reminded me in many ways of Hunter Valley Semillon with its toasty, waxy character, and is another example of inexpensive white Bordeaux that over-delivers handsomely for the price – as low as £10.67 when six bottles are bought via their website. [What excellent taste Richard has. Ch Bauduc Blanc 2009 was a wine of the week of mine back in 2011 – JR]
These wines satisfy the senses, the bank balance and the conscience – because by buying them, we can support a region that is all too often left to flounder.
Find Ch Thieuley
Find Ch Bauduc
