CHÂTEAU
CANTEMERLE
CANTEMERLE
Reading the label
French wine,
made legible.
French bottles are named after places, not grapes. Here is what that actually tells you.
See the selectionWorth knowing
Eight bottles to start with
Widely stocked, honestly priced, and each one a clear example of its region.
CHÂTEAU
GLORIA
GLORIA
LOUIS JADOT
CHABLIS
CHABLIS
LOUIS LATOUR
POUILLY-FUISSÉ
POUILLY-FUISSÉ
E. GUIGAL
CÔTES DU RHÔNE
CÔTES DU RHÔNE
PAUL JABOULET
CROZES-HERMITAGE
CROZES-HERMITAGE
BOLLINGER
SPECIAL CUVÉE
SPECIAL CUVÉE
TRIMBACH
RIESLING
RIESLING
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Where it comes from
Six regions,
six ways of thinking.
A French label names the place, not the grape. Once you know what each place means, the label starts doing its job.
Bordeaux
Almost every Bordeaux is a blend, which is why no grape appears on the label. Cabernet sauvignon brings structure, merlot brings weight, and the balance shifts depending on which bank of the river the estate sits on. The word château here means an estate, not a castle.
Read on →
Burgundy
Two grapes only: pinot noir and chardonnay. What changes is the plot. Burgundy names individual parcels, called climats, and ranks them, so a village wine and a premier cru from the same producer can taste like different arguments.
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Rhône Valley
Effectively two regions under one name. The north is syrah alone, dark and peppery, on very steep slopes. The south blends grenache and mourvèdre into something warmer and rounder. A bottle labelled Côtes-du-Rhône is almost always southern.
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Loire
The country's best value in white wine, and the least self-promoting. Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are sauvignon blanc; Vouvray and Savennières are chenin. None of those names appear on the front label, which is why the region is so often skipped.
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Champagne
A place before it is a category. Only sparkling wine from this region may use the name, and most bottles carry no vintage because they are blended across years for consistency. Brut on the label is a sweetness level, not a quality mark.
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Alsace
The one French region that does put the grape on the label, a habit inherited from its German history. Riesling, gewurztraminer and pinot gris here are mostly dry, which surprises people who expect otherwise.
Read on →
Monthly
Mixed cases,
chosen for the season.
A case built around a theme each month, with notes on what is in it and why. A reasonable way to cover ground quickly when you are still working out what you like.
See the cases at Vinatis