Entre-deux-Mers Archives

My wife and I visited Caves de Rauzan today, a wine cooperative (Co-op) in Entre-deux-Mers, the largest wine-producing sub-region of Bordeaux. It was a cold, cloudy day, but it gave us a “backstage pass” to the inner workings of a Bordeaux wine cooperative. It was a lot of fun and very informative.

Entre-Deux-Mers Overview

Entre-Deux-Mers is a large, triangular area of land southeast of Bordeaux. It sits between the Garonne and Dordogne tidal rivers, which led people in the Middle Ages to call it “Entre-Deux-Mers,” or “between two seas.” This area is the largest wine-making sub-region in Bordeaux. It is a hilly area with about 7,000 hectares of vineyards.

There are nine Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée (AOCs) across the Entre-Deux-Mers: Entre-Deux-Mers AOC; Premières Côtes de Bordeaux AOC; Sainte-Croix-du-Mont AOC; Cadillac AOC; Loupiac AOC; St-Macaire AOC; Graves de Vayres AOC; and Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux AOC for sweet wines. The soils vary across the AOCs and include sand, clay, clay-limestone, and gravel. The area has a mild, oceanic climate.

Entre-Deux-Mers AOC

It is a bit confusing because the Entre-Deux-Mers is both the name of the general area and an AOC within it. The Entre-Deux-Mers AOC wine appellation was established in 1937 and initially allowed both dry and sweet white wines. In 1957, the rules changed so that only dry white wine could be made, labeled, and sold as Entre-Deux-Mers. The main white grapes grown here are Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscadelle, and a few others.

Red wines have always been produced in Entre-Deux-Mers, but until recently, they could be labeled only as Bordeaux AOC or Bordeaux Supérieur. On August 25, 2023, the Entre-Deux-Mers Rouge AOC was introduced, allowing red wines to be sold under the Entre-Deux-Mers name. Starting with the 2023 vintage, Entre-Deux-Mers winemakers chose to label their red wines Bordeaux AOC, Bordeaux Supérieur, or Entre-Deux-Mers.

The approved red grape varieties for Entre-Deux-Mers AOC wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec (Cot), Cabernet Franc, and Petite Verdot. Carmenère is an “accessory variety” and can make up no more than 30% of the final blend. Each wine must include at least two grape varieties.

What is a Wine Cooperative

A cooperative is an organization of individuals that come together to share costs. At the heart of all cooperatives is the “mutualization of financial means.” Uh?

Picture yourself as a winemaker. On your own, you don’t want to, or you don’t have the resources, to manage the vineyard and make and sell your own wine. So, what can you do? You team up with other local winemakers in your area, and combine your resources to share the costs of managing all the vineyards and create and staff a central location for making and selling wine. “Mutualization of financial means” is at the center of any cooperative. Almost half the wine produced in Europe is co-op wine.

Caves de Rauzan Wine Cooperative

Caves de Rauzan is a cooperative of 230 Entre-deux-Mers winemakers that have come together to share the cost of making and selling their wine. Members jointly own and manage the cooperative, ensuring every winemaker has a voice in decision-making and a share of the profits based on the quality and quantity of their contributions.

It basically works like this (the exact details may not be 100% correct): When a winemaker joins the cooperative, they pay a fee based on their size and get shares in the cooperative, which are returned to them if and when they leave. Every year at harvest time, the winemakers deliver their grapes to the cooperative’s central winemaking facility, where the GM and his team make and sell the wine.

When the wine is made and sold, each winemaker is compensated based on the quantity, the quality, and, for red wines, the “peripheral” of the grapes they delivered. 70% of the wine is sold by the cooperative as bulk wine and shipped off, for instance, to Canada, where it is bottled and sold by others. The rest is bottled on demand for supermarkets or others, or as the cooperative sees fit for B-to-C sales.

Château Canet was up for sale, so the Co-op bought it and considers it’s mascot.

Caves de Rauzan
Address: 701 Rue Vineuse, 33420 Rauzan
Phone: 05 57 84 13 22
https://www.cavederauzan.com/

To learn about our visit to a top Château in the Entre-deux-Mers region, see my post “Château de Reignac Visit.”

My wife and I visited the Château de Reignac in Bordeaux’s Entre-deux-Mers region. We learned much about its unique history and wines, including the patented Vatelot method used to make the Château’s flagship wine, BALTHVS.

Château de Reignac, Saint-Loubès, France

The Château was built in the 16th century. In 1990, Yves Vatelot, a French inventor and entrepreneur, bought the estate, restored the buildings, updated the wine-making facilities, and collaborated with oenologist consultant Michel Rollan to focus on the vineyards and winemaking.

Today, Château de Reignac is seen as one of the top estates in Entre-deux-Mers and the larger Bordeaux wine region. It is recognized for its excellent terroir, consistent quality driven by its focus on excellence, and its value for money.

The “inner workings” of the patented Vatelot method

This is my understanding of how the Vatelot method works and why it is effective: The process begins with cold maceration and fermentation of grapes in aluminum vats. Subsequently, oak barrels are filled with the fermented wine and the grape must, which consists of crushed grapes containing juice, skins, and seeds. The barrels are sealed with a head (pictured below) and rotated several times daily. Metal bars within the barrels enhance post-fermentation maceration. Because the barrels remain sealed, the wine experiences significantly less air contact and, consequently, less oxidation than with the pump-over or punch-down methods. After this stage, the wine is racked, meaning it is transferred to barrels for malolactic fermentation.

In the 19th century, a greenhouse attributed to the engineer Gustave Eiffel was added to the estate; see the picture below.

Tasting Notes: BALTHVS, 2016

Tasted in non-blind conditions in my Airbnb in Bordeaux, France.

Bordeaux 2016: According to The Wine Cellar Insider, the 2016 Bordeaux season began with unusually cool and record-setting wet weather. Despite this, early June flowering, particularly for Merlot, was highly successful, resulting in the most significant crop per hectare since 2004. But the summer drought left many vineyards short of moisture by September, causing some vines to nearly halt their growth to conserve energy.

Although Merlot remained abundant and healthy, it required water. Rainfall on September 13 and 14 benefited the Merlot, while additional rain on September 30 and October 1 arrived when Cabernet Sauvignon needed it most. These conditions required winemakers to pick carefully and sort grapes, separating overripe and drought-affected fruit from ripe, fresh ones. Notably, there was virtually no rot on the red grapes for the third consecutive year (See 2016 Bordeaux Harvest and Vintage Report).

Grape varieties: 100% Merlot (old vine 30 years)

About the wine: According to the Château de Reignac 2016 fact sheet, in terms of viticulture, spring de-budding was performed to remove buds on the vine’s spurs or branches that were considered to be of little or no use to the vine. Leaves were manually thinned, and removal was performed on the east-facing side to allow for morning sun. Green harvesting was conducted twice to remove excess green bunches from the vines before the grapes changed color and the sugar content rose, reducing yield, concentrating nutrients, and releasing them to the remaining bunches to build healthier grapes. The grapes were then hand-picked into small baskets and double-sorted both before and after destemming.

In terms of vinification, the grapes were cold macerated at 6°C for 7 days before fermentation. They then fermented for 35 days in two new oak barrels using the patented Vatelot method, which also included post-fermentation maceration. After this, the wine was racked to barrels and underwent malolactic fermentation.

Finally, the wine was aged in 100% new oak barrels, stirring the lees in the barrels
stacked using the Oxoline system. Coopers: Garonnaise.

Appearance (Visual examination): A bright, red wine free of sediment and gas with a dark, inky purple color, a cherry-copper rim, and a deep inky purple hue; moderately concentrated with medium-low viscosity.

Nose (Olfactory examination): Medium intensity with notes of black fruit, such as plum, sour cherry, flower aromas of lavender, and nuances of chocolate, tobacco, and black pepper.

Palate (Gustative examination): Elegant, yet fresh. Structured with richness and silky tannins, the finish is well-balanced, with a persistence that leaves a lingering hint of spicy dark chocolate on the palate.

Service: Decant for 1 hour. Serve at 16-18°C (61-64°F) in a Bordeaux wine glass.

Food Pairing: Classic Entrecôte à la Bordelaise, rib steak in red wine and shallot sauce, served with pommes pont neuf (thick-cut fries), is a classic pairing.

I made and paired the BALTHVS, 2016, with an “Aberdeen Angus Steak” from “Gastronomie Des Pyrénées,” a port wine foie gras sauce, and freshly harvested young, small sauteed potatoes.

Bonvivant365's "Aberdeen Angus Steak" from "Gastronomie Des Pyrénées," port wine foie gras sauce, young sauteed potatoes — Bonvivant365’s “Aberdeen Angus Steak” from “Gastronomie Des Pyrénées,” port wine foie gras sauce, and young sauteed potatoes

Summary: Château de Reignac’s “BALTHVS,” 2016, is an easy-drinking red wine that, once awake, is a joy to spend time with, never tiring.

Source and price: Château de Reignac, 60 euros.

Reviews: 92-93/100 J. Suckling

Château de Reignac
Address: 38 Chem. de Reignac, 33450 Saint-Loubès
Phone: 05 56 20 41 05
https://reignac.com/en/

To learn about our visit to the largest wine cooperative in the Entre-deux-Mers region, see my post Caves de Rauzan Visit.

Tag: Entre-deux-Mers

Caves de Rauzan Visit