JOE BREEN WINE Bordeaux is venturing into the unknown with its attempts to emulate the success of mass-market brands such as Jacob's Creek
Some months ago, Thierry Gardinier of Château Phélan Ségur told me that Bordeaux needed a brand, one that appealed to people who find wine a mystery. He cited the success of the Australians and the Americans in creating vibrant labels such as Blossom Hill, Hardys, Jacob's
Creek and E&J Gallo (recently renamed the Gallo Family).
It must be all they talk about in French wine circles, because in recent weeks I have been introduced to two initiatives, one spanking new and the other stretching its wings, aimed at providing consumers with an easily identifiable brand that will guide them through France's maze of appellations, styles and flavours.
Terra Burdigala, which takes its name from the Roman term for the Bordeaux region, began in 2001 with the aim of pulling together a select group of winegrowers,
often from less fashionable parts of Bordeaux, to produce and market "undeniably good value-for-money wines".
This is high-end branding, as Terra Burdigala's Bernadette Thienpont happily admits. Thienpont's family, particularly her brother Alexander, has deep roots in Bordeaux, including the iconic Château Le Pin and Vieux Château Certan.
Although Terra Burdigala wines are a couple of notches below that standard, they are still very impressive, particularly the stunningly intense La Violette Côtes de Castillon 2005. These wines are still not cheap, however, and price is becoming one of Bordeaux's biggest problems.
All Terra Burdigala wines carry common logos and design, as do the products of Chamarré, a new French company formed to take on the New World usurpers at their own game - which is to say, producing price-conscious, easy-drinking, flavour-filled reds and whites. The difference is that they are made in France.
Chamarré wines are not in the same league as Burdigala's offerings. But then they don't want to be. They have more modest ambitions. Expect to see them soon on a supermarket shelf near you.
jbreen@irish-times.ie
bottles of the week
La Violette 2003, Terra Burdigala, €20.85 Before tasting this harmonious Côtes de Castillon, made from a tiny plot, I tried its 2005 brother, which is intense, sleek and seductive. The 2003 shares many of its qualities, albeit more modestly. The blend of 92 per cent Merlot and 8 per cent Cabernet Franc has a nose of ripe prune that leads on to a wine of restraint and elegance. From Bailey's, Howth; Gibney's, Malahide; Donnybrook Fair, Dublin 4; and the Bottle Shop, Goatstown, Dublin 14.
Les Chevaliers des Templiers 2003, Pessac-Léognan, €15.49 Another Bordeaux, this richly aromatic Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon, packed with muscle, finesse and clean cherry fruit, tastes way above its price. The tannins are still a little chewy, but not in the least forbidding. Delicious and great value. From Oddbins branches.