Bordeaux is the most famous wine in the world.
Thomas Jefferson wrote enthusiastically about his five-day tour of the Bordeaux region southwest of Paris in 1787, even if he didn't always spell the wine's names correctly. When Richard Nixon entertained Congress members aboard the presidential yacht Sequoia, he was known to serve his guests a pretty good $6 wine while stewards filled his glass from a $30 bottle of Bordeaux wrapped in a towel.
Bordeaux makers should be good at their craft. They've been making it the Romans arrived in 60 B.C.
Bordeaux is created under strict rules. Under French wine law, it must contain two more of the following grapes: cabernet sauvignon for power, merlot for soft, sweet fruit, petit verdot for spice, cabernet franc for flowery aroma and malbec for its inky black hue. No other grapes are allowed. Most Bordeaux wines are predominately cabernet sauvignon or merlot.
So it's not surprising that American winemakers, running nearly two millennia behind the French, today use Bordeaux as a reference point. Some seek to emulate it. Some to modify it. Some purposely riff away from it.
The closest American emulators are those in the Meritage Alliance, a group of over 300 wineries that vow to use at least some of their grape crop in "exceptional wines blended in the Bordeaux tradition" _ using at least two of the five "noble" Bordeaux grapes _ and with no other grapes.
Not all foodies and wine fans are aware of this idea, and even gourmet restaurant wine lists often call wines "meritage" when they aren't, and don't call wines "meritage" when they are. (For a list of alliance members go to www.meritagealliance.com.)
Others American winemakers are less interested in the Bordeaux rules, so they use some of the Bordeaux-style grapes, but add other, non-Bordeaux grapes _ maybe syrah for extra fruit and spice, or petite sirah for extra color and tannic structure, or even zinfandel for heartiness.
When American winemakers use at least 75 percent cabernet sauvignon in their Bordeaux-inspired wines, they can call them cabernet sauvignon. If they use less, they usually call them "red blends" _ but they still pay homage to the Bordeaux idea that blended wines are better than single-variety wines.
Wine fans can see this two ways: Either blended wines are greater than the sum of their parts, or the addition of soft, sweet merlot can ease the tannic acidity of the cabernet sauvignon.
Either way, they turn out some marvelous wines.
