How paradoxical a fate for a class of whites that, at their height of finesse, can rival collectible Burgundies. Muscadelle, in tiny quantities, adds aromatic grace notes. As the wine ages, it can become creamy, honeyed and figgy, perhaps melon-like, nutty and round, with the early, nearly sweet oak and vanillin accents diminishing. White Bordeaux's distinctive style has spawned a copycat school of California Sauvignon Blancs, which, ironically, sell far better than their mentor. Ducasse possesses a keen perspective on the 1990s upgrading of white Bordeaux.
People wait longer to pick, so the flavors are more evolved.
Because of modern vineyard practices, today's grapes are not overripe and rot is absent, he adds. Ducasse says cellar technology also is much better. Not surprisingly, Graves literature has celebrated the region's wine culture. Many of the writings of Mauriac, who struggled with issues of morality and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1952, are set in and were influenced by the pastoral setting and the winegrowing life of the Gironde region. It plays, in our modern world, a modest, but clearly defined, part.