Two professional juries tasted different versions of a classical Bordeaux wine that incorporated one of five grape varieties from Southwest France, a cross from the 1950s and a Portuguese grape.
Results broadly suggested no major impact on the wines’ regional ‘typicity’ when novel grapes were included at up to 30% of the blend, according to the study published in the OENO One journal earlier this month.
‘Bordeaux typicity was never drastically affected,’ the researchers wrote, although the classical reference blend was ‘the most typical’ of the 11 wines tasted.
‘This study is a step towards the potential introduction of the studied five non-autochthonous varieties to the classical Bordeaux blend.’
Only certain grape varieties can be used in commercial wines bearing appellation names. Yet, Bordeaux winemakers are experimenting with novel grapes as a possible way to adapt to climate change while maintaining their wines’ regional character.
How the wines were tested
The latest study builds on previous research that identified five non-Bordeaux varieties out of 26 that taste similar to classical Bordeaux grapes: Fer Servadou, Duras, Manseng Noir, Vinhão and Arinarnoa.
These five varieties were blended into a classical Bordeaux wine at proportions of 10% and 30%, said the study, which included Marc Plantevin, of France’s National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), as corresponding author.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot were the ‘classical’ grapes making up the blend.
A panel of 37 professional judges tasted the resulting 11 wines, including the reference wine, followed by blind and non-blind tastings with a second group of 20 judges averaging 18 years of experience in Bordeaux.
Tastings took place at Château La Tour Carnet in St-Laurent-Médoc, which manages two plots of experimental grape varieties.
The first panel found the wines’ Bordeaux typicity barely changed, except for Vinhão when included at 30%.
The second jury found that Fer Servadou and higher proportions of Manseng Noir or Vinhão led to a significant decrease of typicity. However, study authors said this must be viewed ‘on a tight continuum of more or less typical wines’.
More study is needed, but they wrote, ‘This result allows their legal introduction into the Bordeaux varietal mix to be considered.’
Arinarnoa was one of six ‘new’ grape varieties were approved for experimental use in the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur appellations in 2021.
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