The dry white wines of Bordeaux are much less famous than their red counterparts but should not be overlooked. Increasingly, the region offers great-value alternatives to New World Sauvignon Blanc, as well as high-quality wines capable of competing with premium whites from Burgundy. Graves remains a key region for top wines, but areas such as Fronsac, and the dry whites from sweet wine producers in Sauternes and Barsac, are also worth looking out for.
Until the 1950s, Bordeaux was predominantly a white wine region before the devastating 1956 frost changed the shape of the market, with subsequent replanting of red varieties. To make matters worse, the quality of white Bordeaux in the 1970s and 1980s was generally poor, with many acidic, lacklustre, over-sulphured wines failing to excite drinkers. Fortunately, dry white Bordeaux today is completely different thanks to winery investment and modern winemaking techniques coupled with a greater understanding of what consumers want.
The arrival of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in the 1980s, with its vibrant, powerful aromas and gooseberry notes, may have ‘kickstarted’ the change in quality and direction. But Bordeaux has other
