Filter
Drink:
Topics:
Terms:
Maceration Maconnais Macon-Villages Madeira Madera County Maderization Maderized Madiran Magnum Mai Tai Maine Maipo Valley Maipu Maize Malbec Malibu Coast Malic acid Malmsey Malolactic Conversion Malolactic Fermentation Malt Malt Whiskey Malting Malvasia Manhattan Manhole Manzanilla Marca Trevigiana Igt Marche Igp Marechal Foch Maremma Toscana DOC Margaret River Margaret Rose Margarita Margaux Marlborough Marsala Marsanne Martinborough Martinez Martini Mary Pickford Maryland Masculine Mash Mash Bill Mash Hopping Mash Tun Massachusetts Masu Mataro Matchstick Maule Valley Mclaren Vale Mcminnville Mead Médoc Mellow Melon De Burgogne Mendocino Mendocino County Mendocino Ridge Mendoza Mercaptan Mercurey Meristem Meristematic Tissue Merlot Metallic Metheglin Methode Champenoise Meursault Mexican Mule Micheal Jackson Michigan Microbrewery Microclimate Midi Mildew Milling Mineral Ions Minervois Minervois Blanc Minnesota Mint Mint Julep Mirassou Mis en Bouteille au Chateau Mission Missouri Mitterberg Igt M-L Mojito Moldova Monferrato Monopole Montagne St. Emilion Montecucco Rosso Montefalco Rosso Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC Monterey County Monticello Montsant Morellino di Scansano Morey St.-Denis Morgon Mornington Peninsula Moromi Moscato Moscato d'Asti Moscato d'Asti DOCG Moscato d'Asti DOP Moscow Mule Mosel Moselle Moto Moulin-a-Vent Moulis-En-Médoc Mount Barker Mount Benson Mount Harlan Mount Veeder Mourvedre Mudgee Muller Thurgau Murray-Darling Muscadet Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine Sur Lie Muscadine Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise Muscat de Frontignan Muscatel Mushrooms Must Musty Mute
Drinkipedia
Montagne St. Emilion
The Right Bank of Bordeaux, due east of the city, encompasses the ancient town of Saint-Emilion and the nearby commune of Pomerol. The vineyards of both communes are planted heavily to Merlot and Cabernet Franc, which favors the cooler, often richer soils here more-so than those found in the Médoc. Saint-Emilion is a complex region with many soil variations within a small area. Nonetheless, with the Medoc as a frame of reference, the character of right bank wines can be said to be a degree richer in alcohol, and more fruit-centered with more supple, quicker maturing tannins: All traits which have endeared them to modern wine drinkers. Pomerol is a much smaller and more compact appellation, about the size of Margaux. Its wines are often more consistent in a given vintage and bargains are few among these sought-after wines.

Bargain seekers should pay particular attention to the outlying Saint-Emilion satellite appellations, recognizable by having their commune names hyphenated before Saint-Emilion on the label. The right bank proper also encompasses Fronsac, Côte de Bourg and Côtes de Blaye all of whose wines attract far less media interest and carry much lower price tags.

Merlot on the Right Bank is harvested, on average, two weeks earlier than the Cabernet Sauvignon of the Left Bank. This simple fact makes generalizations about the character of a vintage in Bordeaux difficult to encapsulate by assigning a number to a vintage in "Bordeaux." Vintages that bring rain at harvest can be poor in the Medoc and much more successful on the Right Bank. In such cases, getting the grapes in before the rain is the difference in quality in Bordeaux, and this is no small matter in a region that often gives estate managers anxiety attacks as rain clouds darken the sky when vines are heavy with almost ripe grapes.

The phenomenon of the Saint-Emilion garagiste, the small scale winemaker with little more than a garage and a plot of vines, has grabbed the attention of the fine wine world with deeply concentrated, tiny production wines that command hefty prices. Garagistes have been providing much of the buzz of excitement in the region in recent years and their wines continue to set new price records in the fine wine world. (Wine/Appellations)