French Wines - Where To Start

I am interested in getting into French wines after primarily starting with Australian (all varieties)/Barolo/German Rieslings and am trying to work out where to begin - broad question I know! I’ve found I have fairly diverse tastes when it comes to wine so early on am happy to try anything and am looking for some bottles in the $40-$100 range from recent vintages to try and in particular I am interested in trying some wines from Bordeaux/Burgundy newhere.

I am based in Australia so while there is a good selection of producers available, if it is more obscure it may be hard to find and the price range above is based on US prices and not the inflated Australian price with a 30% import tax slapped on top.

Jon R - any reason for the “recent vintages” comment? I like my Bordeaux with some age on it and I believe your price range would allow you to find some Bordeaux with some age on it. With 8500 producers in Bordeaux your question is broad indeed and so I can only share what I enjoy and not necessarily a recommendation based on my limited experience. All this being said, I really enjoy wines in this price range from Domaine de Chevalier (Pessac-Léognan they are know for their whites, but I enjoy their reds as well), Canon La Gaffelière (St Emilion), Grand-Puy-LaCoste, and Rauzan-Segla. Another thing to keep in mind, is the vintage and history, as the estates in Bordeaux have changed ownership over time, which can impact the quality.

With this in mind, I would suggest:

  1. Get a map of the Bordeaux wine region which will help you understand the Region and taste profiles (Wine Folly is a great place to start - see this link Bordeaux Wine 101: The Wines and The Region | Wine Folly, also see Jeff Leve’s Bordeaux 101 - Learn about Bordeaux 101 Complete Beginners Guide to Everything Bordeaux Wine) .
  2. Go online to your favorite wine shop and search Bordeaux wines in your price range and use the Wine Folly guide to help you understand what you might like and jot down the titles of the wines.
  3. Finally go back Jeff Leve’s sight Wine Cellar Insider to search the specific chateau as Jeff will provide some history on the Chateau and his thoughts on the best vintages. Here is a link to Jeff’s page on Rauzan-Segla (Learn about Rauzan Segla Margaux, Complete Guide) which highlights the ownership changes and the impact to the product.

Good luck!

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I’d also include some Loire whites, Pepiere Muscadet Briords or their other bottlings.

As someone who wants to learn as much as possible about Bordeaux wines and overall French/European wines, this is very helpful, thank you! I think that the tax will be the same in the United States now (25%+), but for collecting purposes would buying recent vintages allow me to grow a collection more long term? (Considering I don’t consume as heavily at this moment since we aren’t really able to have any dinner parties or gatherings here in Los Angeles, and many people will not be comfortable doing so and this is how most of my wine gets consumed amongst friends). Thank you again for the great links!

May want to touch base with Jeremy Holmes

Thank you all for the suggestions and where to go next. I was interested in recent vintages purely from an availability perspective as while aged international wine is available here on the secondary market the selection has proven limited.

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Jon - Glad you found the links useful.

As to your question, yes absolutely, purchasing recent vintages will absolutely allow you to grow your collection long term. This being said, I wonder how you will know what to purchase of you do not purchase some to taste now before you go long and lay some down in the cellar. For example, Lynch-Bages and Grand-Puy-Lacoste are both in Pauillac, both a 5th Growth in the 1855 and I think only a few kilometers from each other, but I prefer Grand-Puy-Lacoste and have some of those in my cellar aging while I pick up an older vintage or two hear and there to enjoy while waiting.

So anyway, more food for thought. On a final note, if you really want to dig into Bordeaux, there is a new book by Jane Anson called Inside Bordeaux, I have not take the plunge to purchase yet, but you might want to check it out.

Cheers!

Coming late to this, but are you set on Bordeaux? I’ve found that Beaujolais is a great region to start exploring French wines – it’s smaller, the wines are accessible, and the Crus age well.