Is claret the same as Bordeaux?
It may be relatively rare to see someone ordering a glass of ‘claret’ these days, but the term has for many centuries been linked with Bordeaux – particularly for British wine lovers.
Claret is mostly used as an unofficial way to describe Bordeaux red wines, although it’s a protected name under EU law and there is reference to it in Bordeaux’s appellation rules.
The UK government has recognised claret’s status as a registered ‘traditional wine term’ within the Bordeaux PDO, as an ‘expression used to designate a pale red wine’.
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Is claret good wine?
This is an impossible question to generalise, given its use as an unofficial umbrella term. It is like asking if ‘Chardonnay is good?’ or ‘Is Spanish wine good? It’s just too broad.
However, the late, great wine writer Steven Spurrier once suggested that claret can convey a certain reassurance to the buyer, as well as a stylistic hint.
‘What is claret?,’ asked the late Steven Spurrier in a 2007 article on the ‘claret lover’s guide to New World Cabernets.’
He continued: ‘The red wine from Bordeaux, of course, but for the claret lover it is much more than this: an address book of well-known names, whose faces (or châteaux) are immediately recognisable, whose background and character, changeable with the years, is well known and well defined, on whom one can rely.’
Spurrier wrote that elegance, ‘fragrance of bouquet’ and ‘lift’ were among the central tenets of a good claret.
When Bordeaux was English
It’s believed to be linked to the French term ‘clairet’, and originally referred to very light red wines – possibly closer to dark rosés – from Bordeaux.
Award-winning wine expert Oz Clarke noted in his ‘History of Wine in 100 Bottles’ that Bordeaux fell into England’s possession after the marriage of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1151.
When most of the English Crown’s lands in France were retaken by the French king in the early 13th century, a much reduced Aquitaine was all that remained of the old ‘Angevin Empire’.
Bordeaux’s wine was an important trade commodity, much in demand in Britain, while English cloth and grain were just as important to the good burgesses of Bordeaux.
This influenced a strong trade relationship, culminating in great convoys of ships transporting huge quantities of Bordeaux ‘claret’ into ports across the British Isles.
The capture of Bordeaux by the French at the end of the Hundred Years War brought this trade to an end; but only for a short while and claret has continued to flow to Britain ever since.
Claret today
Over time, the term claret was used to describe increasingly darker and full-bodied Bordeaux red wines than the style being quaffed in medieval England.
Throughout the late 17th to 20th centuries, it was one of the seminal wines drunk in both Britain – and around the world.
However, some have questioned claret’s staying power in the vocabulary of 21st century wine lovers.
‘Claret has slipped from unfashionable to almost irrelevant for most drinkers now,’ said Jane Anson in 2017, during her time as Bordeaux correspondent for Decanter.
‘Very few will even associate it with red Bordeaux. So perhaps it is ready for a revival?’
Inspired by this historical pedigree, claret has occasionally been used to to reference red wines made elsewhere with a classic Bordeaux blend of grape varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
As mentioned above, though, it’s a protected name under EU law which has largely stopped this practice; just as it did with the ‘port’, ‘sherry’ and ‘champagne’ once made globally (largely for British tastes as well).
The terms are not entirely gone. A wine agreement between the US and EU in 2006 covered certain labelling terms which prevented US wineries from using several names, including Champagne, Chianti and Claret, unless the bottle label was registered before the deal was signed.
Good drinking claret
The term ‘a good drinking claret’ is still occasionally used today. Usually this is to describe a red Bordeaux, with a certain sense of ‘classicism’ that closely adheres to Spurrier’s description above.
If you’re looking for examples to try for yourself, Decanter recommended several under US$30 a little while ago, while Andy Howard MW offered a selection of his own under £20.