Bordeaux dry white wines: 20 to try

Often the ‘poor relation’ when considering Bordeaux wines, the region’s dry whites are certainly on the up.

Given Bordeaux’s red wine dominance today, it is hard to believe that until the 1950s this was a white wine region.

Entre-Deux-Mers, and the Sémillon grape, dominated with vast quantities of lacklustre whites produced using traditional winemaking methods. The devastating frost of 1956 changed everything, with large areas replanted to red varieties and a new approach to the market.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores on 20 Bordeaux dry white wines worth seeking out

Back in 1990, while I was discussing the market for white Bordeaux with Charles Sichel, export director for Maison Sichel, he observed ‘producers can’t give white Bordeaux away – it’s all about red’.

Today it’s a different story. ‘There is a much better understanding now of how to grow white grapes, and this has been combined with modern winemaking techniques. So much of this is down to Denis Dubourdieu,’ adds Sichel.

Improving Bordeaux dry whites

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