Henry II’s marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152 began three centuries of English dominion over Bordeaux and its port – through which, since Roman times, wine from the Haut Pays vineyards along the rivers Tarn, Lot, and upper Garonne had been shipped to northern European markets.
By the late 16th century Holland was the largest importer of wines shipped through Bordeaux. Dutch engineers hired by French aristocrats drained the marshlands north of the city, making possible the rise of the “Great Estates” of the Médoc in the early 18th century. The triple disasters of oidium, powdery mildew, and phylloxera devastated the region in the 19th century, just as demand for the wines among the upper classes was reaching its peak.
Today, Bordeaux is one of the world’s most influential regions, where 10,000 growers produce a quarter of France’s total output. The AOC Médoc covers vineyards situated on higher ground on the left bank of the Gironde. This is also an area of mixed, small-scale farming and livestock.
The stalls of “Place des Grandes Hommes,” the famed market named for the French literary greats of the nearby wine city, are crowded with local culinary specialties, all perfect marriages with the renowned regional wines. Prized Marennes and Arcachon oysters on the half-shell pair deliciously with crisp, vibrant wines like Entre-Deux-Mers or Graves Blanc. The eel-like fish lamprey, served in a vegetable stew or covered with sauce Bordelaise, matches well with light red red Premières Cotes de Bordeaux. Bigger wines such as Pauillac and St.-Estephe from the Médoc, and Libournais wines such as St.-Emilion, and Canon-Fronsac find partners in Palombes, wild doves from Landes; Gigot à la Girondine, Paulliac Lamb; and entrecote aux sarments, rib steaks grilled over dried vine clippings. The heralded sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac seamlessly accompany truffle – stuffed eggs or foie gras or pungent Roquefort.